Ole Miss Made Auburn Look Easy But Georgia Will Demand Much More

Ole Miss was able to overcome issues to defeat Auburn, but will have to be much better against Georgia.

Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and wide receiver Horatio Fields react after a touchdown during the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Saturday, the No. 12 Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Auburn Tigers 45-15 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Despite the Rebels' 30-point victory, Ole Miss had a fairly slow start, only leading 14-9 at halftime. Next week, when the Rebels play No. 2 Georgia, they won't have the luxury of starting slow if they want to win and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Here's what Ole Miss has to do to beat Georgia next week.

Offense Can't Start Slow Again

Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss passes the ball during the first quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In Ole Miss' last two games against Texas and Auburn, the team only scored three and 14 points by halftime in each contest, respectively. Against Texas, Ole Miss scored 24 points in its comeback attempt, and against Auburn, it scored 31 points to pull away in the second half.

Both of Ole Miss' two first-half touchdowns came in the second quarter, as the first quarter was marked by a sloppy start. The worst play of the first quarter was wide receiver Deuce Alexander dropping a wide-open touchdown on a double pass from wide receiver Traylon Ray.

The passing game, in general, started slowly, since both opening-half touchdowns came on goal-line rushes by defensive lineman Will Echoles and running back Shekai Mills-Knight.

Against Auburn, Mills-Knight had somewhat of a breakout game, getting the most carries for the Rebels for the first time in his college career. His 16 carries turned into 71 yards and a touchdown.

Ole Miss running back Makhi Frazier got 17 carries for 56 yards and no touchdowns. Frazier had 3.3 yards per carry compared to Mills-Knight's 4.4.

Next week, Mills-Knight needs to be the main rusher for the Rebels. At this point, he is the only running back not named Kewan Lacy with the highest potential for the rest of the season and into the future.

Another change involving the Rebels' rushing game that needs to be made for the Georgia game is getting quarterback Trinidad Chambliss' legs involved. Chambliss has rushed for a touchdown in all but two games this season, and his playmaking ability out of structure is one of his best traits.

Chambliss has been off the past three games. He's been missing routine throws and having miscommunications with his receivers, which have both contributed to the slow starts offensively.

Ole Miss' defense is playing at a high level in a way the offense isn't, but they also have slipped up in recent games by allowing 34 points to Texas.

The Rebels are undeniably talented, but very inconsistent. They can't afford to keep that trend going against the No. 2 team in the country in Georgia. It'll take four quarters of championship-level play for the Rebels to beat Georgia this Saturday, and so far this season, they haven't been able to perform for all four quarters consistently.

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