Ole Miss Has 1 Goal On Each Side of the Ball They Must Accomplish vs. Charlotte

What both sides of the ball for Ole Miss have to focus on before tomorrow's game against Charlotte.

Ole Miss Rebels place kicker Lucas Carneiro celebrates the game winning field goal against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This week, the Ole Miss Rebels will look to build momentum on both sides of the ball against Charlotte after a 41-38 ranked win against Louisville in Week 1.

In the Week 1 game, the Rebels' offense looked up to par, especially QB Trinidad Chambliss and wide receiver Deuce Alexander. The defense, however, struggled much more.

Before the last game of a challenging SEC schedule, let's take a look at what the main goal should be for Ole Miss' offense and defense.

Offense: Keep Trinidad Chambliss Hot

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss walks off the field against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Despite a slow start against Louisville, Trinidad Chambliss ended the game with more than 300 yards and four touchdowns.

His performance was necessary for the Rebels to squeak out a walk-off win, while running back Kewan Lacy left the game early with an injury. A focus this week will be getting Lacy and others who were banged up healthy, but nothing will mean as much as keeping your star QB's momentum going.

Lacy only having 61 yards on 17 carries before his injury creates doubt on his, or really his offensive line's, ability to create gaps to produce in the run game should the passing game not be effective against LSU.

The Rebels need Trinidad Chambliss to be the passer he was in the second half of the Louisville game and to show up against LSU, and really for the rest of the season. If he wants to be that QB, he needs a nice performance against Charlotte.

Defense: Get the Secondary in Shape

Louisville Cardinals running back Isaac Brown is gang tackled by Ole Miss Rebels during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kam Franklin predicts Ole Miss will "dominate" Charlotte, and he very well could be right, but this week has to be about fixing a defensive effort that allowed for a standout performance from Louisville QB Lincoln Kienholz in the three-point loss.

It felt like the Rebels' defensive backs were just getting beaten on every play of the second half of the Week 1 game against Louisville. Kienholz finished with more than 350 yards and three touchdowns total.

If Kienholz can look like this in his first start since high school in 2022, imagine what QBs coming later on the schedule, like Sam Leavitt, Arch Manning, Gunnar Stockton, John Mateer and Kamario Taylor could do against this defense.

The defense also needs to use this week to get healthy after some injuries, but again, with how close Week 1 ended up being, the main focus needs to be on getting players ready for the grueling SEC schedule coming up, starting September 19 against LSU.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.