Ole Miss Offense Preview

Ole Miss will be the second best, if not the best, offense Vanderbilt plays all year. They have an experienced OL with multiple NFL prospects, the top WR NFL prospect in the country, a home run hitter in the backfield, and a Sweet Hawaiian Prince at QB. Apparently Rev. Coach Freeze had a smart thing going- paying great recruits and all.

The Black Bears, Land Sharks, Rebels are the #6 offense in S&P+ and the #5 in Total Offense. They average 535.9 yards per game and 7.4 yards per play. They have scored 43 offensive touchdowns and average 40.8 points per game. 40 point freaking 8 points per game! Although, that does drop to 28 in conference.

They run a read option based spread (like everyone else), that uses power run to win the point of attack. This creates isolation for their playmakers, whether it is out wide or carrying the ball out of the backfield.

Jordan Ta’amu is their Sweet Hawaiian Prince. He isn’t the one you’ve heard about in Alabama. This SWP is probably just as good without the machine around him. He has 3374 yards at 64.8% completion rate for 9.67 yards per attempt. He has 17 touchdowns to five interceptions. Not only that, but he carries the ball regularly. He has 102 carries in ten games for 356 yards (counting sack yardage lost). He has six touchdowns on the ground with 5 coming inside the opponent’s ten yard line.

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AJ Brown is a 6’1” 230lbs Junior who is the top WR prospect for the 2019 NFL Draft, and the number six overall prospect. He was preseason 1st Team SEC. He already has 1047 yards for 14.5 yards per catch. He has only 5 TD’s on the year but most likely due to the Ole Miss offense utilizing more inside the Red Zone.

Other targets include DeMarkus Lodge. He has 53 catches for 706 yards and 3 TD’s. DK MetCalf is the other major target with 26 catches for 569 yards and five TD’s.

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On the ground, Scottie Phillips has 149 carries for 927 yards and 12 TD’s. He takes his carries pretty evenly on down and distance and steadily through the game. Although, he over 500 yards from first down. 10 of his 12 touchdowns have come inside the Red Zone. With Ole Miss’s offensive scheme, Phillips can get the ball on the read option and make it to the second level making LB’s miss. He has longs of 65, 44, 39, and 37. He also has two touchdowns in the receiving game.

The Rebs could be the best offense Vanderbilt faces. Although, their stats have been padded against low level non-conference games, scoring 70+ against Southern Illinois and Louisiana Monroe. Their showings against Alabama and LSU only yielded 7 and 16 points, respectively. Yet, in their last four conference games, they have averaged 30.25 points per game, with 37 in their only conference win (Arkansas).

It seems the Rebs have found their stride. They have feasted on bad defenses and exposed average and even good ones. My suggestion is take the over and hope the ‘Dores can keep up- they are a 2.5 point favorite. The Ole Miss D must be very bad.