Know Your Opponent: Ole Miss Rebels

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

Head Coach: Lane Kiffin

Overall: 1st Season, 4-5 (.444) Overall

Bowl Appearances at Ole Miss: This will be the 1st

2019 Record: 4-8 (2-6, SEC West)

Bowl Appearances Since 2000: 9 (7-2)

Mascot: Tony the Landshark

Colors: Cardinal Red and Navy Blue

Outfitter: Nike

National Titles: 3 (1959, 1960, 1962)

Conference Titles: 6

Heisman Winners: 0

2020 Record: 4-5

Most Recent Result: LOSS @ LSU, 48-53

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Matt Corral (201-282 (71.3%), 2,995 yards, 27 TDs, 14 INTs)

Rushing: Jerrion Ealy (147 att, 745 yards, 5.1 YPC, 9 TDs)

Receiving: Elijah Moore (86 receptions, 1193 yards, 8 TDs)

Tackles: Lakia Henry (62 tackles, 28 solo, 2.5 Sacks, 2 Forced Fumbles)

Stat of the Week: Expect four down territory often with this Ole Miss offense; the Rebels punted on just 21 of their 60 fourth downs this year, despite having a Ray Guy Award Watch List caliber punter in Mac Brown.

Ole Miss Talking Points

1. Explosive offense without some of its best playmakers.

Despite drawing a below .500 opponent for its bowl game, Indiana and head coach Tom Allen have to be worried about this Rebel offense. Ole Miss finished the regular season ranked first in the SEC in yards per game, third in pass offense, and third in scoring offense, notching over 40 points per game. Lane Kiffin’s offense plays at hyper speed and forces defenses to make tackles in open space and cover deep shots down field, all while keeping an eye on dual threat quarterback Matt Corral.

Corral is the engine that keeps this Rebel offense running. The former 4-star recruit was ranked only behind quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and JT Daniels out of high school and he’s lived up to the hype. This season he finished third in the SEC in yards per game (332.8) and threw for multiple touchdown passes in all but one game. The dual-threat athlete also got it done with his legs, rushing for 469 yards on the season, including 158 in their regular season finale against LSU. He does have a bit of a turnover problem, throwing fourteen interceptions and losing four fumbles in 9 games, but don’t expect this to change how Kiffin calls plays.

Corral will have a tougher go this week as star receiver Elijah Moore and tight end Kenny Yeboah have both opted out of the remainder of the season. Add in injury concerns with starting running back Jerrion Ealy and wide receiver Braylon Sanders, and Corral has lost almost all of his primary targets. They’ll likely have to be a bit more run focused because of this with running backs Snoop Conner and Henry Parrish Jr.

2. Any sign of life on defense?

The reason such a high-powered offensive team could be sitting with a 4-5 record on the season can be found on the defensive side of the ball. Two former Big Ten coaches, Chris Partridge (Michigan) and DJ Durkin (Maryland), are co-defensive coordinators for these bottom-feeders of the SEC. Ole Miss has already dismissed defensive line coach Deke Adams prior to the bowl game, and more changes on this side of the ball are rumored over the offseason.

Partridge and Durkin’s unit finished the season allowing 40.3 points per game. They finished dead last in the conference in rush defense, pass defense, scoring defense, and total defense. The numbers weren’t too much better nationally, either, as they finished 127th out of 127 in the FBS in yards allowed per game (535.7), 122nd in average points allowed, and once again 127th in pass yards allowed per game (324.4). They allowed opponents to convert 47% of third downs and a conference-worst 176 plays of over ten yards. Three of their five losses saw their opponents scoring over 50.

This should be an extremely inviting defense for what will be Jack Tuttle’s second ever start for the Hoosiers.

3. First bowl game since January of 2016.

It will have been five years come gameday since the Rebels last played in a bowl game. They defeated Oklahoma State on New Years Day in dominant fashion, 48-20, but postseason bans and head coaching turnover since then have kept them out of postseason play. This will be the program’s first ever Outback Bowl, and their foe is an Indiana team that head coach Lane Kiffin was “shocked” to see fall to this caliber of bowl game.

“It's just kind of like this year, there's crazy stuff in college football,” said Kiffin last Monday after bowl game matchups were announced. “I look at rankings and see USC ahead of Oregon, but Oregon just beat them. Oregon is going to the Fiesta Bowl, and these guys (Indiana) are 6-1, and they're not in a New Year's Six bowl. It's just a bizarre year in general.”

Nonetheless, Kiffin sees this as a great opportunity for his team in just his first year at the helm. The Rebels have won 13 of their last 16 bowl games, but Kiffin is 1-2 in his time as a head coach.

“I think it should be good for our players to get motivated that you're playing a great team.”

This will be the first time Ole Miss and Indiana meet in football.