Halftime Adjustments Proving Huge For Ole Miss in Early-Season Bouts
Through three weeks of the 2023 season, the No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels are a second half team.
Last season, Lane Kiffin's Rebels oftentimes struggled out of the gate following the intermission, but after some hard-fought games to open action this fall, they have seemingly reversed that trend, outscoring their opponents 100-23 in the second half and a whopping 49-7 in the third quarter.
That's come in handy the last two weeks.
In Week 2 against the Tulane Green Wave, the Rebels entered the half trailing on the road. That game wasn't pretty in many aspects for Ole Miss, but the Rebels did outscore Tulane 30-3 down the stretch to secure the win. A full 27 of those points came in the second half alone.
Last week against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Ole Miss took a lead into the half, albeit a small one at 10-3. In the second half, however, Georgia Tech seemed ready to remain in the game until a scoring flurry late from the Rebels, putting up 14 points in the third quarter and 24 in the fourth.
As SEC play opens this week for Ole Miss, that's big.
The Rebels are hampered by injuries on offense. Tre Harris, Zakhari Franklin and Caden Prieskorn have all been sidelined in recent weeks, making Jaxson Dart's list of passing targets suddenly slim. As they get healthy, being able to make adjustments at halftime will be crucial if the first half begins slowly.
Throw in the fact that Pete Golding now leads the Ole Miss defense from a coaching perspective, and locker room adjustments have been evident on his side of the ball as well, although Lane Kiffin hasn't put his finger on what's made that possible through three weeks.
"We've got to be up there in second half and fourth quarter scoring margin in the entire country," Kiffin said on Saturday after his team's win over Georgia Tech. "I don't know (what's made that possible). I can be one of those coaches that takes all the credit and says it's a halftime speech, but I think it's the players continuing to execute, making the plays better and doing better in situations."
With a road trip to the No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide looming this Saturday, Kiffin's team will not just need a good second half performance, but a full game in Tuscaloosa. Still, it should help Rebel fans to know that if the first half isn't perfect, this team has the ability to right the ship at halftime moving forward.
