What the Rebels can learn from Kent State’s last loss
OXFORD – When it comes to scoring just one touchdown against an opponent who puts up 60-plus points in return, Kent State can sympathize with Ole Miss. Both the Rebels (62-7 loss to Alabama) and the Golden Flashes (63-10 to Penn State) did just that last weekend.
On Saturday, the two meet for the first time in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss (2-1, 0-1 SEC) is the clear favorite in the crossover between the Southeastern Conference and the MidAmerican Conference. No. 10 Penn State’s sheer dominance over Kent State paints a clear picture of how Ole Miss can exploit the Golden Flashes defense.
Hint: It plays to the Rebels’ “chasing space” passing game philosophy.
Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley completed just half of his pass attempts (11-of-22) against Kent State. But he still finished with 229 yards passing, thanks to an average of 20 yards per completion.
Penn State's passing average skewed even higher, thanks to a 95-yard fourthquarter touchdown pass by backup quarterback Sean Clifford. The freshman quarterback dropped back in his end zone, hit wide-open freshman wide receiver Daniel George in stride at the Kent State 35, and no one came close to catching George his last 65 yards to the end zone.
Penn State scored on two other deep passes, a 40-yard strike from McSorley to DeAndre Tompkins for the game's first TD of the game and a 41-yard toss from McSorley to Polk in the third quarter.
“(They) run a lot of zone, so there are a lot of holes in the field,” Rebels wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge said. “If we can get in those holes and catch the ball and make plays, then we’ll be pretty good.”
Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta’amu enters Saturday ranked second in the SEC in passing yards (917) and passing yards per completion (17.63).
But the Rebels can't just throw the ball long all day.
“I think it’ll be important to have balance,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said.
Because Kent State uses two high safeties to play a lot of quarters coverage, Luke stressed establishing the run game early to draw those safeties up will be as important as always.
Penn State successfully rolled out a 667-yard balanced attack against the Golden Flashes, adding 297 rushing yards to 370 passing.
The Rebels will rely heavily on running back Scottie Phillips to even out their offense. Alabama limited Phillips to just 44 yards on 12 carries last week. In Phillips’ first two games against inferior defenses compared to the Crimson Tide, he racked up a combined 311 yards on 31 carries.
Running back Eric Swinney (mononucleosis) took reps with the scout team this past week for conditioning after being sidelined for three weeks, Luke said. He could have limited snaps Saturday. Freshmen Isaiah Woullard and Tylan Knight are more likely candidates to share the load with Phillips.