COLUMN: Gritty Play, Coaching Decisions Vault Ole Miss Past Tulane

Despite struggles early, fourth quarter decisions and early-season grit propelled the Ole Miss Rebels to a double-digit win vs. a ranked opponent in the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday

In the first half, former SEC member Tulane proved it could compete with the best conference in college football. The Green Wave defensive line did a fantastic job halting the Rebels' notoriously rapid offense, raising concerns early for Ole Miss fans.

A big part of the Rebels' early struggles was the inability to establish the run game. Headed into halftime, the Rebels had only accounted for 30 yards on the ground, and this is with one of the nation's top runners, Quinshon Judkins.

Last season, the Rebels offensive line was top tier. The red, white and blue owned the conference's top rushing attack by more than 20 yards per game over the next best team.

Tulane was all over quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first half after the Rebels opened the scoring just 48 seconds into play. There is no way to sugarcoat it: the Rebels offensive line simply got dissected by the Green Wave defensive squad early on.

Headed into the locker room at half, Ole Miss found itself trailing by 10 points. The offense only accounted for 183 yards during the half and were 1-for-8 on third down conversions. Not to mention, 75 of those yards came within the first three plays of the game.

The Ole Miss defense was immense in the second half, sparking life for the Rebels to gain momentum on the other side of the ball. After a few back and forth punts, Tulane found itself marching down the field in the third quarter, but a big play forced a fourth down incomplete pass with heavy pressure.

Dart was able to throw a couple of underneath check downs that set up Judkins to knot the scoring at 17 apiece with 6:11 left in the third.

Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis hit a 56-yard field goal--just three yards short of the longest field goal in school history. This put the Rebels up by two scores and undeniably sealed the deal in New Orleans.

The 56-yard boot from Davis is tied for the longest kick of the 2023 season. Lane Kiffin showed evident trust in Davis after letting him attempt the 56 yarder after a five-yard infraction on fourth and one setting them back. As a coach, you do not put Davis in the driver's seat if you don’t believe he has the leg and accuracy to knock it down.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but an undeniable team effort from the coaching staff down to the field helped catapult Ole Miss to a double-digit victory against a ranked opponent.

With the toughest schedule in college football, it was a good test early, and with the team showing it is able to handle adversity early on in the season, it should be a boost of confidence as it heads into the brunt of the schedule.

In all, it was a gritty win for Lane Kiffin and his squad, but the offensive line and rushing attack will simply have to improve moving forward for the Rebels to meet expectations.