Cody Prewitt’s Objectively Biased: The Ole Miss defense comes through in win over Arkansas
EDITOR’S NOTE: Cody Prewitt is a former All-American safety for Ole Miss. His intensity, ferocity and talent are legendary. We are blessed to have Cody sharing his time and insights on games again this season.
OXFORD, Miss. — For whatever reason, every year it seems like Arkansas plays its best game of the season against Ole Miss. And after the Rebels’ emotionally-draining win over LSU last week, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t very nervous going into the game against the Razorbacks. In addition to the almost rivalry-game-like attitude Arkansas brings into this one, Hogs’ quarterback KJ Jefferson has countless times shown that he is an elite competitor and a reliable leader for the Razorbacks. When you add those two together, along with the Rebels trying to avoid a letdown after the win over the Tigers, this game could have ended with a much less favorable conclusion for us.
The Ole Miss defense wouldn’t let that happen.
Offensively, the Rebels did what they needed to do to win the game this week — which sounds underwhelming with how explosive we are on offense. But it is really just a reminder that every Saturday in the league is a battle and almost every team in the SEC has the talent to dominate in other conferences around the country.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart, who was injured on the second play of the game but remained in to lead his team, proved again this week how much he has grown mentally over the past year. It would have been completely understandable for him to come into this game emotionally charged, looking to prove a point after how this matchup went last year. Instead, he entered the matchup very composed with the singular goal of leading the team to a victory by playing within himself, not forcing anything, and trusting his teammates to do their jobs.
To that point, Quinshon Judkins and Ulysses Bentley IV showed that our running back room is not content just letting our passing game carry the productivity load. With the Rebels now producing two straight games of over 150 yards on the ground, it looks like they’re starting to find their rhythm. And again, the offense did what they needed to get the win this week and they were able to lean on the defense to get us to the finish line with a “W.”
On defense, I think a lot of people were questioning how good of a unit the Rebels have after how many points they allowed against LSU. While I definitely wanted to see the defense respond positively after giving up 49 to the Tigers, you must appreciate that in our game vs. LSU we faced a probable Heisman finalist in quarterback Jayden Daniels. He has an arsenal of weapons around him that will have their unit in the top 10 in the country at the end of the season.
Given that, the week before against LSU we needed our offense to do the heavy lifting. But this week we needed our defense to be the breadwinner to give the offense — and the rest of us — peace of mind in knowing that when we have off days on one side of the ball, the other side can pick up the slack.
In this game, the defense did more than just pick up the slack. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding’s unit held an SEC opponent to just 36 total yards rushing. That is tough to accomplish against anyone in this conference, but the Rebels did so against a running back, Rocket Sanders, who was leading the conference for a couple weeks at the start of the season before suffering an injury, and the always-dangerous Jefferson.
The Rebels (5-1, 2-1 SEC) held Arkansas (2-4, 0-3 SEC) to 288 total yards of offense, the fewest for Ole Miss against an SEC opponent since 2019. They recorded a season-high five sacks, 10 tackles for loss and nine quarterback hurries.
The defense made two interceptions, first by senior Ashanti Cistrunk in the first quarter and then by senior John Saunders Jr. to seal the game in the fourth.
Aside from a few mental errors in the secondary and the Arkansas offensive guys simply making plays, the Landshark D did a great job of playing fast and disciplined. From the start of the game, there were multiple powder-blue jerseys around the ball at the end of every play, and there’s just not much more you can ask for out of a defense with respect to effort.
Of course, I would love to see us not give up any big plays, miss any tackles, or have any mental mistakes; however, over the last couple of weeks I can see that the defense is on the cusp of becoming an elite unit. They just need to execute consistently at a high level, like they did this week, no matter who the opponent is.
Hotty Toddy!
Cody Prewitt
Coming out of Sylva Bay Academy, a small private school in Bay Springs, Mississippi, Cody Prewitt was one of 10 players from the 2011 Ole Miss Football signing class who received high school All-America honors. In 2012, Prewitt started every game and finished second on the team with 80 tackles. He helped lead Ole Miss to a 7-6 record and a bowl win over Pittsburgh.
In 2013, Cody played in every game with 11 starts and led the SEC and tied for seventh nationally with six interceptions and finished second on the team with 71 tackles, 13 passes defended, four tackles-for-loss, and two forced fumbles. For his play, he became the 55th first team All-America selection in school history and helped lead Ole Miss to an 8-5 record and a bowl win over Georgia Tech. Cody was named a first-team All-American by both the Associated Press and USA Today. He was named named to the All-SEC first team by the AP, ESPN.com, Sporting News, College Sports Madness, and by the SEC coaches.
In 2014, Cody continued his decorated career at Ole Miss. He became the first player to return to Ole Miss as a first team All-American since Patrick Willis did so in 2006. He played in 13 games in 2014, finishing with 64 tackles on the season, 44 of which were solo. He notched 3 INTs, and had a fumble return for a touchdown against A&M.
In 2014, Cody was named All-America second team (AP, SI.com, CBS Sports, Scout.com, Athlon) • All-SEC first team (consensus) • Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist (2013 and 2014) • Midseason All-America and All-SEC • Preseason All-America and All-SEC • Week 7 National Defensive Player of the Week (after a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown at Texas A&M) • Helped Ole Miss rank top 15 nationally in total defense (321.2 ypg), opponent 3rd down conversion (31.1) and red zone defense (71.9)
