Underrated Ole Miss Rushing Attack Awaiting Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When you start to scout Ole Miss, the conversation has an unquestioned starting point. Head coach Lane Kiffin has long been known for his up-tempo and high flying offensive style, while quarterback Matt Corral and his powerful arm helps aid the Rebels in spreading the ball all over the field.
While Louisville is undoubtedly expecting an onslaught through the air, Ole Miss is far from a one-note offense. In fact, not only do they have a good rushing attack, it might be one of the most underrated ground games in all of college football.
Last season, the Rebels averaged 344.9 passing yards per game, which ranked seventh in FBS. On top of that, they also posted 210.6 rushing yards per game, which not only came in at 26th in the nation, but led the FBS.
Most of this effort is spearheaded junior running back Jerrion Ealy, who returns for his junior season in Oxford. In 2020, he rushed for 745 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry in the process. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound back plays much more physical than his frame suggests, and has good overall speed to boot.
"The running game is really good, and it's not just the running back. They motion some receivers in the backfield, running some jet sweeps with them, and doing certain things with the backs and receivers," Louisville defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "They've done a tremendous job of just putting the guys in position to be able to make plays both with run, as well as the pass."
But he's not the only one to look out for. Despite being listed as the fourth string running back, Snoop Conner still managed to run for 421 yards and eight scores last season. Even after throwing for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns, Corral still finished as the Rebels' second-leading rusher with 506 yards and four touchdowns of his own on the ground.
"When we first started studying him in the offseason, I was hoping he couldn't run, but he can," head coach Scott Satterfield quipped during his weekly pre-game press conference.
And it's not just because of the efforts of the guys running the balls. Ole Miss has a pretty solid offensive line, to the point that Brown thinks it could be the most underrated part of the Rebels' entire offense. The stats back up this claim, as most of their run-based offensive line metrics from Football Outsiders were in the top 50 in all of FBS last season.
"The offensive line is really good," Brown said. They got a transferring center from Utah (Orlando Umana), that I think fit in perfectly with those guys, being able to move big Ben (Brown) to guard. I think the offensive line is really, really good up front."
Louisville will absolutely have to prepare for the Ole Miss passing attack, but how they respond to the Rebels' ground game could very well be the difference in a win and a loss. Last season, this was a weakness of the Cardinals, as they surrendered 179.9 rushing yards per games (80th in FBS).
But with guys like YaYa Diaby and Ramon Puryear stepping up amongst the front seven, as well as the building of depth along the defensive line heading into the season, the Louisville coaching staff likes their chances of improving in this area.
Kickoff against Ole Miss in the annual Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game, down at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 6 at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.
(Photo of Jerrion Ealy: Christopher Hanewinckel - USA TODAY Sports)
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