The No. 22 Ole Miss Rebels (1-0) head into Week 2 with a matchup against the Central Arkansas Bears (0-1), a team they haven’t faced since 2012.
Although the Rebels won their season opener against Troy 28-10, it wasn’t the smoothest of victories that head coach Lane Kiffin was hoping to see, and he was thankful that Ole Miss wasn’t matched up with a great team in Week 1.
“As we play better teams, we wouldn’t have been able to get away with some of the things that happened in the game,” Kiffin said in Monday’s press conference. “Especially the three turnovers in one half of football.”
Kiffin did mention another way to look at it from a positive perspective.
“It forced our guys to play a little longer than maybe we would’ve wanted to, but also got them in shape. So they had to play longer and play in that heat,” Kiffin said.
It was a tough outing for quarterback Jaxson Dart, who threw for just 154 yards and gave up an interception. Kiffin did announce after the game that Luke Altmyer will get the start this week against Central Arkansas.
But make no mistake, this has nothing to do with Dart’s performance. It was planned for Altmyer to get the start in Week 2.
Think of it as sort of like the preseason in the NFL. Kiffin and his staff are still trying to figure out who they should put under center for the rest of the season, and there’s no better way to find out than to see how they perform in game action, because watching in practice can only take you so far.
“We’d like to have it figured out,” Kiffin said about the quarterback situation. “This is not ideal. Luke (Altmyer) will go first in this game, so that’ll give both guys an opportunity to go first and see how he plays.”
Wide receiver Jonathan Mingo discussed whether the offense changes when Altmyer starts as opposed to when Dart starts.
“No, it doesn’t change at all,” Mingo said at Monday’s press conference. “They’ve been rotating every week …so it’s nothing new. The job’s still the same for us: get open and catch the ball.”
Flip it over to the Ole Miss rushing attack, and the Rebels might have one of the best running back rooms in the country. There’s no question that the strength from Ole Miss’ offense is the ground game, which was on full display last week.
Running back Zach Evans lit up the stat sheet last week with 130 yards on the ground. True freshman Quinshon Judkins surprised many people with the 87 rushing yards he produced. And don’t forget about Ulysses Bentley IV who ran in for Ole Miss’ first touchdown while showing off his impressive acrobatic skills.
This running back room can cause havoc for any team’s defense, and it will be exciting to see how these three running backs develop over the course of the season.
The Rebel defense had a great showing last week, with linebacker Khari Coleman leading the charge. Coleman had eight tackles, including two sacks and five tackles for a loss against Troy.
Surprisingly, the defense looks like they are already in mid-season form. You don’t typically see a defense clicking to start out the season, unless you’re Alabama or Georgia, of course. But it was a breath of fresh air to see Ole Miss’ defense carry over their performance from last season. Even though they did play against a subpar Troy offense, it was great to see the players get after it defensively.
“They played outstanding,” safety Tysheem Johnson said about the linebacker corps. “Khari (Coleman), Troy (Brown), Austin (Keys) – I think we’ve got great linebackers. They fill in great shoes that we had to replace from last year … so, I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Look for the Rebels to come out even stronger against Central Arkansas, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Kiffin is probably making the passing game a point of emphasis during this week’s practice, so expect to see big plays through the air against a poor Central Arkansas defense.
Central Arkansas lost its Week 1 game against Missouri State 27-14. If that should tell you anything, don’t expect this game to be close for long. But that doesn’t mean the fans should leave the game early to “beat the traffic.” Show support for the full 60 minutes and it will be well worth it, knowing the team will acknowledge a packed stadium no matter which opponent they’re going up against.
Ole Miss will host Central Arkansas at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. CDT on ESPN+.
