Ole Miss gets short week to regroup after defeat to FSU
FCS Wofford awaits Saturday
Ole Miss doesn’t have time to sulk after its marquee Labor Day matchup against Florida State didn’t go the way it had hoped.
The Rebels (No. 18 USA TODAY coaches poll, No. 19 AP) didn’t return to campus until 4 a.m. Tuesday and then had to quickly begin preparation for their home opener Saturday against Wofford.
The Terriers, a Football Championship Subdivision team, will provide a different challenge with a tripleoption offense.
“It is totally different,” coach Hugh Freeze said. “Usually you would like to have two weeks to get ready for (the triple option) and we basically have two days. We just have to correct the mistakes and hopefully stay healthy.”
Ole Miss is hurting mentally and physically after the season-opening loss to Florida State in Orlando. The Rebels had a 28-6 lead in the second quarter before giving up the next 33 points and finally losing 45-34.
Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly — who threw four touchdown passes but also had three interceptions and lost a fumble — acknowledged it wasn’t the easiest loss to forget.
“There are little things that definitely frustrate you because you could be sitting here 1-0,” Kelly said. “It hurts, but you’ve got to get by it and now we’re looking forward to the next game.”
The Rebels are also trying to find solutions after two injuries. Starting cornerback Kendarius Webster and running back Eric Swinney are out for the season after both tore knee ligaments.
Webster was considered the Rebels’ best cornerback. Senior Carlos Davis moves into a starting role in Webster’s absence.
At running back, the Rebels will likely lean on Akeem Judd and Eugene Brazley for the majority of the carries. Freeze also said that freshman D’Vaughn Pennamon would likely join the rotation instead of redshirting.
DeveloPMent
Damien Harris was the answer to the second-biggest question facing Alabama’s backfield on opening week: Who’s the starting tailback?
While most of the focus was on the top-ranked Crimson Tide’s quarterback competition, Harris grabbed the early edge in the battle of former five-star runners vying to replace Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry.
He won the starting job for the first game and delivered in the 52-6 victory over Southern California. Harris had runs of 73 and 46 yards among his nine carries for 138 yards after beating out fellow sophomore Bo Scarbrough.
“We thought he was the guy that would be the most productive at the position,” Tide coach Nick Saban said.
The pecking order might be subject to change as the season goes on, starting with Saturday’s game against Western Kentucky. Harris has the early edge, though.
The 5-foot-11, 214-pound Harris arrived from Berea, Kentucky, rated by several recruiting services as the nation’s top running back.
The 6-2, 230-pound Scarbrough, who’s from Tuscaloosa, got most of the preseason attention from media. Harris insists he didn’t notice.
“I didn’t think about that at all to be honest with you,” Harris said. “I just worked on getting better every single day.” Guard Frank Ragnow and left tackle Dan Skipper are the lone two returning linemen from last year’s talented group at Arkansas that featured current Tennessee Titans guard Sebastian Tretola, among others. This year’s newcomers — Colton Jackson, Hjalte Froholdt and Jake Raulerson — played well at times last week, but they were also slow to react to Louisiana Tech’s adjustments. The Razorbacks held off the Bulldogs 21-20 but allowed four sacks.
The Razorbacks allowed a total of 14 sacks in each of the last two seasons and only eight in coach Bret Bielema’s first season in 2013. And after averaging 5 yards per rush a year ago, Arkansas gained only 106 yards on the ground on 40 carries against Louisiana Tech, an average of 2.7 per carry.
Bielema and offensive line coach Kurt Anderson know the line must rapidly improve as it prepares to face a TCU team that had four sacks in a season-opening 59-41 win over South Dakota State. The Horned Frogs averaged nearly two sacks per game a year ago, and that was without injured defensive end James McFarland.
McFarland, who led TCU in sacks two years ago, returned and had a sack in last week’s victory. The senior plays opposite fellow end Josh Carraway, who had nine sacks last season.
“No one likes giving up sacks; every sack is on the offensive line,” Anderson said. “If (the quarterback) wants to stand back there for 14 seconds, we have to block for 14 seconds.”