No. 6 Ole Miss hosts Middle Tennessee Saturday at 3:15 p.m. Here are four keys to an Ole Miss victory.
Establish the running game early
As was the case with Furman, this game shouldn’t be particularly close. Ole Miss should have its way on both sides of the ball and be able to entirely dictate the flow of the game. That being said, it appeared the focus against the Paladins — at least in the first half — was to show off the passing game, as Jaxson Dart was nearly flawless with 418 passing yards and six total touchdowns. The Rebels ended up with 243 rushing yards overall, but 159 of those came after halftime when Dart was out of the game. Establishing the run early in games — even if the game is never going to really be in doubt — is never a bad idea and will likely come in handy as the season continues.
Keep living in the opposing backfield
That was the story against the Paladins, as the Rebels’ 16 tackles for loss were the most in a game since the 2000 Egg Bowl. Ole Miss’ vaunted defensive line lived up to its lofty expectations by blowing offensive linemen off the ball, and off-the-ball players like linebacker Chris Paul Jr. (2.5 tackles for loss) Louis Moore (1.5 tackles for loss) were able to reap the benefits. Getting into the backfield as the ball gets to the quarterback completely throws off a given play. Middle Tennessee surrendered five tackles for loss to Tennessee Tech in its opener.
Let Austin Simmons cook (should the opportunity present itself)
This appears to be a game that could quickly be out of hand, meaning Dart’s day could be over at halftime. If that’s the case, letting Simmons run the offense a bit more isn’t the worst idea. The redshirt freshman was solid in relief against Furman, perfectly lofting his first career-pass 35 yards for a touchdown on the way to 111 passing yards overall. In a perfect world, Simmons gets plenty of chances to play this season in mop-up duty in blowout wins. That isn’t always going to be the case, though, so getting him meaningful reps now isn’t the worst idea.
Let the freshmen eat
Defensive linemen Kam Franklin and William Echoles were stellar in their college debuts, with two and 0.5 tackles for loss, respectively. Wide receiver Noreel White caught two passes for 34 yards in his first game. Again, the chances for freshmen to get meaningful experience might get slimmer as the season continues. Let them put up some numbers and play while they can; that way, if they’re needed later in the season, there is no reason to worry if they’re ready or not.
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