Three Questions Ole Miss Must Answer vs. Georgia

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT, the No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels will host a top-10 matchup against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia's entering the matchup at 7-1, 5-1 in SEC play. Ole Miss sits at 6-2, 4-2 in SEC play. Both teams are still firmly in the race to qualify for the SEC Championship game and to earn a berth in the College Football Playoff, though, particularly for Ole Miss, the path to both would get significantly harder with a loss.

In a game with such high stakes, Ole Miss will need to play near its best. Here are three questions the Rebels have to answer tonight to reach their best.

1. Can Shekai Mills-Knight Continue His Breakout?

Mississippi Rebels running back Shekai Mills-Knight runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter against Auburn. — Mississippi Rebels running back Shekai Mills-Knight runs the ball for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last week against Auburn, sophomore running back Shekai Mills-Knight got 16 carries, the most of his collegiate career so far. In those 16 carries, Mills-Knight rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Mills-Knight split carries with Makhi Frazier because Ole Miss' starting running back, Kewan Lacy, was missing time with an injury. Mills-Knight outperformed Frazier despite Frazier getting one more carry than Mills-Knight.

With Lacy missing the game against Georgia, expect the Rebels to turn to Mills-Knight once again to try to replace the missing production from Lacy. However, impressing against Auburn is one thing, but Georgia will be a significantly more difficult task. If Mills-Knight can repeat his performance, or even take a step up, he could turn into a weapon for Ole Miss' offense.

2. Will Deuce Alexander Get Out of His Slump?

Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Deuce Alexander reacts during the first quarter against the Auburn Tigers. — Mississippi Rebels wide receiver Deuce Alexander reacts during the first quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Speaking of weapons on Ole Miss' offense, it's hard to find one more dangerous than wide receiver Deuce Alexander when he's playing well.

In the Rebels' first five games of the season, Alexander was easily their best receiver, having 32 catches for 503 yards and five touchdowns. However, in the three games since, Alexander has caught just 16 passes for 166 yards and no touchdowns.

Despite Missouri being his worst game of the three-game stretch statistically, catching just three passes for 20 yards, Alexander's most recent game against Auburn is where he most obviously hurt the Rebels. Against Auburn, he caught five passes for 59 yards, but he also dropped a wide-open touchdown on a double pass from Traylon Ray and had what should've been an easy completion bounce off his hands into an interception.

Whatever has been causing Alexander's dip in performance needs to be fixed against Georgia. He doesn't have to be the version of himself that had 156 receiving yards against Louisville and 134 against LSU, although that would be ideal for Ole Miss, he just cannot be costing the team points and possessions like he did last week.

3. Can Ole Miss' Run Defense Keep Georgia's Rushing Attack in Check?

Auburn Tigers running back Jeremiah Cobb runs the ball against Mississippi Rebels safety Joenel Aguero. — Auburn Tigers running back Jeremiah Cobb runs the ball against Mississippi Rebels safety Joenel Aguero during the first quarter at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ole Miss' defense's biggest focus this week will be trying to prevent Georgia from dominating on the ground. Two times this season Ole Miss has allowed more than 200 rushing yards and both times it's resulted in losses. Coming into this game, Georgia is averaging 200 rushing yards per game.

Add that two key Ole Miss defenders, linebacker Keaton Thomas and defensive end Kam Franklin, are questionable for the game and expected to be game-time decisions, and the Rebels could be in major trouble.

The last three weeks have shown the highs and lows of the Rebels' run defense, as two weeks ago against Texas, they gave up 207 rushing yards, but Missouri and Auburn only rushed for 39 and 63 yards each.

Whichever version of Ole Miss' run defense shows up tonight in Oxford could very well be the deciding factor in whether the Rebels take the win.

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