The Ole Miss Rebels dominated week one against Georgia State and have now teed up a revenge game against Kentucky in the Bluegrass State.
If you drank away that memory, the Wildcats put a turd in the punch bowl last year in Oxford upsetting the Rebels in dramatic fashion. On a late fourth down, Barion Brown streaked down the field with an improbable catch from Brock Vandagriff on a 63-yard pass play to keep a drive alive that ultimately sunk the Rebels. The 63 yard play was more than a quarter of
the total passing yards that day for Kentucky.
Caden Davis missed a potential game tying field goal with less than a minute left, and the stunning 20-17 loss to the then-No.6 Ole Miss Rebels was in the books.
It was a stinging loss whether you are new to fandom of Ole Miss football or been going to the Vaught since folks were parking cars in the Grove. Some things have changed since then and some things have not – the coaches and their philosophies are still the same, so expect Kentucky to slow the tempo to a sorghum molasses pace to replicate last season’s upset.
Let’s make this clear that Kentucky didn’t have the players to run for 60 minutes with Ole Miss the way Lane Kiffin wants to play the game. It also doesn’t have those athletes this year, but can Mark Stoops find a way again to shock college football?
The Wildcats defense held Toledo to a paltry 59 yards rushing but were more susceptible to the pass allowing 270 yards to the Rockets. If Kentucky can stymie Kewan Lacy off his 100-yard three touchdown debut at Ole Miss, it would be one piece of the puzzle to keep the game close.
Speaking of close, this series has been exceptionally close with each of the last four games decided by three points or less. Ole Miss has dominated this series historically with a 29-14-1 record including winning three of the last four.
Quarterback Austin Simmons will make his SEC debut as a starter in Lexington as well today. He had limited mistakes against Georgia State while piling up more than 300 yards and three touchdowns, but this game will have a higher level of competition, intensity and the road factor for the young QB. If the run game is not consistent, the pressure on Simmons’ shoulders will be high, but he seems to walk and play with a loose swagger with the team responding to how well he plays.
Ole Miss’ defense on the flip side has to hold Kentucky’s run game in check and keep time of possession under control to give the Rebel offense its chances to score. Last week, the Wildcats rushed for 220 yards while passing for less than 100 yards keeping the ball for nearly 32 minutes of the game. Just a disgusting muckfest way of winning games. Rebels have to get dirtier and tougher to get UK off the field without long sustained drives based on the run game and short passes.
I really hope to see Simmons take some shots down the field and really see what this extremely talented wide receiver room can do. Make a damn statement Rebs and get your asses back to God’s country.
How to Watch: Ole Miss at Kentucky
Date: Saturday, September 6
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Location: Lexington, Ky.
Site: Kroger Field
TV: ABC
Live Stream: ESPN App
