Rebels look to rev offense in SEC games
Ole Miss is 4-2 overall, 0-2 in SEC play, a position many predicted for the Rebels at the midway point of the season.
However, much of the fan base has taken a glass-half-empty response to the Rebels’ accomplishments.
It’s not so troubling that Ole Miss dropped its first two conference games against No. 1 Alabama and then-No. 5 LSU, but it is that the Rebels struggled to compete and have been outscored 107-23.
The SEC results are in stark contrast to the non-SEC results, as the Rebels are coming off a 70-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
The Rebels scored 49 points in the first half and compiled a school record 826 yards against ULM. Their 526 total yards in the first half would rank No. 3 in the SEC in total offense for complete games.
“It was a good team win,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said. “We were pleased with a lot of things, especially offensively. We were really efficient with what we did.”
Such has been the way for the Ole Miss offense outside the SEC, but it’s an all-SEC schedule from here on out.
Ole Miss coaches have pointed out that they’ve played two of the best defenses in the conference.
That won’t be the case this week when the Rebels travel to Little Rock to face Arkansas, which has had similar struggles under first-year coach Chad Morris.
No SEC defense will be an easy task. Arkansas has been an effective run-stopping team but has proven vulnerable to a good passing offense, which Ole Miss definitely has shown in non-conference play.
The Razorbacks and the Rebels are the only SEC teams allowing more than 30 points a game, and Ole Miss begins the week No. 3 in the SEC and No. 18 nationally in passing offense.
Part of the Rebels’ struggles defensively, after a promising start against Texas Tech, is due to multiple injuries in the secondary. Cornerback Jaylon Jones — their best defensive back — and safeties Montrell Custis and C.J. Moore have all been lost for the season.
The Rebels have mostly avoided injury on the offensive side, though wide receiver A.J. Brown has at times been limited with a hamstring issue that has lingered since August camp.