Game Preview: How Ole Miss can defeat Georgia

November 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Ole Miss Rebels are coming off of their first SEC road win since October 2, 2009 with a 30-27 victory over the Arkansas Razorback in Little Rock, Arkansas last week.  The Rebels are trying to get their first back to back SEC road wins since 2009.  With a 5-3 record the Rebels are trying to become bowl eligible.  This will be the first game this season against a SEC East opponent.  They will try to get a second SEC road win this week against the No. 6 ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.  The Rebels have not won at Georgia since 1996 and have not defeated a ranked them since a 21-7 Cotton Bowl win over the 18th ranked Oklahoma State in 2010.  Georgia leads the series against the Rebels 31-12-1 and has a 17-4-1 record in Athens.  The game can be seen on nationally on CBS at 2:30 central.

Five things the Rebels need to do to defeat Georgia:

Bo Wallace hands off to Jeff Scott. Photo by Justine Ford

Overcoming adversity.  The Rebels have very little room for error again this week.  The crowd will be a factor and Rebels need to jump out to a fast start in order to control the tempo of the game.  Bo Wallace has exceeded expectations this year as the Rebels’ signal caller.  Wallace will have to make good decisions and not put the undersized defense in bad situations.

Control the line of scrimmage. The Rebels are ranked third in the SEC and are tied for 11th place in the NCAA with 7.5 tackles for loss per game.  The defense will be tested against this week.  Georgia has 4 receivers that have over 300 receiving yards.  Tavarres King is the leading receiver for Georgia with 511 yards.  Todd Gurley leads the ground attack with 740 rushing yards.  Aaron Murray has 2, 064 passing yards, 17 touchdown passes and only 7 interceptions on the year.  Keeping the Bulldogs off the field and limiting them to few big plays will be a major factor in getting the road win.

Attack the Bulldogs defense. Ole Miss has scored in 26 of its 28 red zone trips (92.9 percent), sixth-best in the nation and second in the SEC.  Wallace has shown he is not afraid of any defense.  Wallace has 1,649 passing yards 10 passing touchdowns, 5 rushing touchdowns and 9 interceptions.  Jeff Scott is on pace to rushing for over a 1,000 yards.  Scott has 612 rushing yards and has 6 rushing touchdowns.

Control the tempo of the game.  The balance running and passing has been a major factor in the Rebels success this season.  The ability to move the ball and score points against every opponent has been the strength this season for Ole Miss.  The Rebels are averaging 430 yards a game and have scored 30 or more points in all games except one this season.

Take advantages of opportunities.  The Bulldogs control their faith for winning the SEC East after defeating the Florida Gators 17-9 in the annual world largest tailgate party last week in Jacksonville, Florida.  The Bulldogs might be looking past the Rebels this week.  This will be homecoming weekend for Georgia and they might not be as focused for this game.

Terry Davis covers Ole Miss football for MemphiSport. Follow him @Terryd515.

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What we learned from the Ole Miss home opener against Central Arkansas

September 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

This is not the Rebels of last year.  The Rebels are more explosive this year and they force teams to honor the pass as well as the run.  Last year the Rebels used a converted running back (Randall Mackey ) at the quarterback.  This year Mackey can concentrate being a threat out of the back field.  The Rebels got off to a shaky start, but finished very strong.  However can the confidence learned from the first game of the year carry over to other games?  If it can continue to improve on their weakness the Rebels will increase the rebuilding process and maybe make a bowl.

1) Bo can play.  Sophomore quarterback Bo Wallace has got some good skills.  He is a duel threat with his legs and his arm.  Wallace led the team with 264 passing yards with 1 TD and with 82 net rushing yards with 2 TDs in the win over the Central Arkansas.

2) Teams love the long ball.   Wallace wasted very little time getting to know deep threat receiver Donte Moncrief.  Moncrief had 8 receptions for 104 yards including a 53 yards.  Two other receivers had receptions over 20 yards Jamal Mosley had a 28 yard reception and Korvic Neat had a 25 yard reception.

3) Accountability.  At halftime of the game, before the coaches could get into the team for their poor play in the half, the leaders of the team began to point out off of the mistakes they were making.  This type of pride was missing from the Rebel team late last year when they begin a tail spin and lost 7 games in a row.

4) Improved defense.   Sophomore C.J. Johnson was honored as the Southeastern Conference Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week.  This is the first honor for a Rebel since 2010.  Johnson had 6 tackles including a fourth quarter sack.  The Rebels shut out UCA in the second half until the last two minutes of the game.

5) Multiple weapons on offense.  The top two rushers on the team were the first and second string quarterbacks.  The quarterbacks spread the receptions among four receivers.  Moncrief will stretch the field to prevent defenses from playing eight men in the box.  The 49-27 win is the most points scored by a Rebel team in over two years.

Terry Davis covers Ole Miss football for MemphiSport. Follow him @Terryd515.

 

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5 Reasons Why Ole Miss Will Go Bowling This Year

August 30, 2012 by 3 Comments

The Ole Miss Rebels football team hit the reset button this spring with the hiring of former Arkansas State head coach Hugh Freeze as their new head coach.  Freeze did an impressive job with the Red Wolves and hopes to bring that same winning attitude to the Rebels this fall.

With the opening of the college football season every team in the SEC feel they will be competitive and can contend for the divisional championship.  The 2009 season was the last winning season for Ole Miss, but this year could the beginning of the Rebels being more competitive with the top tier schools.

1)      Easy schedule.  The Rebels should be 3-1 before they enter conference play with homes games against Central Arkansas, UTEP, Texas and a road game at Tulane.  In three other games the Rebels will have a good chance of winning Auburn, Vandy and Miss State.

2)      Hugh Freeze will not be intimidated by other coaches in the SEC. Coach Freeze will not allow his this to have a defeatist attitude and defends them at every corner.  During the SEC media days this year South Carolina’s head coach Steve Spurrier called the Rebels doormats.  Freeze responded sharply to that statement and said, “We will circle that game in 2014.”

3)      The Rebels defense.  The Rebels strength this season will be on the defensive side of the line. The Rebels return a strong core of defensive backs and linebackers.  Linebacker Mike Marry and defensive back Charles Sawyer will lead the unit.  Both players earned All-SEC and other preseason recognition.  Marry led the team in tackles last season with 81.  Sawyer was fourth in the SEC with four interceptions and was the team’s second leading tackler with 70.

4)      Team will be more accountable.  Freeze will hold his team more accountable and they won’t make the mental mistakes the team made last season.  Last season the Rebels made too many mental mistakes that cost them a few wins and they lost their confidence as the season progressed.

5)      More talent on offense.   Last season Randall Mackey started 6 games at quarterback. Mackey has moved back to his natural position of running back.  The quarterback position has been upgraded with Barry Brunetti and Bo Wallace competing for the starting job.  Sr. running back Jeff Scott ability will assist the Rebels offense and defense by his production.  Scott was a first team All-SEC selection.  Wide receiver Donte Moncreif will be a big target for the quarterbacks to seek out in the passing game.

Terry Davis covers Ole Miss football for MemphiSport. Follow him @Terryd515 for live tweets from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

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