Ole Miss heads into its matchup at South Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT) with a lot of the focus on its offensive line against an athletic, dynamic pass rush from the Gamecocks. Carolina is 3-1 with a 31-6 win over Kentucky and 36-33 loss to LSU.
Kentucky sacked Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart four times and pressured him 14 times in 36 dropbacks despite blitzing only 16.7 percent of the time. Dart completed 4-of-6 passes for 129 yards under pressure, but he didn’t get a pass off at all eight times. He was under pressure 38 percent of dropbacks. Ole Miss’ season average for allowing pressure is 22 percent.
The Rebels were without offensive linemen Caleb Warren, Jeremy James and Jayden Williams versus Kentucky, and Gerquan Scott only played nine snaps, resulting in four offensive linemen playing every snap in the game. There’s scuttlebutt Ole Miss could get James and Warren back soon. Warren wasn’t listed on the availability report last week. The first iteration of this week’s report will be released today.
Pressure dictated South Carolina’s defensive performances against Kentuck and LSU. Carolina held UK’s Brock Vandagriff to 3-of-11 passing on 14 dropbacks, picking him off and sacking him three times. Vandagriff’s depth of throw was only six yards on avergage. USC blitzed him 21 percent of the time, and because it couldn’t run effectively, Kentucky abandoned the play-action.
In Carolina’s loss to LSU, Garrett Nussmeier got better protection and performed reasonably well, completing 24-of-41 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He was sacked just once for the only time he didn’t get a pass off on a dropback. Carolina’s blitzed on a heavy 43 percent of passing downs, struggling to get pressure with the front four. Nussmeier faced pressure 23 percent of the time.
Nussmeier did a good job getting rid of the football, taking 2.8 seconds to throw regardless of situation. Against Kentucky, Dart held it for almost 3.5 seconds per throw. LSU, against Carolina, attempted 14 passes of more than 10 air yards, a recipe Ole Miss needs to implement this weekend. Protection has to be there, and decisions need to occur quickly.
PFF College credits Carolina with 16 sacks this season including five from edge rusher Kyle Kennard and three from edge rusher Dylan Stewart. No one else on the Gamecocks has more than one sack. Those two also lead the team with 16 and 11 pressures, respectively. Carolina is averaging two sacks per game above last year’s statistics.
Carolina is susceptible in its run defense, with LSU forcing 11 missed tackles and rushing for 5.2 yards per carry. Kentucky, despite having zero passing game threat, ran for 4.4 yards per carry and forced nine missed tackles. Ole Miss averaged 4.3 yards per carry from its running backs against Kentucky – on 16 attempts.
Kentucky sacked Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart four times and pressured him 14 times in 36 dropbacks despite blitzing only 16.7 percent of the time. Dart completed 4-of-6 passes for 129 yards under pressure, but he didn’t get a pass off at all eight times. He was under pressure 38 percent of dropbacks. Ole Miss’ season average for allowing pressure is 22 percent.
The Rebels were without offensive linemen Caleb Warren, Jeremy James and Jayden Williams versus Kentucky, and Gerquan Scott only played nine snaps, resulting in four offensive linemen playing every snap in the game. There’s scuttlebutt Ole Miss could get James and Warren back soon. Warren wasn’t listed on the availability report last week. The first iteration of this week’s report will be released today.
Pressure dictated South Carolina’s defensive performances against Kentuck and LSU. Carolina held UK’s Brock Vandagriff to 3-of-11 passing on 14 dropbacks, picking him off and sacking him three times. Vandagriff’s depth of throw was only six yards on avergage. USC blitzed him 21 percent of the time, and because it couldn’t run effectively, Kentucky abandoned the play-action.
In Carolina’s loss to LSU, Garrett Nussmeier got better protection and performed reasonably well, completing 24-of-41 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He was sacked just once for the only time he didn’t get a pass off on a dropback. Carolina’s blitzed on a heavy 43 percent of passing downs, struggling to get pressure with the front four. Nussmeier faced pressure 23 percent of the time.
Nussmeier did a good job getting rid of the football, taking 2.8 seconds to throw regardless of situation. Against Kentucky, Dart held it for almost 3.5 seconds per throw. LSU, against Carolina, attempted 14 passes of more than 10 air yards, a recipe Ole Miss needs to implement this weekend. Protection has to be there, and decisions need to occur quickly.
PFF College credits Carolina with 16 sacks this season including five from edge rusher Kyle Kennard and three from edge rusher Dylan Stewart. No one else on the Gamecocks has more than one sack. Those two also lead the team with 16 and 11 pressures, respectively. Carolina is averaging two sacks per game above last year’s statistics.
Carolina is susceptible in its run defense, with LSU forcing 11 missed tackles and rushing for 5.2 yards per carry. Kentucky, despite having zero passing game threat, ran for 4.4 yards per carry and forced nine missed tackles. Ole Miss averaged 4.3 yards per carry from its running backs against Kentucky – on 16 attempts.
Last edited:
