Week four of the college football season is here, and with it comes a few big-time matchups. It also comes with a few smaller matchups. One of those is Ole Miss vs Georgia Southern. In that matchup, the Rebels find themselves trying to close out their non-conference slate undefeated, before moving on to SEC play. For the Eagles, they look to move to 3-1 on the year, with a huge upset win.
In terms of the series between these two, they’ve only met one other time on the gridiron. Back in 2016, Ole Miss held on to win 37-27 in a game that saw the Eagles jump out to an early 14-3 lead before the Rebels largely took over. So can Georgia Southern pull off the upset, or will Ole Miss continue to dominate, as they have for much of the season to date?
Connections Between the Schools
There are plenty of connections between these two schools currently. To start, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin hired now Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton while he was at USC back in 2010. At the time, Helton was hired as the quarterbacks coach. In 2013, Kiffin promoted Helton to the offensive coordinator role. Following Kiffin’s firing, Helton became the interim head coach for the Trojans. Later, he would be named the permanent head coach at USC. Now, both are having success at different jobs.
Another connection is at the quarterback position. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was originally committed to Helton while he was still at USC. Following Helton’s firing, and the hiring of Lincoln Riley, Dart eventually transferred from USC to Ole Miss.
Regardless of what takes place on the field, the respect between the two coaches, and the Rebels quarterback, will always be there.
What to Expect From Georgia Southern
On the offensive side for the Eagles, the key will be to have the ability to move the ball through the air. While the Ole Miss secondary looks as if it has improved, it’s still the weakest part of the Rebel secondary. If quarterback JC French and company can have success throwing the football, there’s going to be a chance for Georgia Southern to put some points on the board.
As for the Georgia Southern defense, they’re facing a tall task, especially on the ground. Through three games, they’ve already given up 710 yards rushing. That’s come against Boise State, Nevada, and South Carolina State. Against an Ole Miss team that has one of the best offenses in the country, and one that has managed to stay extremely balanced on the year, the defensive woes have to be a major concern for Helton and his squad.
Expect the Eagles to try to turn this game into an offensive slugfest, as that’s likely the only real chance they have at pulling the upset.
What to Expect From Ole Miss
On the other sideline, expect the goal to be for Ole Miss to keep the ball on the ground. After all, if Georgia Southern hasn’t shown the ability to stop the run, why not try to exploit the weakness? With that, look for Henry Parrish Jr. to have a huge day.
However, in a Kiffin system, with Dart’s talent, he’s also going to have plenty of chances to fling the ball around. This feels like a game that we see the Rebels use the passing game primarily as a deep threat. While Dart has been historically efficient so far this year, don’t expect many short or intermediate throws in this one. Ole Miss is going to use the run to open the deep routes that can lead to busted coverages and easy scores. That could lead to big days from guys like Tre Harris or Juice Wells.
On the defensive side, it all starts up front for Ole Miss. If the defensive line can get to French, they will likely continue to look as dominant as they have so far this season. It is worth pointing out that they will be without one of their best defensive linemen. Jared Ivey sprained his ankle last weekend and is expected to miss an indefinite amount of time. While unfortunate news for Rebel fans, it shouldn’t be a huge issue this week. There’s plenty of depth to suffice during his absence. During that time, expect bigger contributions from guys like Suntarine Perkins and Princely Umanmielen.
Bottom Line and Prediction
While Georgia Southern has been one of the best mid-major teams over the past few years, the problems on the defensive side of the ball are likely to create major problems for them in this one. Early on, things may stay close. But in the end, the Rebels rushing attack is going to wear down that already suspect rush defense.
On the flip side, the Eagles will likely be able to get the ball in the end zone, though. That would be news, considering that Ole Miss is yet to surrender a touchdown on the year. Despite a touchdown or two, it won’t be enough for Georgia Southern to pull off the upset. Expect the Rebels to rush for 250+ yards, and cruise to an easy victory, as they prepare for conference play to start next weekend.
Ole Miss 45, Georgia Southern 13
