There’s been plenty of time for both Ole Miss and Georgia to look back at their previous meeting in October.
That also means the Rebels and Bulldogs have had lots of time to fix the problems that lost the Rebels the game and nearly the game for the Bulldogs.
For Ole Miss, there are three stats that can’t be repeated this time in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal match in the Sugar Bowl.
It’s not guaranteed that if any of these three are repeated that Ole Miss will lose. After all, the Rebels had a two possession lead in the fourth quarter last time.
Here are three stats Ole Miss can’t repeat (or allow Georgia to repeat) if the Rebels want advance to the CFP semifinals:
Georgia’s 221 rushing yards
The Bulldogs exposed the Ole Miss defense’s inability to stop rushing attacks.
The Rebels are allowing opponents to gain 150.5 yards per game on the ground and Georgia had one of the biggest totals.
That led to other things like Georgia having an entire quarter’s worth more time of possession (37:36-22:21). That much time spent trying to stop a rushing attack with tire out a defense and it showed as the Bulldogs scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss will need to find a way to slow down the Georgia rushing attack.
Georgia’s 0 punts
The rushing yards also played a big role in this stat, too. The Bulldogs didn’t find themselves behind the sticks too many times and even they were, they converted.
“Early in the game, we got them into some third-and-long situations. Against any team, that puts you in position to get off the field and get the ball back to your offense,” Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. “The issue was they converted those third-and-longs. So, when we get them behind the sticks, we have to execute at a very high level and finish those drives defensively.”
Getting off the field, of course, is a lot easier said than done. It requires not allowing gains on first and second downs, but also executing on third down. That’s a lot of opportunities for a mistake to happen and the offense stay on the field.
But getting off the field will go a long way slowing down Georgia’s rushing attack, keep the time of possession closer and keep defenders fresher for the fourth quarter.
Kewan Lacy’s 31 rushing yards
Yes, Lacy had two touchdown runs but those two runs gained a total of two yards. For the game, Lacy had 12 carries for 31 yards. As a team, the Rebels had just 88 rushing yards on 24 carries.
Ole Miss had to rely more on its passing game to move the ball, but that resulted in just one touchdown. Trinidad Chambliss also had two rushing touchdowns.
Also, Chambliss was 19-for-36 throwing the ball. That’s a 61.2 completion percentage, which is good. But it didn’t help keep the Rebels’ defense off the field or reduce the margin in time of possession.
Having one of the Rebels’ best players run for more 31 yards will help with that.
