Ole Miss answered a few questions during its 52-17 win over Vanderbilt.
The Rebels looked more physical against the run, created turnovers and finally showed some of the defensive havoc that had been missing earlier in the season.
The challenge now is proving that wasn’t a one-week correction against an overmatched opponent.
Missouri arrives in Oxford with one of the SEC’s better rushing attacks, a disciplined defense and a quarterback Ole Miss knows well in former Rebel Austin Simmons.
If the Rebels are going to build on last week’s momentum, they’ll have to do it against a much tougher test.
Here are the five questions whose answers will determine the outcome of Saturday’s game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Can Ole Miss repeat its run defense performance vs. Vanderbilt against Missouri?
What Ole Miss did holding the Commodores to just over 100 rushing yards and 2.8 yards per carry was a great sign, a massive improvement over what happened at Florida.
But Vanderbilt’s run game isn’t Missouri’s. This will be a much tougher test to pass.
The offense is built around a physical rushing attack that’s averaging 181.7 ypg, which ranks eighth in the SEC and 48th nationally. Jamal Roberts has back-to-back 200-yard rushing games against Florida and Texas A&M and leads the SEC with 828 yards with 5.6 yards per carry and eight touchdowns.
Seeing what Gators’ running back Jadan Baugh did three weeks ago the Rebels’ defense has to make him excited and one good game hasn’t suddenly made Ole Miss an elite run-stopping unit.
The Rebels are allowing 176.4 ypg and 4.3 ypc. They rank last in the SEC and 111th in the nation.
Those rankings won’t look much better anytime soon, but Ole Miss can show it has made serious improvements with its run defense by repeating what it did against Vanderbilt.
Can Trinidad Chambliss expose Missouri’s pass defense?
Every team has a weakness. Even the best teams have one and Missouri isn’t quite on that level.
So, its weakness is a little more obvious but puts Ole Miss’ Heisman Trophy contender in position for a big game.
Missouri’s pass defense ranks 11th in the SEC, surrendering 224.2 yards per game.
The disparity is even greater against SEC opponents. Missouri has allowed 277.3 passing ypg in its three conference games, including 360 ypg against Mississippi State and 283 ypg against Florida.
Mississippi State provided the most convincing example of how to exploit Missouri’s defense. Bulldogs quarterback Kamario Taylor completed 27 of 38 passes for 360 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-24 victory. Mississippi State generated 499 yards of total offense, the most Missouri has allowed this season.
That’s encouraging for an Ole Miss offense averaging 300.6 passing yards per game, third in the SEC and 15th nationally.
Chambliss also presents a different challenge because of his mobility. He has the ability to extend plays, escape pressure and force defensive backs to cover receivers longer than originally anticipated. That could create opportunities for Deuce Alexander and the rest of the receiving corps.
Can Ole Miss contain Cayden Lee on third downs?
The Rebels don’t need to do a lot of studying of Lee to understand what makes him a major threat. Lee did spend three seasons in Oxford, after all.
So, the answer to the “how” version of this question should be easy. Executing it is a completely different matter, but Lee has been a nightmare for defenses on third down this season.
Lee has 10 third-down conversion receptions through the Tigers’ first six games. That’s tied for the national lead and is the most by any quarterback-receiver combination in the SEC.
Eight of those conversions have come in SEC games and all 10 have combined for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
No matter the distance, whenever Missouri’s offense faces a third down the ex-Rebel will need to be accounted for…and then some.
Can Ole Miss get any production from its run game?
Even if Chambliss has all of his spell slots to cast his magical spells, he’ll need some semblance of a rushing threat so the Tigers aren’t focused solely on him.
Missouri is good at stopping the run, especially in comparison to Ole Miss.
The Tigers are allowing just 78.3 rushing ypg and 2.44 ypc. They held Florida to 42 total rushing yards, including 13 yards on 12 carries (1.1 ypc) for Jadan Baugh.
Last week against Texas A&M, they gave up just 29 total rushing yards and no touchdowns.
This is probably the best run defense Ole Miss has faced so far this season. Having Kewan Lacy (a former Missouri Tiger, if you had forgotten like Pete Golding had) fully available will be paramount. He can be to Ole Miss what Roberts is to Missouri.
But Ole Miss also has more rushing threats than just one running back. Chambliss is a threat to run, sometimes at the expense of a high-level spell slot, and Makhi Frazier and JT Lindsey have shown an ability to run the ball this season.
The Rebels don’t have to beat Missouri on the ground. Just make it respect the threat.
Can Ole Miss keep turning defensive havoc into game-changing plays?
Ole Miss finally started creating the kind of defensive disruption that had been missing in previous games during its 52-17 win over Vanderbilt.
Blake Purchase led that effort with two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. However, repeating that performance against Missouri could be considerably more difficult.
The Tigers have allowed just six sacks in six games, while quarterback Austin Simmons has thrown 14 touchdown passes against only one interception. Missouri has done an excellent job protecting its quarterback and avoiding the kinds of mistakes that can completely change a game.
If the Rebels can produce negative plays and turnovers like it did last week, they’ll make it extremely difficult for Missouri’s offense to control the game.
