There’s no nice way to put it. Georgia quite simply overpowered Ole Miss on Saturday night in Athens. Annihilation. Demolition. Destruction. You pick the word, and it would likely fit with what we all saw. For the last three quarters, it really was that ugly.
But that doesn’t mean it was all bad for the Rebels. While rare, there were a few takeaways from the play on the field that could potentially be looked at as positives moving forward. However, what the game could mean in terms of Ole Miss’ future could be the most important part of the night.
Positives From the Game Itself
The obvious positive for Rebel fans is the fact that the game is over. It was rough to watch. But in all seriousness, the continued emergence of Dayton Wade has been huge. For any regular watcher of Ole Miss games, you’ve likely grown used to seeing Wade make crazy catches. And yes, he had another one against Georgia.
Another week, another insane Dayton Wade catch 🤯@__vierr | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/AdTnL7RJs9
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 12, 2023
But it wasn’t just the hands from Wade that caught people’s attention. It was also his willingness to make plays away from the ball that is worth pointing out. For instance, his block that ended up freeing up Quinshon Judkins on the Rebels’ first touchdown is noteworthy. After all, it’s a play that many receivers aren’t always willing to make.
Everyone is talking about the catch of the year by Dayton Wade but how about this block for the touchdown by the 5’9 175 pound WR pic.twitter.com/Nwz0jBtWBJ
— Kÿłé (@OleMissFB3) November 12, 2023
Though he’s a senior and it’s late in the season, plays like these are why he’s become a fan favorite and could prove to be vital over the last few weeks of the season.
Apart from the performance of Wade, there were mostly only negatives on the field for the Rebels. The passing game never got going (173 yards), the rushing attack was barely decent (179 yards on 45 carries, 4.0 yards per carry), the offensive line started banged up and ended up in worse shape, and the defense was nonexistent. However, with the right mindset, there is a silver lining in what everyone witnessed this weekend.
The Silver Lining
Georgia is a well-oiled machine. Although somewhat cliche, it’s arguably the most accurate way to describe the Bulldogs. They’ve won back-to-back national titles, their offense is one of the most efficient we’ve seen in recent memory, and the defense, while not as dominant as years past, is still tremendous.
They also happened to give Ole Miss a preview of what it is the Rebels themselves are striving to become. If Lane Kiffin and company can learn from what they saw, there’s a bright future ahead for Ole Miss football. But how would they get there?
Recruiting
This is the obvious one. To become a better football team, you need better players. That starts with recruiting. Now, it is safe to say that it’s a little harder to get five-star talent to Oxford than it is to places like Athens, Tuscaloosa, Austin, etc. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Hugh Freeze showed that in his time as the head coach at Ole Miss (we can quibble about whether he did it through legal means.) While recruiting has certainly gotten better under Kiffin, it isn’t where it could be.
One reason for that is the love affair with the transfer portal. While the portal is important, oftentimes you’re simply getting guys for one year. Taking into account the time it takes to get used to a new system, and get comfortable with new teammates, sometimes it seems like a shorter time period than that. The portal is there to sure up a few holes that may be missing. Not necessarily to create an entire roster out of transfers. At times, it seems as if the Rebels coaching staff views it the opposite way.
If they could get more high school talent in, to go along with the success in the portal, this could become a roster to keep an eye on.
Defensive Scheme
This is one that many people gloss over, but it’s one to address. While the defense has shown some improvements this season under new defensive coordinator Pete Golding, there are still questions to ask. And one of those questions is one that Alabama fans asked plenty of times while Golding was the DC in Tuscaloosa.
Is his defensive scheme too complex?
In today’s football, with the speed involved, there needs to be more reaction than there is thinking. With Golding’s defenses, it seems like there’s a slower reaction time than there should be. It’s obvious this year in Oxford, and it was obvious in his time at Alabama. That was when he was primarily dealing with better talent than he is this season. If those guys are struggling a bit to learn the system, it may be time to adjust.
Golding is an extremely intelligent guy. If we can see where the issues are with his defenses, then surely he can, too. There doesn’t need to be a complete overhaul of the scheme, just slight adjustments in a few areas that could improve efficiency.
Size At the Line of Scrimmage
This is a problem that has plagued Ole Miss seemingly for eternity. They simply look small against bigger, more physical teams. While Kiffin wants to run an up-tempo offense, it’s predicated on the run first. Against smaller, more finesse teams, the Rebels are typically successful. Against bigger defensive lines, they normally get pushed around and bullied.
The same goes for their defensive line. Take this season for instance. Through eight games, Ole Miss was fourth in the nation in sacks. In their last two games, Texas A&M and Georgia, they’ve recorded one sack combined. It’s worth noting that Texas A&M and Georgia have two of the better offensive lines in the country.
The Rebels can be a consistent 9-10-win team every season with where things sit currently. They’ve shown that over the past few seasons under Kiffin. However, if they plan on taking that next step, they have to get bigger up front.
The Bottom Line
The Rebels have improved greatly under Kiffin. On both sides of the ball. And while virtually everyone in Oxford is happy about where the program is, and the way things have been trending, that doesn’t mean they’re ready for primetime quite yet. However, with a few key focuses, Ole Miss’ future could potentially be that bright.
Some things have to improve in a big way if they want to become known as a legitimate national contender. The good news is that Georgia showed them firsthand what that looks like in the 52-17 drubbing on Saturday night. The only question now is whether the Rebels can make the improvements needed and take that next step forward.
