One weakness Ole Miss has had has been in the red zone. They have had difficulty punching it in when down close to the goal line. They have lined up in the wildcat fy ormation and when they have brought in Jeremy Liggins, the big 300 pounder to try to run it in, they have been stopped. Just too slow getting back to the line of scrimmage and not enough push from the offensive line.
In the two wins over the two cupcakes, UT-Martin and Fresno State, and the win over Alabama, Ole Miss has been a big play offense. What has meant is that their defense has been on the field a lot and in the Alabama game their defense was "gassed" in the second half. They might try to rotate more players in and out on defense.
They have had a weak running game ever since Freeze has been the head coach. Jaylen Watkins, their go to back, is very quick and can break the long one, but he is a "smurf" and can get snuffed out when trying to go between the tackles. Our defensive line has got to not over pursue or he can run by you. So can Kelly The Ole Miss offensive line has been a weak point and doesn't help them that Laremy Tunsil who is from just up the road in Lake City has been benched due to concerns about an NCAA investigation.
Chad Kelly has a very quick release and is a pretty good runner -- better than what a lot of people think. But if he is pressurized he can crack. Witness his heave pass when he was being tackled against Alabama which could have easily been intercepted and return for a pick 6. Instead Treadwell going up the Alabama receiver tipped the ball and Adeboyjo caught in on the run, and lucky Ole Miss turned it into a 66 yard touchdown highlight reel play. Kelly had a lot of balls batted down by Alabama and Vanderbilt.
Watch the "pop pass" where Kelly will take off running to the outside, stop just before the line of scrimmage, and when the defender commits to stop the run, Kelly will throw a soft pass into a waiting wide open receiver. He burned Alabama on this play. Also our defense needs to watch for the double pass -- the pass to a running back behind the line of scrimmage who will throw down field to another receiver. Treadwell might still be a little tentative from his broken fibula fracture and dislocated ankle injury he suffered in the Auburn game last year. Vernon Hargreaves versus Laquon Treadwell -- it just doesn't get any better than that.
Ole Miss is really good at open field tackling. You won't see a lot of arm tackling or ball stripping. They get their feet set, tackle head on, and wrap up. Ole Miss has been good at putting offenses in third and long. This will not be good for Grier if he is in an obvious passing situation and having to face a strong pass rush. It also means Kelvin Taylor is going to have to step up and get some good solid gains on first and second downs.
i haven't seen it mentioned much that we have Geoff Collins who was the defensive coordinator a Mississippi State. He should know something about Freeze's offense and its tendencies. This can't hurt having Collins on our sideline.
