Oklahoma has Opportunity Against an Ole Miss Defense That's Struggled This Season

While Ole Miss' offense has been fantastic this season, the Rebels' defense hasn't been as sharp.

Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding watches during warm ups prior to the game against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium last season. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

NORMAN — The talking points sounded similar every time Oklahoma players and coaches were asked about Ole Miss’ defense this week leading up to Saturday’s showdown between the No. 8 Rebels and 13th-ranked Sooners.

“They’ve got a lot of talented players, good scheme,” OU quarterback John Mateer said. “ They mix it up, and they’re going to bring different things at you.”

It’s hard to argue about Ole Miss’ scheme.

Defensive coordinator Pete Golding helped build one of the best defenses in the country last season, as the Rebels led the nation in both sacks (52) and tackles for loss (120). They were also second nationally in rush defense, allowing just 80.5 yards per game.

“He’s really good, been really successful, and every single week,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said of Golding. “It just shows up that these guys are ready to come play football. I think that’s a mark of a really good coach. You get your guys consistently every week to play hard and ready to play ball within your scheme, then that’s impressive to me. And he seems to do that.”

But stars like Walter Nolen, Trey Amos and JJ Pegues are now gone — three of six Ole Miss defenders who were taken in this year’s NFL Draft.

The Rebels have taken a significant step backward on defense this season.

Ole Miss comes into Saturday’s game (11 a.m., ABC) tied for 119th in tackles for loss, 106th in sacks per game and 98th in rushing yards allowed per game.

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“We have good players and good effort,” Golding said. “What we need now is consistency — especially in the communication and pursuit areas.”

Ole Miss has had its moments defensively. 

The Rebels held LSU to 57 yards on the ground in a 24-19 win over the Tigers on Sept. 27, and held Tulane to 282 yards of total offense the week before.

But Ole Miss has particularly struggled against the run, allowing 166.7 yards per game on the ground.

Oklahoma has struggled to run the ball for much of the season, especially from the running back spot.

But the Sooners had more success last week ago at South Carolina, when freshman Tory Blaylock ran for 101 yards and Xavier Robinson had 56 yards on 11 carries. Each scored a touchdown.

“I’ve said it before — running the ball, it makes everything easier,” Arbuckle said. “It makes No. 10 (Mateer)’s life easier. It makes my life easier as a play-caller. It makes those receivers’ lives easier. Whenever you’re able to run the ball, believe it or not, it actually makes the offensive line’s life a lot easier too. It’s important establishing the line of scrimmage and winning the line of scrimmage in the run game.”

Last week in a 43-35 Ole Miss loss to Georgia, the Bulldogs were 11 of 15 on third down.

“We just didn’t finish when we had a chance to,” Rebels coach Lane Kiffin said.