Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE
The Alabama Crimson Tide had little trouble running up and down the field against Ole Miss in Oxford a year ago as they racked up 52 points on their way to a blowout victory over the Rebels.
Ole Miss has shown an improved offense through the first four weeks of the season, but they have been pretty poor on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not a surprise considering Ole Miss ranked 90th in the nation in total defense a year ago.
Despite returning seven starters on that side of the ball, Ole Miss is still extremely young on defense, and still has a dearth of talent. Of course, Hugh Freeze has made some waves on the recruiting trail since taking over in Oxford, so don’t expect the Rebels to be overmatched for a whole lot longer.
In their only legitimate test so far this season, Ole Miss was no match for Texas and allowed the Longhorns to put up 66 points at Vaught-Hemingway. Texas put up 676 yards of offense with David Ash throwing for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The Rebels had no answer for the Texas offense, and especially couldn’t stop the Longhorn passing attack. Pass defense was actually a strong suit for Colonel Reb a year ago as they ranked 22nd in the country. So far this year, Ole Miss ranks 91st in the nation and is giving up 248 yards per game through the air.
Against the run, the Rebels have been decent ranking 40th in the country, but they have yet to face an offensive line as imposing and dominant as the Crimson Tide’s.
Ole Miss’ inexperience and lack of depth figures to really come to light against Alabama’s physical offense.
To be fair, Ole Miss rebounded well a week ago as they forced four turnovers and shutout Tulane in a 39-0 victory. Of course that doesn’t say much considering the Green Wave have scored 22 points in three games this year.
The Rebels run a blitz-happy 4-2-5 defensive scheme under defensive coordinator Dave Wommack. It’s a different kind of defense than Alabama is used to facing, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ole Miss is vastly undersized and generally overmatched against Alabama.
Still, the scheme has worked some with the Rebels ranking third in the SEC in sacks with 12.
On the defensive line, Ole Miss has C.J. Johnson and Channing Ward, the top prospects from the state of Mississippi the last two years. Ward was a huge recruiting win for Hugh Freeze, and while he and Johnson have a lot of talent, they are still very young.
Uriah Grant and Bryon Bennett anchor the interior of the Ole Miss defensive line.
At linebacker, the Rebels are led by 6-foot-2 248 pound junior linebacker Mike Marry. Marry is an imposing presence, and led Ole Miss with 81 tackles a year ago. Marry is strong in run-support, but has to continue to get better against the pass for the Rebels to truly be successful running a 4-2-5.
Other than Marry, however, Ole Miss is very undersized at linebacker with the likes of Denzel Nkemdiche, Aaron Garbutt, and Brishen Matthews. Nkemdiche, the brother of super-recruit Robert Nkemdiche, has had a strong freshman season for the Rebels.
The secondary has been the main issue for Ole Miss and it was evident against Texas. The Rebs just don’t have a lot of size in the secondary, and that hurts them when it comes to defending bigger wide receivers and making plays on jump balls in one-on-one coverage.
The loss of Nickolas Brassell to transfer back in May was a big loss to the Rebels, but sophomore Cliff Coleman has stepped up this year. He leads the team with five passes defended. Accompanying Coleman is senior Wesley Pendleton.
At safety, junior Charles Sawyer leads the way. Sawyer led the team with four interceptions this year, and while he hasn’t intercepted a pass yet this season, he has played well. He had 12 tackles against Texas.
With a lot of youth, a serious lack of size, and not much depth, it would appear on paper that the Ole Miss defense is in for a long night in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. If Alabama plays up to its offensive potential, they really should be able to impose their will on an overmatched Rebels defense.
Ole Miss is improved, but they still have a long way to go to be able to seriously compete against the likes of Alabama in the SEC.
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