COLLEGE GAME PREVIEW

Game Scout: Boise State vs. Ole Miss (Atlanta)

The Sports Xchange

August 27, 2014 at 9:20 am.

Mississippi Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace. Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports

Boise State vs. No. 18 Ole Miss

KICKOFF: Thursday, 8 p.m. ET
GAMEDATE: 8/28/14
SITE: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
TV: ESPN
SERIES: First meeting.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Ole Miss is days away from opening its season against Boise State, yet the 18th-ranked Rebels are going to have to wait until the ball’s kicked off before they know exactly what they’re going to get from their opponent.

Ole Miss is more than a week into preparations for Boise State, and the new-look Broncos are making formulating a game plan more difficult than usual.

Boise State has a new coach in former offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin, who left Arkansas State after one season to replace Chris Petersen. Harsin, who coordinated the Broncos’ offenses from 2006-2010, has the brought with him a new staff, including offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, who’s calling plays for the first time after spending the last three seasons as an assistant at Stanford.

“It’s definitely difficult on the (defensive) staff because the coordinator that’s been hired has not been a coordinator before,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “I’m sure he’ll take something from everywhere he’s been just like all of us did, but you’re just not quite sure what his flavor is. That’s a bit difficult.”

Arkansas State’s spread offense averaged 29.2 points in Harsin’s only season at the helm, and his background as a playcaller at Texas and Boise State gives the Rebels an inkling of what to expect. But Ole Miss will look back at all of previous stops for Harsin and Sanford to get a more complete idea of what it could see from the Broncos at the Georgia Dome on Thursday.

That also goes for the Broncos’ defense, which is breaking in a new coordinator in former Texas A&M co-defensive coordinator Marcel Yates.

All that film study won’t cover everything, which has the Rebels prepared to execute what they do regardless of any new wrinkles they may see.

“It’s difficult just because we’ve had to look at two teams and three different years of film just to kind of get a feel for what they’re going to do,” Wallace said. “But at the same time, (our) tempo, it can help us if they come out in something totally different. We can just go to tempo. That’s what I’m comfortable in.”

But Ole Miss is exhausting all avenues to get familiar with the Broncos.

“It’s not the easiest thing in the world,” Freeze said, “but it happens.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Rebels

–QB Bo Wallace enters his senior season as the dean of Southeastern Conference quarterbacks (26 starts) and ranks second in school history in total offense (7,085 yards) and passing yards (6,340). He’s also got a clean bill of health after a full offseason of rehab and strength training got his throwing shoulder back to 100 percent, which should help open up the Rebels’ no-huddle offense.

–DT Robert Nkemdiche received a ton of hype last season as the nation’s top-ranked recruit in the 2013 recruiting cycle. Acclimation and injuries slowed Nkemdiche’s production, though he showed flashes with 35 tackles in six starts. But the 6-foot-5, 290-pound sophomore has settled in on the interior on the line and has been virtually unblockable in camp. He could be in line for a breakout year.

–Speaking of breakout seasons, S Cody Prewitt went from a virtual unknown to one of the nation’s top defensive playmakers a season ago. The senior All-American, who led the SEC with six interceptions and was the Rebels’ second-leading tackler, leads an experienced secondary — Ole Miss returns every starter in the back five — with the size (6-2, 220 pounds) and instincts of a prototypical ballhawk.

–LT Laremy Tunsil has quickly morphed into one of the county’s top offensive lineman regardless of age. The 6-5, 305-pound Tunsil was one of just two freshmen nationwide to start at left tackle a season ago, and the Outland Trophy Watch lister allowed just one sack. He should be even better with a year of seasoning under his belt.

Broncos

–RB Jay Ajayi, a redshirt junior, rushed for 1,425 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2013 and is ranked the No. 6 running back prospect by NFLDraftScout.com if he decides to bypass his senior season.

–WR Matt Miller caught a school-record 88 passes for 1,140 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior. Needs 14 receptions to break the school career mark (229) set by Austin Pettis.

–QB Grant Hedrick, a senior, returns as the starter after taking the vast majority of snaps during the final seven games of 2013 in place on injured starter Joe Southwick. The Broncos went 4-3 in Hedrick’s starts.

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