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Ole Miss Scouting Report / Preview

daddyhoosier

Junior
Aug 31, 2019
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300px-Outback_Bowl_Logo.svg.png

Who – Indiana Hoosiers (6-1), Big Ten vs Ole Miss Rebels (4-5), Southeastern Conference

What - Outback Bowl

When – January 2, 2021, 11:30 AM EST

Where – Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, FL /
OIP.EMmDP3-8gfl2NTDp98WRgAHaHa


Bowl History
*All-American Bowl, Birmingham 1977-1985
Hall of Fame Bowl, Tampa 1986-1995
Outback Bowl, Tampa 1996-present

About
Outback is the longest-running title sponsorship of any college bowl game (26 years). The Outback Bowl has been part of the New Year's Bowl lineup for over 30 years and has had an estimated economic impact of over $1 billion in the Tampa region.

This will be the first Outback Bowl appearance for both Indiana and Ole Miss. It is also the first ever meeting of the two schools.

Bowl Record
Ole Miss 23-14 | Last win – 2016 Sugar Bowl | Won 11 of last 13 appearances
Indiana 3-10 | Last win – 1991 Copper Bowl | 4th appearance in 6 years

Indiana_Hoosiers_Anodized_Riddell_Speed_Authentic_Football_Helmet_f074700a-8ede-465a-a8bf-410b340f2081_1024x1024.jpg
3002078_1.jpg


Statistical Head to Head

Ole Miss Scoring Offense 40.7 (13th) vs Indiana Scoring Defense 19.4 (19th)

Indiana Scoring Offense 30.1 (54th) vs Ole Miss Scoring Defense 40.3 (121st)

Ole Miss Pass Offense 344.8 (6th) vs Indiana Pass Defense 226.0 (58th)

Indiana Pass Offense 258.0 (39th) vs Ole Miss Pass Defense 324.4 (127th)

Ole Miss Rush Offense 217.67 (20th) vs Indiana Rush Defense 135.71 (32nd)

Indiana Rush Offense 100.14 (118th) vs Ole Miss Rush Defense 211.22 (104th)

Ole Miss Total Offense 562.4 (3rd) vs Indiana Total Defense 361.7 (36th)

Indiana Total Offense 358.1 (95th) vs Ole Miss Total Defense 535.7 (127th)

Ole Miss Explosive Passes per game 5.22 vs Indiana Explosive Passes Allowed per game 3.43

Indiana Explosive Passes per game 3.14 vs Ole Miss Explosive Passes Allowed per game 4.22

Ole Miss Explosive Rushes per game 7.89 vs Indiana Explosive Rushes Allowed per game 4.71

Indiana Explosive Rushes per game 2.57 vs Ole Miss Explosive Rushes Allowed per game 7.0

Ole Miss 3rd Down Conversion 50.39 (8th) Indiana 3rd Down Conversion Defense 36.73 (32nd)

Indiana 3rd Down Conversion 37.76 (86th) Ole Miss 3rd Down Conversion Defense 47.46 (112th)

Ole Miss 4th Down Conversion 64.52 (30th) Indiana 4th Down Conversion Defense 18.18 (5th)

Indiana 4th Down Conversion 45.45 (95th) Ole Miss 4th Down Conversion Defense 71.43 (115th)

Ole Miss Red Zone Conversion 75.00 (107th) Indiana Red Zone Conversion Defense 57.89 (1st)

Indiana Red Zone Conversion 81.82 (71st) Ole Miss Red Zone Conversion Defense 87.23 (96th)

Ole Miss Red Zone TD percentage 51.61 (108th) Indiana Red Zone TD Percentage 63.64 (56th)

Ole Miss Red Zone TD % Allowed 70.21 (108th) Indiana Red Zone TD % Allowed 47.37 (11th)

Chaos
Ole Miss Takeaway Margin -0.78 (110th) vs Indiana Takeaway Margin +1.43 (3rd)

Ole Miss Ints .556 (94th) Indiana Intd .571

Indiana Ints 2.43 (1st) Ole Miss Intd 1.556

Ole Miss FF 1.11 (23rd) FR .667 Indiana FL .857

Indiana FF .57 (94th) FR .429 Ole Miss FL .667

Ole Miss Sacks 1.56 (101st) Indiana Sacks Allowed 1.14 (12th)

Indiana Sacks 3.29 (8th) Ole Miss Sacks Allowed 1.89 (44th)

Ole Miss TFLs 4.56 (111th) Indiana TFLs Allowed 4.29 (13th)

Indiana TFLs 6.14 (63rd) Ole Miss TFLs Allowed 7.56 (111th)

Ole Miss Pass Breakups / Game 4.56 (38th) Indiana Pass Breakups / Game 6.71 (1st)

Special Teams
Ole Miss Field Goals 4-6 Long 41 Indiana Field Goals 8-9 Long 52

Ole Miss PAT 43-45 Indiana PAT 23-23

Ole Miss Punt 46.42 Indiana Punt 42.44

Ole Miss Punt Return 6.40 (73rd) Indiana Punt Return 9.13 (46th)

Ole Miss Kickoff 61.08 Indiana Kickoff 61.88

Ole Miss Kickoff Return 23.84 1 TD (25th) Indiana Kickoff Return 16.00 (118th)

Analytics (Football Outsiders)
Ole Miss Offensive Efficiency 1.34 (6th) vs Indiana Defensive Efficiency .94 (6th)

Indiana Offensive Efficiency .39 (38th) vs Ole Miss Defensive Efficiency -1.11 (117th)

Ole Miss Field Position & Special Teams Rating 3.6 (24th)

Indiana Field Position & Special Teams Rating 4.2 (19th)

Ole Miss Overall FEI .12 (48th) Indiana Overall FEI .65 (12th)

1d781b6a-275d-44b3-88b4-6aa44d427e1a-091920_scrimmage_FB_1051.JPG


Lane Kiffin 66-39 (2-2 Bowls)
1997-98: Fresno State (SA)
1999: Colorado State (GA)
2000: Jacksonville Jaguars (DQC)
2001: USC (TE)
2002-04: USC (WR)
2005-06: USC (PGC/OC)
*2005 National Champions
*2006 National Champions
2007-08: Oakland Raiders (HC) (5-15)
*Youngest Head Coach in NFL at the time
2009: Tennessee (HC) 7-6
*Chick-fil-A Bowl
2010-13: USC (HC) 28-15
*2011 PAC-12 South Champions
*2011 finished 6th in final AP Poll
*2012 Sun Bowl
2014-16: Alabama (OC/QB)
*2014 SEC Champions
*2014 College Football Playoff
*2015 SEC Champions
*2015 National Champions
*2016 SEC Champions
*2016 College Football Playoff Finals
2017-19: Florida Atlantic (HC) 27-13
*2017 Conference USA Champions
*2017 Boca Raton Bowl Champions
*2019 Conference USA Champions
*2019 Boca Raton Bowl Champions

Coached under Pat Hill, Sonny Lubick, Tom Coughlin, Pete Carroll, Nick Saban

Other influences – LaVell Edwards, Norm Chow, Steve Sarkisian, Art Briles

Coaching Tree – Tom Cable, Frank Wilson, Clay Helton

Lane Kiffin is widely regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in football. His offenses are based on simplicity, efficiency and speed both in terms of tempo and athletes. One of the main hallmarks of his offensive system is to find creative ways to get his top playmakers the ball to maximize their opportunities to make something positive happen.

One way to look at this 2020 Ole Miss Offense is as an updated version of the Baylor Offense under Art Briles (2008 – 2015). That offense was the best in the country from 2013 to 2015. In 2017 Kendal Briles (yes Art Briles’s son) served as Kiffin’s Offensive Coordinator at Florida Atlantic, which is when Kiffin began to tinker with the Baylor Offense. Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby currently calls the plays at Ole Miss but Kiffin’s fingerprints are still definitely there. And so are Baylor’s. Lebby was at Baylor from 2012 to 2017 and took the Bear scheme with him to UCF, where he was the Offensive Coordinator last year. The disciples of the Art Briles scheme are known for their secrecy – they don’t go around the country in the off season putting on clinics and teaching others their proprietary secrets.

Lebby wants the offense to play fast, physical and without fear. They use a lot of motion and misdirection and they like to get the ball out quickly which makes it difficult to effectively pressure the quarterback. And of course they wear you out with tempo. It will be hard to Tweet about the game when Ole Miss has the ball because they play so fast.

The pass offense gets most of the attention, and understandably so as Ole Miss enters the Outback Bowl ranked sixth in the country in terms of yards per game. But they also average 217.7 rushing yards per game which is good for 20th nationally. Sophomore Quarterback Matt Corral is the team’s second leading rusher with 469 yards gained and four touchdowns. Corral has four games with at least 50 yards rushing including a 158 yard outburst against LSU. Sophomore Running Back Jerrion Ealy is the team’s leading rusher with 745 yards and 9 TDs but his status for next Saturday is unclear due to a leg injury. (Update: Ealy is listed on the depth chart Ole Miss put out early this week so it appears he may at least attempt to give it a go.) They use zone read and misdirection which can be a handful for opposing defenses to say the least.

Matt Corral has a big arm (possibly elite), does a great job of utilizing effective play fakes, and according to Kane Wommack does a tremendous job using his eyes to manipulate coverage and to ‘look off’ receivers. He also extends plays and drives using his feet and his arm and is for all intents and purposes a dual threat QB. The Rebels may be a bit short-handed in terms of personnel due to injury/protocol but Lane Kiffin does a great job of finding a way to get production out of what he has available to him.

The bottom line is that when this offense is working well it very difficult to stop. In 2020 Ole Miss ranks 3rd nationally in total offense, 6th in passing offense, 13th in scoring offense and 20th in rushing offense.

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Defense
Ole Miss has not been good on the defensive side of the ball. Here is how they rank nationally:

Pass Defense 324.4 (127th) (last)
Total Defense 535.7 (127th) (last)
Defense 40.3 (121st)
Defensive Efficiency -1.11 (117th)
4th Down Conversion Defense 71.43 (115th)
3rd Down Conversion Defense 47.46 (112th)
Ole Miss TFLs 4.56 (111th)
Rush Defense 211.22 (104th)
Ole Miss Sacks 1.56 (101st)
Red Zone Conversion Defense 87.23 (96th)

This is not a problem unique to this year. In the last four seasons they have finished 85th, 111th, 116th and 121st respectively in total defense. They don’t really have a base defense as they basically take a ‘multiple’ approach and will show 4-3, 3-4 and 3-3-5 looks. They usually make the defensive play call based on how the offense is line up. This requires players to be able to play multiple positions especially end / linebacker and linebacker / safety. D.J. Durkin and Chris Partridge are co-defensive coordinators, a duo that coached together at Michigan prior to arriving in Oxford.

The defense has really struggled this year across the board – bad run fits, lack of pass rush, poor tackling, poor angles and blown coverage assignments. They haven’t put up big sack numbers but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t get pressure on the QB from time to time. It might be better to characterize their pass rush as inconsistent rather than non-existent. Indiana should be able to run the ball effectively with a healthy stable of running backs entering Saturday's contest. The Hoosiers may try to take advantage of this by putting together longer drives that bleed the clock and shorten the game by a couple of possessions, which would in turn keep the Ole Miss Offense off the field.

It will also be important to get Indiana Sophomore Quarterback Jack Tuttle feeling as comfortable as possible early. Tuttle is making his second career start at Indiana and Offensive Coordinator Nick Sheridan will need to do a great job of maximizing what he has with a young QB and putting him in a position to succeed.

Special Teams
Lane Kiffin likes to go for it on 4th down and prefers touchdowns to field goals. Senior Kicker Luke Logan is 4 of 6 in 2020 and has a career long of 41 yards. He is 39 of 55 in his career so he doesn’t seem highly accurate. He has also missed 6 PATs although in fairness it’s not clear how many of those were blocks.

Jerrion Ealy returned a kickoff from seven yards deep in the end zone for a touchdown their last time out against LSU. It was the second kickoff return for a TD of Ealy’s career.

Senior Punter Mac Brown averages 46.4 yards per punt (4th in the country).

Honors
QB Matt Corral – 3rd Team All-SEC (PFF)

RB Jerrion Ealy – 3rd Team All-American (PFF), 2nd Team All-SEC (Coaches, AP)

OL Jeremy James – 1st Team Freshman All-American (The Athletic)

Leaders
Passing
Matt Corral – 201-282, 2995 yards, 27 TDs, 14 INTs

Rushing
Jerrion Ealy – 147 attempts, 745 yards, 9 TDs
Matt Corral – 105 attempts, 469 yards, 4 TDs
Snoop Conner – 87 attempts, 378 yards, 7 TDs
Henry Parrish – 29 attempts, 200 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving
Braylon Sanders – 15 catches, 376 yards, 4 TDs
Jonathan Mingo – 24 catches, 349 yards, 3 TDs
Dontario Drummond – 19 catches, 307 yards, 6 TDs
Jerrion Ealy – 15 catches, 155 yards, 1 TD

Tackles
Lakia Henry – 62
Jacquez Jones – 62
Keidron Smith – 60
MoMo Sanogo – 55
A.J. Finley – 53
Jalen Jordan – 48
Ryder Anderson – 40

TFLs
Sam Williams – 7.0
Lakia Henry – 5.0
Ryder Anderson – 5.0
MoMo Sanogo – 4.0

Sacks
Sam Williams 4.0
Lakia Henry – 2.5
Cedric Johnson – 2.0

Quarterback Hurries
Ryder Anderson – 5
Lakian Henry, Sam Williams, MoMo Sanogo, Tavius Robinson, Jacquez Jones – 3

Forced Fumbles
Lakia Henry, Ashanti Cistrunk, Tylan Knight, Jakorey Hawkins – 2

Fumble Recoveries
Jakorey Hawkins, Ryder Anderson, A.J. Finley, LeDarrius Cox, Deane Leonard, Zikerrion Baker – 1

Interceptions
A.J. Finley – 3
Jon Haynes, Keidron Smith – 1Pass Breakups
A.J. Finley, Keidron Smith – 6
Miles Battle – 4
Jakorey Hawkins, Deane Leonard, MoMo Sanogo – 3
Jamar Richardson – 2


Note: Special thanks to @76-1 for helping to locate material and for several insights that are included in this report.

Sources

https://www.redcuprebellion.com/202...n-briles-nick-saban-pete-carroll-chow-weis-jr

https://www.al.com/sec/2020/10/why-...ense-is-creating-issues-for-sec-defenses.html

https://olemisssports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/lane-kiffin/598

https://www.si.com/college/olemiss/...will-quarterback-d-j-durkins-defensive-scheme

https://247sports.com/college/ole-m...ng-out-of-time-to-fix-its-problems-154915750/

https://s3.amazonaws.com/olemisssports.com/documents/2020/12/28/20_OM_FBNotes_Outback.pdf
 
Last edited:
300px-Outback_Bowl_Logo.svg.png

Who – Indiana Hoosiers (6-1), Big Ten vs Ole Miss Rebels (4-5), Southeastern Conference

What - Outback Bowl

When – January 2, 2021, 11:30 AM

Where – Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, FL /
OIP.EMmDP3-8gfl2NTDp98WRgAHaHa


Bowl History
*All-American Bowl, Birmingham 1977-1985
Hall of Fame Bowl, Tampa 1986-1995
Outback Bowl, Tampa 1996-present

About
Outback is the longest-running title sponsorship of any college bowl game (26 years). The Outback Bowl has been part of the New Year's Bowl lineup for over 30 years and has had an estimated economic impact of over $1 billion on the Tampa region.

This will be the first Outback Bowl appearance for both Indiana and Ole Miss. It is also the first ever meeting of the two schools.

Bowl Record
Ole Miss 23-14 | Last win – 2016 Sugar Bowl | Won 11 of last 13 appearances
Indiana 3-10 | Last win – 1991 Copper Bowl | 4th appearance in 6 years

Indiana_Hoosiers_Anodized_Riddell_Speed_Authentic_Football_Helmet_f074700a-8ede-465a-a8bf-410b340f2081_1024x1024.jpg
3002078_1.jpg


Statistical Head to Head

Ole Miss Scoring Offense 40.7 (13th) vs Indiana Scoring Defense 19.4 (19th)

Indiana Scoring Offense 30.1 (54th) vs Ole Miss Scoring Defense 40.3 (121st)

Ole Miss Pass Offense 344.8 (6th) vs Indiana Pass Defense 226.0 (58th)

Indiana Pass Offense 258.0 (39th) vs Ole Miss Pass Defense 324.4 (127th)

Ole Miss Rush Offense 217.67 (20th) vs Indiana Rush Defense 135.71 (32nd)

Indiana Rush Offense 100.14 (118th) vs Ole Miss Rush Defense 211.22 (104th)

Ole Miss Total Offense 562.4 (3rd) vs Indiana Total Defense 361.7 (36th)

Indiana Total Offense 358.1 (95th) vs Ole Miss Total Defense 535.7 (127th)

Ole Miss Explosive Passes per game 5.22 vs Indiana Explosive Passes Allowed per game 3.43

Indiana Explosive Passes per game 3.14 vs Ole Miss Explosive Passes Allowed per game 4.22

Ole Miss Explosive Rushes per game 7.89 vs Indiana Explosive Rushes Allowed per game 4.71

Indiana Explosive Rushes per game 2.57 vs Ole Miss Explosive Rushes Allowed per game 7.0

Ole Miss 3rd Down Conversion 50.39 (8th) Indiana 3rd Down Conversion Defense 36.73 (32nd)

Indiana 3rd Down Conversion 37.76 (86th) Ole Miss 3rd Down Conversion Defense 47.46 (112th)

Ole Miss 4th Down Conversion 64.52 (30th) Indiana 4th Down Conversion Defense 18.18 (5th)

Indiana 4th Down Conversion 45.45 (95th) Ole Miss 4th Down Conversion Defense 71.43 (115th)

Ole Miss Red Zone Conversion 75.00 (107th) Indiana Red Zone Conversion Defense 57.89 (1st)

Indiana Red Zone Conversion 81.82 (71st) Ole Miss Red Zone Conversion Defense 87.23 (96th)

Ole Miss Red Zone TD percentage 51.61 (108th) Indiana Red Zone TD Percentage 63.64 (56th)

Ole Miss Red Zone TD % Allowed 70.21 (108th) Indiana Red Zone TD % Allowed 47.37 (11th)

Chaos
Ole Miss Takeaway Margin -0.78 (110th) vs Indiana Takeaway Margin +1.43 (3rd)

Ole Miss Ints .556 (94th) Indiana Intd .571

Indiana Ints 2.43 (1st) Ole Miss Intd 1.556

Ole Miss FF 1.11 (23rd) FR .667 Indiana FL .857

Indiana FF .57 (94th) FR .429 Ole Miss FL .667

Ole Miss Sacks 1.56 (101st) Indiana Sacks Allowed 1.14 (12th)

Indiana Sacks 3.29 (8th) Ole Miss Sacks Allowed 1.89 (44th)

Ole Miss TFLs 4.56 (111th) Indiana TFLs Allowed 4.29 (13th)

Indiana TFLs 6.14 (63rd) Ole Miss TFLs Allowed 7.56 (111th)

Ole Miss Pass Breakups / Game 4.56 (38th) Indiana Pass Breakups / Game 6.71 (1st)

Special Teams
Ole Miss Field Goals 4-6 Long 41 Indiana Field Goals 8-9 Long 52

Ole Miss PAT 43-45 Indiana PAT 23-23

Ole Miss Punt 46.42 Indiana Punt 42.44

Ole Miss Punt Return 6.40 (73rd) Indiana Punt Return 9.13 (46th)

Ole Miss Kickoff 61.08 Indiana Kickoff 61.88

Ole Miss Kickoff Return 23.84 1 TD (25th) Indiana Kickoff Return 16.00 (118th)

Analytics (Football Outsiders)
Ole Miss Offensive Efficiency 1.34 (6th) vs Indiana Defensive Efficiency .94 (6th)

Indiana Offensive Efficiency .39 (38th) vs Ole Miss Defensive Efficiency -1.11 (117th)

Ole Miss Field Position & Special Teams Rating 3.6 (24th)

Indiana Field Position & Special Teams Rating 4.2 (19th)

Ole Miss Overall FEI .12 (48th) Indiana Overall FEI .65 (12th)

1d781b6a-275d-44b3-88b4-6aa44d427e1a-091920_scrimmage_FB_1051.JPG


Lane Kiffin 66-39 (2-2 Bowls)
1997-98: Fresno State (SA)
1999: Colorado State (GA)
2000: Jacksonville Jaguars (DQC)
2001: USC (TE)
2002-04: USC (WR)
2005-06: USC (PGC/OC)
*2005 National Champions
*2006 National Champions
2007-08: Oakland Raiders (HC) (5-15)
*Youngest Head Coach in NFL at the time
2009: Tennessee (HC) 7-6
*Chick-fil-A Bowl
2010-13: USC (HC) 28-15
*2011 PAC-12 South Champions
*2011 finished 6th in final AP Poll
*2012 Sun Bowl
2014-16: Alabama (OC/QB)
*2014 SEC Champions
*2014 College Football Playoff
*2015 SEC Champions
*2015 National Champions
*2016 SEC Champions
*2016 College Football Playoff Finals
2017-19: Florida Atlantic (HC) 27-13
*2017 Conference USA Champions
*2017 Boca Raton Bowl Champions
*2019 Conference USA Champions
*2019 Boca Raton Bowl Champions

Coached under Pat Hill, Sonny Lubick, Tom Coughlin, Pete Carroll, Nick Saban

Other influences – LaVell Edwards, Norm Chow, Steve Sarkisian, Art Briles

Coaching Tree – Tom Cable, Frank Wilson, Clay Helton

Lane Kiffin is widely regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in football. His offenses are based on simplicity, efficiency and speed both in terms of tempo and athletes. One of the main hallmarks of his offensive system is to find creative ways to get his top playmakers the ball to maximize their opportunities to make something positive happen.

One way to look at this 2020 Ole Miss Offense is as an updated version of the Baylor Offense under Art Briles (2008 – 2015). That offense was the best in the country from 2013 to 2015. In 2017 Kendal Briles (yes Art Briles’s son) served as Kiffin’s Offensive Coordinator at Florida Atlantic, which is when Kiffin began to tinker with the Baylor Offense. Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby currently calls the plays at Ole Miss but Kiffin’s fingerprints are still definitely there. And so are Baylor’s. Lebby was at Baylor from 2012 to 2017 and took the Bear scheme with him to UCF, where he was the Offensive Coordinator last year. The disciples of the Art Briles scheme are known for their secrecy – they don’t go around the country in the offseason teaching others their proprietary secrets.

Lebby wants the offense to play fast, physical and without fear. They use a lot of motion and misdirection and they like to get the ball out quickly which makes it difficult to effectively pressure the quarterback. And of course they wear you out with tempo. It will be hard to Tweet about the game when Ole Miss has the ball because they play so fast.

The pass offense gets most of the attention, and understandably so as Ole Miss enters the Outback Bowl ranked sixth in the country in terms of yards per game. But they also average 217.7 rushing yards per game which is good for 20th nationally. Sophomore Quarterback Matt Corral is the team’s second leading rusher with 469 yards gained and four touchdowns. Corral has four games with at least 50 yards rushing including a 158 yard outburst against LSU. Sophomore Running Back Jerrion Ealy is the team’s leading rusher with 745 yards and 9 TDs but his status for next Saturday is unclear due to a leg injury. (Update: Ealy is listed on the depth chart Ole Miss put out early this week so it appears he may at least attempt to give it a go.) They use zone read and misdirection which can be a handful for opposing defenses to say the least.

Matt Corral has a big arm (possibly elite), does a great job of utilizing effective play fakes, and according to Kane Wommack does a tremendous job using his eyes to manipulate coverage and to ‘look off’ receivers. He also extends plays and drives using his feet and his arm and is for all intents and purposes a dual threat QB. The Rebels may be a bit short-handed in terms of personnel due to injury/protocol but Lane Kiffin does a great job of finding a way to get production out of what he has available to him.

The bottom line is that when this offense is working well it very difficult to stop. In 2020 Ole Miss ranks 3rd nationally in total offense, 6th in passing offense, 13th in scoring offense and 20th in rushing offense.

1.jpg


Defense
Ole Miss has not been good on the defensive side of the ball. Here is how they rank nationally:

Pass Defense 324.4 (127th) (last)
Total Defense 535.7 (127th) (last)
Defense 40.3 (121st)
Defensive Efficiency -1.11 (117th)
4th Down Conversion Defense 71.43 (115th)
3rd Down Conversion Defense 47.46 (112th)
Ole Miss TFLs 4.56 (111th)
Rush Defense 211.22 (104th)
Ole Miss Sacks 1.56 (101st)
Red Zone Conversion Defense 87.23 (96th)

This is not a problem unique to this year. In the last four seasons they have finished 85th, 111th, 116th and 121st respectively in total defense. They don’t really have a base defense as they basically take a ‘multiple’ approach and will show 4-3, 3-4 and 3-3-5 looks. They usually make the defensive play call based on how the offense is line up. This requires players to be able to play multiple positions especially end / linebacker and linebacker / safety. D.J. Durkin and Chris Partridge are co-defensive coordinators, a duo that coached together at Michigan prior to arriving in Oxford.

The defense has really struggled this year across the board – bad run fits, lack of pass rush, poor tackling, poor angles and blown coverage assignments. They haven’t put up big sack numbers but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t get pressure on the QB from time to time. It might be better to characterize their pass rush as inconsistent rather than non-existent. Indiana should be able to run the ball effectively with a healthy stable of running backs entering Saturday's contest. The Hoosiers may try to take advantage of this by putting together longer drives that bleed the clock and shorten the game by a couple of possessions, which would in turn keep the Ole Miss Offense off the field.

It will also be important to get Indiana Sophomore Quarterback Jack Tuttle feeling as comfortable as possible early. Tuttle is making his second career start at Indiana and Offensive Coordinator Nick Sheridan will need to do a great job of maximizing what he has with a young QB and putting him in a position to succeed.

Special Teams
Lane Kiffin likes to go for it on 4th down and prefers touchdowns to field goals. Senior Kicker Luke Logan is 4 of 6 in 2020 and has a career long of 41 yards. He is 39 of 55 in his career so he doesn’t seem highly accurate. He has also missed 6 PATs although in fairness it’s not clear how many of those were blocks.

Jerrion Ealy returned a kickoff from seven yards deep in the end zone for a touchdown their last time out against LSU. It was the second kickoff return for a TD of Ealy’s career.

Senior Punter Mac Brown averages 46.4 yards per punt (4th in the country).

Honors
QB Matt Corral – 3rd Team All-SEC (PFF)

RB Jerrion Ealy – 3rd Team All-American (PFF), 2nd Team All-SEC (Coaches, AP)

OL Jeremy James – 1st Team Freshman All-American (The Athletic)

Leaders
Passing
Matt Corral – 201-282, 2995 yards, 27 TDs, 14 INTs

Rushing
Jerrion Ealy – 147 attempts, 745 yards, 9 TDs
Matt Corral – 105 attempts, 469 yards, 4 TDs
Snoop Conner – 87 attempts, 378 yards, 7 TDs
Henry Parrish – 29 attempts, 200 yards, 2 TDs

Receiving
Braylon Sanders – 15 catches, 376 yards, 4 TDs
Jonathan Mingo – 24 catches, 349 yards, 3 TDs
Dontario Drummond – 19 catches, 307 yards, 6 TDs
Jerrion Ealy – 15 catches, 155 yards, 1 TD

Tackles
Lakia Henry – 62
Jacquez Jones – 62
Keidron Smith – 60
MoMo Sanogo – 55
A.J. Finley – 53
Jalen Jordan – 48
Ryder Anderson – 40

TFLs
Sam Williams – 7.0
Lakia Henry – 5.0
Ryder Anderson – 5.0
MoMo Sanogo – 4.0

Sacks
Sam Williams 4.0
Lakia Henry – 2.5
Cedric Johnson – 2.0

Quarterback Hurries
Ryder Anderson – 5
Lakian Henry, Sam Williams, MoMo Sanogo, Tavius Robinson, Jacquez Jones – 3

Forced Fumbles
Lakia Henry, Ashanti Cistrunk, Tylan Knight, Jakorey Hawkins – 2

Fumble Recoveries
Jakorey Hawkins, Ryder Anderson, A.J. Finley, LeDarrius Cox, Deane Leonard, Zikerrion Baker – 1

Interceptions
A.J. Finley – 3
Jon Haynes, Keidron Smith – 1Pass Breakups
A.J. Finley, Keidron Smith – 6
Miles Battle – 4
Jakorey Hawkins, Deane Leonard, MoMo Sanogo – 3
Jamar Richardson – 2


Note: Special thanks to @76-1 for helping to locate material and for several insights that are included in this report.

Sources

https://www.redcuprebellion.com/202...n-briles-nick-saban-pete-carroll-chow-weis-jr

https://www.al.com/sec/2020/10/why-...ense-is-creating-issues-for-sec-defenses.html

https://olemisssports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/lane-kiffin/598

https://www.si.com/college/olemiss/...will-quarterback-d-j-durkins-defensive-scheme

https://247sports.com/college/ole-m...ng-out-of-time-to-fix-its-problems-154915750/

https://s3.amazonaws.com/olemisssports.com/documents/2020/12/28/20_OM_FBNotes_Outback.pdf

Well..., you got the date right... 😉😎

Just kidding..., 😂😂(hey, if I don't laugh at my own really bad jokes, who will?😉😎)...,
that's an excellent, interesting, well written overview... Thanks for your time and effort...
 
Well..., you got the date right... 😉😎

Just kidding..., 😂😂(hey, if I don't laugh at my own really bad jokes, who will?😉😎)...,
that's an excellent, interesting, well written overview... Thanks for your time and effort...
Thank you lol but I think yours was better than mine!

P.S. I LOLed at your date crack...pretty funny 😂
 
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Thank you lol but I think yours was better than mine!

P.S. I LOLed at your date crack...pretty funny 😂

Thanks!

Yours is better but that's a kind compliment... 😀

I do appreciate your efforts on here.😎
 
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I like our chances and think if all goes well on D that we'll boat race them..., "But"..., if Corral does his Superman impression and drags them to close to the finish line on his own (along with a few SEC quality receivers)..., INDIANA has its very own Scottish dagger in: Campbell the Kicker...

If it comes down to Field Goals, I Really, Really,Really like our chances...😎 I'd elaborate but I have a whole garage full of Dr.Pepper😉...

Campbell hit a clutch kick on "(forged) prescription athletic turf" in West Laffy last year...; Real grass..., that actually has "Real" grounds keepers, will pose no insurmountable difficulties to the intrepid youth..., in my "opinion"...😎
 
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One last look at the scouting report - above - ^

Let's FINISH them and get 2021 off to the right start...!
 
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Do we know whIch if any players have opted out for them?
 
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