After a huge win in Oxford against then-No. 4 LSU before the bye week, the No. 5 Rebels snuck past Washington State, 24-21, this past Saturday. Both the offense and defense were inconsistent.
Sluggish fans — and sluggish offense
Entering the game, the Rebel offense was averaging 530.6 total yards per game. Wide receiver Deuce Alexander was averaging 63.5 receiving yards per game, and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was posting Heisman-caliber numbers through his first three starts (400+ total yards per game).
Moreover, Washington State’s defense allowed 333 yards of total offense per game in the Cougars’ first five contests. Chambliss and the offense looked primed for another big day. Yet Ole Miss had two turnovers in the first half — one of which came when Chambliss fumbled after being sacked in the red zone.
Red zone mishaps were a theme for the Rebels. On their first two drives, the Rebels failed to come away with points after marching deep into Cougar territory. In the postgame press conference, head coach Lane Kiffin addressed these issues and suggested that Rebel players were not the only ones who looked past this game.
“I thought our red zone offense showed up like our student section did,” Kiffin said.
Even beyond the red zone, the Rebels were out of sorts. The offensive line allowed frequent pressure, and even when Chambliss had time, he continually misfired. The Rebels were still able to eke out a win against the unranked Cougars, but against No. 9 Georgia this week, the offense will need to return to the form it took against LSU.
A star in the making
Despite the offense’s woes, running back Kewan Lacy continued to impress. He added chunk plays throughout the game, which included a 14-yard rush on the first play from scrimmage. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry in the first half.
“(Lacy was) the one guy who stood out,” Kiffin said. “(He had) electric energy and was making people miss.”
One the Lacy’s best plays of the day came late in the third quarter on fourth-and-one. The Rebels ran a dive play up the middle, but Lacy was stoned by a wall of defenders; yet rather than blunder ahead blindly in a desperate attempt to move the pile, Lacy bounced the run outside and made a defender miss, then danced past the markers and kept the drive alive.
In the fourth quarter, a 23-yard rush by Lacy set up Chambliss’ long touchdown pass to wide receiver Cayden Lee. The running back finished the day with 24 rushes for 142 yards, 5.9 yards per carry.
Receiver room depth continues to be an asset
Once again, the Rebels utilized a variety of weapons in the passing game. Tight end Dae’Quan Wright continued to build off his clutch performance against LSU where he caught multiple passes on fourth down. In this game, he led Rebel pass-catchers with four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Lee also had a solid outing, with three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Yet several other receivers who have played big roles this season produced only modest numbers. Alexander, who caught three passes for 64 yards against the Tigers two weeks ago, logged only three catches for 36 yards. Harrison Wallace III, the leading receiver for the Rebels this season, did not tally a single reception.
In their absence, though, wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling stepped up. He caught six passes for 63 yards. He is now the fifth Rebel pass-catcher with over 200 receiving yards this season. So, though this might have been a game to forget for players, coaches and fans alike, the Rebels at least demonstrated that there are multiple avenues to victory.
“The number one goal of the program is to get 1-0 each week,” Kiffin said. “We got to that, and we survived.”
