Pre-game Notes: No. 5 Ole Miss hosts Georgia Southern

OXFORD, Miss. — (Release) Ole Miss (3-0, 0-0 SEC) hosts Georgia Southern (2-1) tonight with a 6:45 p.m. (CT) kickoff time at Vaught-Hemingway on Military Appreciation Day. The Rebels are finishing up the non-conference portion of their schedule before hosting Kentucky next Saturday.

As of this writing on Saturday morning, Ole Miss is a 35.5-point favorite over the Eagles. 

Here’s your pregame notes.

Notables 

• Ole Miss is 49-7-2 (.862) all-time against current members of the Sun Belt.

• Ole Miss is 23-2 at home since 2021, which includes each of its last nine since the 2022 Egg Bowl … The Rebels are 301-115-8 all-time on the field at Vaught-Hemingway (before vacated wins).

• The Rebels are 32-10 overall since 2021 and rank third among all SEC schools in wins in that span.

• Ole Miss currently ranks No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches polls, its highest since rising to No. 3 in 2015.

• Per ESPN, the 2024 Rebels are the first in SEC history to score 150 points and allow fewer than 10 points through three games … Ole Miss leads the FBS in total offense (692.0 ypg), ranks second in scoring (56.0 ppg).

• Ole Miss stands alongside Georgia and Ohio State as the lone FBS teams to not allow a touchdown this season … This marks the longest such stretch to open a season by a Rebel defense since 1961.

• Ole Miss leads the FBS in rushing defense at 33.3 ypg … The Rebels have held three consecutive opponents to fewer than 50 yards rushing for the first time since 1993.

• QB Jaxson Dart is one of five active FBS QBs with 8,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards … Dart leads the FBS in passing (390.7 ypg) and total offense (408.7 ypg).

• DE Jared Ivey (92.5) and DE Princely Umanmielen (90.1) rank as PFF’s top-two edge rushers so far in 2024.

• WR Tre Harris is PFF’s top-rated FBS receiver this season with a 92.5 grade … Harris and WR Antwane Wells Jr. are the lone teammates in all levels of college football at 2,500 career receiving yards apiece.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin 

Lane Kiffin is in his fifth season at Ole Miss and has led the Rebels to four consecutive bowl berths, including two New Year’s Six appearances, under his guidance since 2020. In 11 years at the NCAA level, Kiffin has posted an all-time record of 98-49, including a 37-15 mark at Ole Miss. Kiffin led the 2023 Rebels to the best season in Ole Miss history in terms of wins, notching an 11-2 overall record capped by a 38-25 Peach Bowl victory over Penn State. The Rebels finished No. 9 in both final versions of the AP and Coaches polls, the highest finish overall since 2015 (No. 9 Coaches) and their highest in the final AP poll since 1969 (No. 8). In 2022, Kiffin led the Rebels to the Texas Bowl, thanks to another dynamite offense that ranked No. 3 nationally in rushing offense (256.6) and No. 8 in total offense (496.4) in 2022. Kiffin guided the Rebels to a 10-3 record in 2021, the first 10-win regular season in school history. The Rebels finished the season ranked No. 11 in both the AP and AFCA Coaches Poll, its highest final ranking since 2016. Ole Miss ranked top-20 in the FBS in nine different offensive categories in his first season in 2020. In December 2016, Kiffin took over an FAU program that had won a total of nine combined games over the previous three seasons. Kiffin proceeded to take the Owls to new heights over the last three years, including two conference titles and two 10-win seasons. In his head coaching stops at USC, Tennessee and FAU, Kiffin has shown a propensity in helping turn programs around. Kiffin graduated from Fresno State in 1998 after playing quarterback for three seasons (1994-96) for the Bulldogs. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Fresno State under Pat Hill in 1997 and 1998.

Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton

Clay Helton is in his third season as head coach at Georgia Southern, eighth overall, and holds a 14-15 record with the Eagles and is 60-39 overall. In 2023, Helton once again led the Eagles to a bowl game, as well as wins over rivals Coastal Carolina and Georgia State. In his first year in Statesboro, the Eagles knocked off Nebraska on the road for the school’s second Power 5 win, beat a ranked James Madison team at home, and beat rival App State in double overtime to secure a bid to the Camellia Bowl. The Georgia Southern passing offense finished in the top five nationally in yards per game and transfer quarterback Kyle Vantrease broke numerous school and Sun Belt passing records – both single-season and career – in his lone year with the program. Prior to Georgia Southern, Helton went 46-24 (.657) as the head coach of the USC Trojans with 12 victories over AP Top 25 teams, including three in the Top 5 and four in the Top 10. Helton joined the USC staff in February of 2010 as the quarterbacks coach after spending 10 seasons as an assistant at Memphis. He added the passing game coordinator role in 2012 and became the offensive coordinator in 2013. After starting his collegiate career at Auburn, Helton played quarterback at Houston in 1993 and 1994, playing for his father both seasons and captaining the Cougars as a 1994 senior.

Eagle scouting report 

Georgia Southern heads into Oxford with a 2-1 record and is coming off a 42-14 win over South Carolina State last weekend. The Eagles started the 2024 campaign with a 56-45 loss to Boise State, but have reeled off two straight wins. Offensively, Georgia Southern is averaging 365.7 yards per game, with nearly 260 of that coming through the air. JC French serves as the primary signal-caller for the Eagles. French is completing 62 percent of his passes and has six touchdown passes on the season, with no interceptions. Junior Dalen Cobb leads the Eagle receiving corps with 15 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. The Georgia Southern defense is allowing 489 yards, including 252.3 yards on the ground per game. Linebacker Marques Watson-Trent is the Eagles’ leading tackler with 28 on the season. Tracy Hill Jr. and Tyrell Davis both have an interception apiece to lead Georgia Southern.

Georgia Rebels

Ole Miss features 16 student-athletes who hail from the state of Georgia: RB Rashad Amos (Atlanta), CB AJ Brown (Cordele), S Nick Cull (Donalsonville), WR Micah Davis (Atlanta), DE Jared Ivey (Suwanee), OL Jeremy James (Cumming), S Zach Johansen (Suwanee), WR Cayden Lee (Kennesaw), OL Reece McIntyre (Buford), LB Chris Paul Jr. (Cordele), P Charlie Pollock (Marietta), RB Ali Scott (Powder Springs), TE Wyatt Smalley (Milton), DT Akelo Stone (Savannah), LB Mark Trigg Jr. (Roswell) and TE Dae’Quan Wright (Perry).

Home Sweet Home

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has been a safe haven for the Rebels historically, owning a 301-115-8 (.719) record all-time in Oxford before vacated wins (279-112-8), and that’s been no different in the Kiffin era. Ole Miss is 23-2 in its last 25 home games, and since the beginning of Kiffin’s tenure in 2020, the Rebels have gone 23-5 overall at Vaught-Hemingway — which includes a 14-game home winning streak that spanned Nov. 14, 2020 to Oct. 15, 2022. That streak was among the longest home winning streaks nationally when it was snapped by No. 9 Alabama in 2022. It was also the longest winning streak in Oxford since winning 21 straight games from Nov. 1, 1952 to Nov. 7, 1959. Including a tie to LSU in 1960, the Rebels went unbeaten for 34 games over the course of 12 years (1952-64). Under Kiffin, the Rebels have recorded the first two seven-win homes seasons in program history in 2021 and 2023.

Rebs in the Polls

• Ole Miss currently ranks No. 5 in both the Coaches poll and the Associated Press poll for Week Four.

• No. 5 is the highest ranking for the Rebels since rising to No. 3 in the 2015 season.

• No. 6 was the highest preseason ranking for Ole Miss since 1970, when the Rebels started off at No. 5.

• This year marked the first preseason top-10 appearance for the Rebels since 2009, when Ole Miss opened at No. 8.

• Dating back to 2021, Ole Miss has been ranked in the top-25 in 48 of the last 52 poll releases … That includes a streak of 29 across 2021 and 2022, the longest streak since being ranked for 41 straight weeks from 2014-16.

• The SEC boasts nine teams in the top 25, including six within the top-10 and four in the top-5.

Tough Sledding 

No opponent has been able to break 50 yards rushing against the Ole Miss defense this season, which currently leads all FBS schools at a paltry 33.3 rushing yards allowed per game. On the season, the Rebels have only yielded 100 yards on the ground, stuffing Furman (26), Middle Tennessee (28) and Wake Forest (46) along the way. No Ole Miss defense has held three consecutive opponents to less than 50 yards rushing since 1993, when the Rebels did so to Chattanooga (28), Vanderbilt (32) and Georgia (1) all in a row. Furthermore, those sub-30 yard performances by Furman and Middle Tennessee mark the first such efforts consecutively since the 1999 season, when the Rebels stymied both South Carolina and Tulane to 16 yards apiece back-to-back. This year, Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks tied for third nationally at 30.0 tackles for loss, while the Rebels’ 120 yards lost forced ranks fourth in the FBS and second in the SEC.

High-flying offense 

In the Kiffin era, the Rebel offense ranks as the most prolific in the nation, leading the FBS in yards per game since the beginning of the 2020 season at 509.4 yards per game. In terms of total yards, Ole Miss ranks fourth in the FBS at 26,489 yards within the Kiffin era. In that same four-year stretch, Ole Miss ranks fifth among all FBS schools in rushing yards per game at 218.0, as well as 11th in passing yards per game at 291.4. That puts the Rebels as the only SEC team to rank top-15 in both rushing yards per game and passing yards per game since 2020, and one of two in the FBS alongside North Carolina.

Racking up the yards 

Kiffin’s dynamic Ole Miss offenses have single-handedly dismantled the Rebel record books, recording three of the top-five and four of the top-10 offensive seasons in school history since 2020. With those big single-season numbers come monster single-game numbers as well. Kiffin owns 25 games during his Ole Miss tenure with at least 600 yards of total offense, as opposed to just 16 times total from the beginning of the Ole Miss football program in 1893 until Kiffin’s arrival in 2020. At the 700-yard plateau, Kiffin’s Rebels own five of the seven total 700-yard games in Ole Miss history, as well as six of the top-eight performances all-time.

In the zone 

Senior QB Jaxson Dart has been excellent during his time as a Rebel, but he entered an entire other category after putting on a clinic against Middle Tennessee on Sept. 7. Dart ended the day 25-of-27 for 377 yards and one TD passing, which included an unbelievable 24 consecutive completions to start the game. That stretch broke the all-time Ole Miss (19; Matt Corral; 2020 vs. Vanderbilt) and SEC (23; Tee Martin, Tennessee; 1998 vs. South Carolina) single-game records for consecutive completions, and when adding his six straight completions to end the Furman game on Aug. 31, his 30 straight completed passes also broke both the Ole Miss (20; Kent Austin; 1982 vs. Tulane (5) and Tennessee (15)) and SEC (24; Tee Martin, Tennessee; 1998 vs. Alabama (1) and South Carolina (23)) records for consecutive completions overall. Dart just narrowly missed out on the FBS record of 26 in a row, set by East Carolina’s Dominique Davis against Navy on Oct. 22, 2011. Davis also owns the overall record across multiple games of 36 when factoring in his final 10 completions against Memphis and his first 26 in his record-breaking day against the Midshipmen.

Welcome back!

Senior RB Henry Parrish Jr. is in his third non-consecutive season with the Rebels, but against Middle Tennessee he put up the best rushing game of his career and one of the best scoring outputs in Ole Miss football history. Parrish carved the Blue Raiders for a career-high 165 yards and four touchdowns on the ground on just 14 carries, while also adding one catch for 16 yards. Those four TDs rank tied for second-most in Ole Miss history behind Showboat Boykin’s still-standing SEC record seven touchdowns against Mississippi State on Dec. 1, 1951. Parrish’s day against MTSU also ranked as the most since Matt Corral found the endzone four times against Tulane in 2021, and the most by a non-QB since Dexter McCluster scored four times against Tennessee in 2009. Of those four scores, three came in the first half, making him the first Rebel to score three in a half since Snoop Conner against Arkansas in 2021. In his career, Parrish Jr. owns 2,395 yards and 21 touchdowns rushing — 1,154 yards and 11 TD in a Rebel uniform.

Dynamic duo

Ole Miss senior wideouts Tre Harris and Antwane Wells Jr. stand in a league of their own among fellow active receivers, currently sitting as the lone teammate duo at all levels of college football with at least 2,500 career receiving. Wells ranks seventh on the all divisions list at 3,026 receiving yards, which includes 1,853 in two superb seasons at James Madison while it was in the FCS in 2020 and 2021. Harris, meanwhile, has amassed an impressive 1,388 yards and 10 scores in just 15 games played at Ole Miss to go along with his 1,517 yards and 14 TD in 31 games played at Louisiana Tech from 2020-22.

Big target

Mackey Award watch list member and Ole Miss senior tight end Caden Prieskorn has hauled in seven passes for 131 yards and one score on the season, which has him pushed him into a club among some of the best Rebel tight ends all-time. Prieskorn ranks 10th in Ole Miss history among fellow tight ends in receptions (37) and touchdowns (5), and he is close to breaking into the top-10 in receiving yards (580) as well. Prieskorn enjoyed a successful season for the Rebels in 2023 despite missing the first several games due to injury. Prieskorn was a second-team member of the Coaches All-SEC team and capped the season with a spectacular performance in the Peach Bowl that earned him Offensive MVP honors. Prieskorn ended the year with a final line of 30 catches for 449 yards and four touchdowns – a big portion of which came in the Peach Bowl against Penn State. In Atlanta, Prieskorn exploded for an Ole Miss bowl game record 10 receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. In 2023, Prieskorn ranked second among all SEC tight ends with 15.0 yards per reception.

Defense causing mayhem 

The Ole Miss defense has been ever-present in the backfield, currently leading the SEC and ranking third nationally at 30 tackles for loss. The Landshark D was particularly destructive against Furman in the season-opener, rattling the Paladins for a whopping 16 TFL for a loss of 62 yards — the most TFL since Ole Miss notched 17 vs. Mississippi State in 2000, as well as the most yards lost since denting Kent State for 76 in 2018. Ole Miss is coming off 35-sack season during its historic 2023 campaign, which marked the first time since the sack became an official college statistic in 1983 that the Rebels have recorded at least 35 in three consecutive seasons. In the Kiffin era, Ole Miss has recorded multiple sacks in 37 games, at least 5.0 tackles for loss in 35 games, and at least 4.0 sacks in 20 games. In games under Kiffin with at least 5.0 tackles for loss, Ole Miss is 26-9, and in games with at least 4.0 sacks, the Rebels are 12-3.

Into the fire 

The Rebels put massive work into the portal this past offseason, and nowhere is that more noticeable than on defense, where a bevy of newcomers have immediately made their presence felt. On the year, 17.0 of Ole Miss’ SEC-leading 30 tackles for loss have come from newcomers, led by junior LB Chris Paul Jr. (4.0 for 14 yards) and freshman DE Kam Franklin (3.0 for 14 yards). Paul Jr. is also Ole Miss’ current leading tackler at 19 total stops, while Franklin is tied for second on the team in sacks with fellow newcomer DE Chris Hardie and sophomore LB Suntarine Perkins with 1.5. In the season opener against Furman, 12.0 of Ole Miss’ 16 TFL came from newcomers — led by 3.0 alone from Franklin. Overall, three of Ole Miss’ top tacklers this season are in their first full campaigns with the Rebels: Paul Jr. (14), LB TJ Dottery (15) and S Louis Moore (14).

Fearsome front 

The Ole Miss defensive line entered 2024 with a considerable amount of hype, and per PFF grades the Rebels have lived up to that pressure brilliantly though the first three games. Among edge defenders, Ole Miss possesses the top-two rated defenders in the FBS in DE Jared Ivey (92.5) and Princely Umanmielen (90.1), the lone defenders in the FBS so far this year with grades even in the 90s. Among just pass rush grades alone, Ivey reigns supreme as PFF’s top pass rusher at a 91.4 grade, while Umanmielen ranks sixth at 86.2. When switching to interior defensive lineman, the Rebels are nearly as impressive with the No. 3 rated defensive tackle Walter Nolen (88.2) and the No. 9 interior defender, JJ Pegues (83.3). Nolen specifically grades out as the best run defender among all defensive lineman — edge or interior — at a 91.6 run defense grade. Combined, those four have tallied up 29 tackles, 8.5 TFL for 33 yards, 3.5 sacks for 22 yards and 10 quarterback hurries.

Defensive Notes 

• LB Chris Paul Jr. not only leads Ole Miss in tackles (14) and TFL (4.0), but he also ranks as the top LB in the SEC and No. 2 in the FBS per PFF in defensive grade (90.9).

• Ole Miss has three interceptions on the season, picking off one pass in each game so far … Recording INTs this year have been CB Trey Amos, LB Suntarine Perkins and S John Saunders Jr.

• LB TJ Dottery is coming off a career game at Wake Forest with eight total tackles.

• S John Saunders Jr. ranks tied for eighth among active FBS defenders in career passes defended (30) and sixth in INTs (9).

• Freshman DE Kam Franklin dazzled in his college debut vs. Furman, leading the team with 3.0 TFL and 1.5 sacks along with five total tackles and one QB hurry … Franklin ranks second among SEC freshmen in sacks.

• DT and Chucky Mullins Award winner JJ Pegues owns 4.0 TFL and three QB hurries to start his senior campaign … He’s currently fifth in the SEC in TFL.

• S Louis Moore has recorded at least four tackles in each of his first three games with the Rebels … Also owns 2.0 TFL.

• Freshman DT Jamarious Brown notched five total tackles and tied for the team lead with two QB hurries vs. Furman.

• DE Princely Umanmielen leads all Rebels with five QB hurries, and owns 12 total pressures per PFF … Umanmielen ranks tied for 19th among active FBS defenders in career sacks (16.0).

• On the year, 18 different Rebels have had their hand in a tackle for loss, 10 have chipped in on a sack, 12 have defended a pass in some manner and 13 have contributed at least one QB hurry.

Big Boot

Lou Groza Award watch list member Caden Davis already has 36 points to his name for the 2024 season with five field goals and a perfect 21-of-22 line in PATs. That includes a busy night during Ole Miss’ 76-0 victory against Furman, when Davis broke the individual Ole Miss single-game record with 10 PATs, which also tied the Ole Miss team single-game record. Davis played a crucial role in Ole Miss’ historic 2023 season, scoring 99 total points for the Rebels after going 18-of-23 on field goals and a perfect 45-of-45 on PATs. On field goals, Davis was a perfect 7-for-7 from 20-29 yards, 4-for-5 from 30-39 yards, 5-for-7 from 40-49 yards and 2-for-4 from 50 yards or further. Davis is one of only five kickers in Ole Miss history with multiple 50-yard field goals in the same season alongside Cloyce Hinton (1970), Tim Montz (1996), Jonathan Nichols (2003) and Andrew Ritter (2013). Davis’ 50-yard successes came from 52 yards out in Ole Miss’ Peach Bowl victory over Penn State and a crucial 56-yarder late on the road at No. 22 Tulane – the fourth-longest in Ole Miss history and the longest by a Rebel since 1988. Davis’ perfect PAT season in 2023 ranks him among only 20 such seasons in Ole Miss history, the first since 2015.