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Lane Kiffin is sitting in luxury right now. The Ole Miss head coach has yet to reach his offense’s full potential this season. They still won 28-10 over the No.2 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.
Their top receiver, Tre Harris, didn’t even play on Saturday. Neither did the Rebel’s leading rusher, Henry Parrish Jr.
Parrish went down with what appeared to be a severe left leg injury in the Rebel’s win against Arkansas in Week 9. Parrish is sixth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing with 678 yards and ten touchdowns.
Despite these two significant losses to the offense, they have proved they can cruise by operating at 70% to 80% offensively and still win big because of their defense.
Rebel’s Defense
When No. 10 Ole Miss defeated Georgia Saturday, one of the main stories of the game was the Rebel defense. The defense accounted for five sacks, nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception.
Ole Miss defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen brought pressure all night long on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. The Florida transfer tallied six total pressures and two sacks. He finished with a 90.1 pass rush grade according to PFF.
Following this game, Umanmielen was named SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week.
https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1856073663860150477
One thing Kiffin has when he has a defense like this one, is opportunity. Opportunities are created every time the defense touches the field. The chance to get the ball more and get more possessions. Once they get those possessions, then more opportunities touch the field when quarterback Jaxson Dart gets back out there.
Opportunities on the Offense
In the Rebels’ dominating 63-31 win over Arkansas, Dart set Ole Miss’ record for yards passing and touchdowns throws in a single game.
Dart threw four scores and 321 yards in just the first half. He found receiver Jordan Watkins on five of his six touchdowns, including one for 62 yards and another for 66 on back-to-back drives. Dart eventually finished 25 of 31 passing for 515 yards with six touchdowns. Watkins has also had an impressive last three games with five touchdowns, and over 300 receiving yards.
Dart joins Missouri’s Drew Lock as the only SEC players with 500 passing yards and six passing touchdowns in a game in SEC history.
Jaxson Dart is AP’s national player of the week for Week 10, setting a Mississippi record with 515 passing yards and 562 total yards in a 63-31 win at Arkansas, breaking Archie Manning’s 1969 record. https://t.co/K5ifQZsRcP pic.twitter.com/bBpJtNUGQu
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 4, 2024
Can’t stop, won’t stop
The result of the Rebel’s win on Saturday not only soared them into the thick of the College Football Playoff discussion, but it also is starting to have massive implications on the recruiting trail.
On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham, the No. 16 overall player in the 2025 class, flipped his commitment from the Alabama Crimson Tide to Ole Miss. Cunningham has been committed to play for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide since July.
Cunningham is rated as the No. 2 wide receiver in the class and the No. 1 player in the state of Mississippi.
Ole Miss now has the No. 16 ranked recruiting class in the 2025 cycle, headlined by Cunningham.
BREAKING: Five-Star WR Caleb Cunningham has Flipped his Commitment from Alabama to Ole Miss, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’3 190 WR from Ackerman, MS had been Committed to the Crimson Tide since July
“Sip Made, Sip Stayed”https://t.co/No8axBuzsT pic.twitter.com/BbzHLLztAc
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 13, 2024
Following the BYE week
The Rebels are off this week, but their eyes are already shifting to their next showdown against the Florida Gators in Gainesville on Nov.23.
Ole Miss and Florida will kick off the Week 13 slate with an 12 a.m. ET game on ABC. This will mark the second game in three weeks where the Rebels are featured in the SEC on ABC triple header.
