*Ole Miss races out to a four-possession halftime lead and dominates Louisville, 43-24, to move to 1-0 on the season. Here are some running observations from the game.
*Getting some inside push on the goal line is a good sign. Ole Miss didn’t have that last year. And it was mostly because of Snoop Conner, but it makes things so much easier when there’s not much room to pass. The Rebels going under center there simplifies it, too. Good formation and sets.
*Malik Cunningham picking up third and longs with his feet was a huge emphasis coming into the game. He did that so well a year ago. He gets the third and 11 on the first drive and not only continues the drive but ends up running time off the clock in chunks. Ole Miss later shut that down with Chance Campbell spying him and being in the right place most of the night. It was an early adjustment that stymied Louisville.
*Campbell… I heard he has an NIL deal… any idea who it is with?
*Ole Miss has to run out of that drop eight. Pass happy with linebackers in passing lanes on the second possession. Between some penalties and poor runs out of base plays, Ole Miss was behind the chains a lot in the first half — an under-talked-about part of the half considering the score. Corral threw them back on schedule, but there was a lot of out of sync from the offense because of the run game and penalties. Something to clean up.
* Quentin Bivens was excellent on Monday. He filled space, freed up the second and third levels and even got some penetration at times. He was disruptive.
*Special teams penalties on the first two opportunities. Empty lost yards. That has to be cleaned up. It's an efficiency thing that can absolutely win or lose a football game.
*Third field goal of more than 40 yards since Gary Wunderlich graduated in 2017. Caden Costa hits the first three field goals of his career. It’s fair to wonder if Cale Nation’s missed PAT is the only attempt of the season.
*Matt Corral was with Mark Robinson after the ejection, encouraging him and telling him they were going to win the game for him — if lip reading was correct. He coached on the field and directed traffic and found players who need encouragement on the sideline. No. 2 was a hell of a leader tonight.
*Chase Rogers great pass block early in the second quarter. Readjustment and got outside to protect Corral. Ole Miss scored on the drive.
*Nick Broeker on that pile clean-up was probably the right call, but the whistle hadn’t blown. Blow the whistle if you’re going to call late hit.
*Snoop Conner is just a load inside. We’ve known that throughout his career, but he’s bigger and more physical. Louisville did so much trying to tackle him up high. Good luck with that. And that poor DB in the fourth quarter.
*It’s the fewest passing yards allowed in a first half for Ole Miss since the Wofford game in 2016.
*Ole Miss averaged 3.6 yards per rush in the first half, even with Conner averaging 6.6 yards per carry. A few of those were around the goal line, and it was a pretty flawless half, but the Rebels didn’t run Louisville out of that drop-8 like I expected.
*Dontario Drummond with four catches and 102 yards in the first half including that fingertips grab. I thought he’d have a big night. Make that eight for 178 for the game.
*Oh my God that play call that was called back for illegal man downfield. Corral was so smooth, baiting the linebackers and lobbing it to Ealy. It was the right call with the penalty, but good Lord it was pretty. Neal and I both said it’s not defensible when executed. Corral executed it brilliantly.
*Louisville found that traction late in the third quarter, and I thought Ole Miss got a touch tired on the second level, down two linebackers including Robinson who seemed poised to play a significant number of snaps.
*The tackling was better than any point I remember last season except maybe at the end of the year, and Ole Miss was sound with its gaps for the majority of the game. Several times the Rebels stayed home on a slow-developing misdirection and limited big plays, especially on that throw-back in the first half. Ole Miss looked like a well-coached defense that executed.
*Corral had two touchdowns called back on penalties. Both were pretty marginal, and they didn’t do much to the game other than take away stats from Corral. They were maybe the two prettiest plays of the game.
*Corral’s patience was great on Monday. He took what the defense gave him all night, and he let plays develop. He went through his progressions. That soft toss to Drummond showed his ability to move the pocket while also being patient. The game is so slow for him right now. He’s a stud.
*Ealy was the only Rebels other than Drummond to have more than two catches, but Ole Miss had eight different people catch a pass. It was a nice job spreading it around, and Drummond’s game will help open some things for Braylon Sanders.
*All of the targeting penalties were in the first half, so no players will miss the Austin Peay game for that.
*Otis Reese and Tysheem Johnson were active all night. Chance Campbell was the biggest difference-maker, but those two made tackles and limited things.
*Getting some inside push on the goal line is a good sign. Ole Miss didn’t have that last year. And it was mostly because of Snoop Conner, but it makes things so much easier when there’s not much room to pass. The Rebels going under center there simplifies it, too. Good formation and sets.
*Malik Cunningham picking up third and longs with his feet was a huge emphasis coming into the game. He did that so well a year ago. He gets the third and 11 on the first drive and not only continues the drive but ends up running time off the clock in chunks. Ole Miss later shut that down with Chance Campbell spying him and being in the right place most of the night. It was an early adjustment that stymied Louisville.
*Campbell… I heard he has an NIL deal… any idea who it is with?
*Ole Miss has to run out of that drop eight. Pass happy with linebackers in passing lanes on the second possession. Between some penalties and poor runs out of base plays, Ole Miss was behind the chains a lot in the first half — an under-talked-about part of the half considering the score. Corral threw them back on schedule, but there was a lot of out of sync from the offense because of the run game and penalties. Something to clean up.
* Quentin Bivens was excellent on Monday. He filled space, freed up the second and third levels and even got some penetration at times. He was disruptive.
*Special teams penalties on the first two opportunities. Empty lost yards. That has to be cleaned up. It's an efficiency thing that can absolutely win or lose a football game.
*Third field goal of more than 40 yards since Gary Wunderlich graduated in 2017. Caden Costa hits the first three field goals of his career. It’s fair to wonder if Cale Nation’s missed PAT is the only attempt of the season.
*Matt Corral was with Mark Robinson after the ejection, encouraging him and telling him they were going to win the game for him — if lip reading was correct. He coached on the field and directed traffic and found players who need encouragement on the sideline. No. 2 was a hell of a leader tonight.
*Chase Rogers great pass block early in the second quarter. Readjustment and got outside to protect Corral. Ole Miss scored on the drive.
*Nick Broeker on that pile clean-up was probably the right call, but the whistle hadn’t blown. Blow the whistle if you’re going to call late hit.
*Snoop Conner is just a load inside. We’ve known that throughout his career, but he’s bigger and more physical. Louisville did so much trying to tackle him up high. Good luck with that. And that poor DB in the fourth quarter.
*It’s the fewest passing yards allowed in a first half for Ole Miss since the Wofford game in 2016.
*Ole Miss averaged 3.6 yards per rush in the first half, even with Conner averaging 6.6 yards per carry. A few of those were around the goal line, and it was a pretty flawless half, but the Rebels didn’t run Louisville out of that drop-8 like I expected.
*Dontario Drummond with four catches and 102 yards in the first half including that fingertips grab. I thought he’d have a big night. Make that eight for 178 for the game.
*Oh my God that play call that was called back for illegal man downfield. Corral was so smooth, baiting the linebackers and lobbing it to Ealy. It was the right call with the penalty, but good Lord it was pretty. Neal and I both said it’s not defensible when executed. Corral executed it brilliantly.
*Louisville found that traction late in the third quarter, and I thought Ole Miss got a touch tired on the second level, down two linebackers including Robinson who seemed poised to play a significant number of snaps.
*The tackling was better than any point I remember last season except maybe at the end of the year, and Ole Miss was sound with its gaps for the majority of the game. Several times the Rebels stayed home on a slow-developing misdirection and limited big plays, especially on that throw-back in the first half. Ole Miss looked like a well-coached defense that executed.
*Corral had two touchdowns called back on penalties. Both were pretty marginal, and they didn’t do much to the game other than take away stats from Corral. They were maybe the two prettiest plays of the game.
*Corral’s patience was great on Monday. He took what the defense gave him all night, and he let plays develop. He went through his progressions. That soft toss to Drummond showed his ability to move the pocket while also being patient. The game is so slow for him right now. He’s a stud.
*Ealy was the only Rebels other than Drummond to have more than two catches, but Ole Miss had eight different people catch a pass. It was a nice job spreading it around, and Drummond’s game will help open some things for Braylon Sanders.
*All of the targeting penalties were in the first half, so no players will miss the Austin Peay game for that.
*Otis Reese and Tysheem Johnson were active all night. Chance Campbell was the biggest difference-maker, but those two made tackles and limited things.
Last edited:
