With Neal successfully completing the Chicago Marathon -- congrats to him by the way because that's a hell of an accomplishment -- and out of town for the weekend, I'm pinch hitting with a version of weekend thoughts. The Rebels knocked off New Mexico State, 52-3, on Saturday and is 5-1 with a trip to Memphis up next.
Chad Kelly was again a tough critic about his own game, the Tigers haven't lost a game in more than a year, and the Rebels have some interesting stats headed into the second half of the season. Those topics and more in this edition of Weekend Thoughts, presented by Harry Alexander.
Ole Miss’ desire for offensive balance has been discussed constantly this season. At the halfway point, here’s a breakdown of how the Rebels have split rushes and passes this season.
For the season Ole Miss has 205 run plays and 226 pass plays
UT Martin
Total plays 36 run, 28 pass
1st down - 22 run, 10 pass
2nd and short - 3 run, 1 pass
2nd and middle - 4 run, 0 pass
2nd and long - 5 run, 8 pass
3rd and short - 1 run, 1 pass
3rd and middle - 1 run, 1 pass
3rd and long - 0 run, 5 pass
4th down - 0 run, 2 pass
Fresno State
Total plays 34 run, 38 pass
1st down - 16 run, 18 pass
2nd and short - 0 run, 2 pass
2nd and middle - 7 run, 4 pass
2nd and long - 3 run, 6 pass
3rd and short - 4 run, 1 pass
3rd and middle - 0 run, 3 pass
3rd and long - 3 run, 4 pass
4th down - 1 run, 0 pass
Alabama
Total plays 30 run, 35 pass
1st down - 14 run, 13 pass
2nd and short - 2 run, 2 pass
2nd and middle - 1 run, 1 pass
2nd and long - 6 run, 10 pass
3rd and short - 2 run, 1 pass
3rd and middle - 1 run, 0 pass
3rd and long - 2 run, 8 pass
4th down - 2 run, 0 pass
Vanderbilt
Total plays 39 run, 45 pass
1st down - 24 run, 18 pass
2nd and short - 2 run, 3 pass
2nd and middle - 4 run, 1 pass
2nd and long - 5 run, 13 pass
3rd and short - 0 run, 1 pass
3rd and middle - 1 run, 2 pass
3rd and long - 2 run, 7 pass
4th down - 1 run, 0 pass
Florida
Total plays 32 run, 45 pass
1st down - 14 run (first four), 21 pass
2nd and short - 2 run, 1 pass
2nd and middle - 3 run, 2 pass
2nd and long - 4 run, 13 pass
3rd and short - 2 run, 0 pass
3rd and middle - 3 run, 3 pass
3rd and long - 3 run, 4 pass
4th down - 1 run, 1 pass
New Mexico State
Total plays 34 run, 35 pass
1st down - 20 run, 17 pass
2nd and short - 3 run, 2 pass
2nd and middle - 3 run, 5 pass
2nd and long - 4 run, 6 pass
3rd and short - 1 run, 0 pass
3rd and middle - 3 run, 2 pass
3rd and long - 0 run, 2 pass
4th down - 0 run, 1 pass
Here’s a quick look at where Ole Miss stands in numerous national statistical categories
Passing offense (339.5 yards per game) — 11th
Passing defense (203 yards per game) - 51st
Rushing offense (188 per game) - 50th
Rushing defense (134 per game) - 40th
Third down conversion (41 percent) - 49th
Third down defense (39 percent) - 82nd
Punt returns (6.07 yards average) - 91st
Punt return defense (1.83 yards average) - 11th
Turnover margin (-1) - 77th
Red zone scoring (87 percent) - 43rd (31 possessions, 13 rush TD, 7 pass TD, 7 FG)
Net punting (42.33 yards) - 7th
Penalty yards (317 yards) - 72nd
A few situational run game stats…
Average rush by quarter: 1st - 6.02, 2nd - 2.43, 3rd - 3.98, 4th - 7.99 (Eugene Brazley’s 78-yard run skews this a bit)
Average rush when winning by 1-14 points: 2.6 yards.
Average rush against FBS teams with winning records (Alabama and Florida) - 2.48 yards
Ole Miss averaged 10.5 yards per play against New Mexico State, but heading into that game there was a negative trend in yards per play: UTM - 13.5, Fresno - 11.3, Alabama - 9.4, Vandy - 7.8, Florida - 6.0
A first look at Memphis…
It’s now been more than a full year since Memphis lost a football game. The Tigers, who Ole Miss will visit at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Liberty Bowl for an ABC telecast, have won 12 games in a row, dating back to a 48-10 win over SMU last season.
Memphis last lost October 11, 2014 against Houston, 28-24, at home. That made the Tigers 3-3 on the season, but they rolled off seven in a row to end the year.
The Tigers are No. 22 in the Amway Coaches Poll, while the Rebels are at No. 12. Per the Ole Miss media guide, it’s the first time Memphis will be ranked in a game against Ole Miss.
The Tigers are averaging 48 points per game while allowing 27 per game. However, those numbers include a 63-7 win over Missouri State. Taking out the FCS game, it’s 44 points per game for the Tigers and 31 points for opponents.
The Tigers are giving up 306 yards per game through the air. That’s the obvious, glaring issue.
Memphis is running for 4.3 yards per attempt with a three-headed attack getting close to even carries. Jarvis Cooper has 244 yards on 50 carries, Sam Craft has 199 on 50 and Doroland Dorceus has 175 yards on 44 touches. Each has scored four times. Cooper hasn’t had a negative rush this season.
Quarterback Paxton Lynch can move around some, as well. He has 116 net yards, but that includes 54 yards lost on sacks. Lynch is completing 71 percent of his passes for 1,535 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The Tigers have also scored on 27 of 28 red zone chances with 23 touchdowns.
If I had a vote…
1. Ohio State (Until they lose)
2. TCU (Good wins even if it’s borrowed time)
3. Utah (Michigan win looks better and better)
4. Clemson (Good FBS group of wins)
5. Florida (Ole Miss win remains impressive)
6. Baylor (Maybe underranked here but schedule is awful so far)
7. LSU (Really good OL and group of backs)
8. Michigan State (Michigan is up next)
9. Texas A&M (Still unbeaten)
10. Ole Miss (Head to head tiebreaker over ‘Bama)
SEC Power Rankings…
1. Florida
2. LSU
3. TAMU
4. Ole Miss
5. Alabama
6. Mississippi State
7. Tennessee
8. Georgia
9. Kentucky
10. Arkansas
11. Missouri
12. Auburn
13. Vanderbilt
14. South Carolina
Ole Miss, SEC and other scattershooting…
Chad Kelly has taken it upon himself to absorb the criticism if Ole Miss doesn’t play well. He did that after the loss to Florida and was a tough critic when asked to evaluate his play against the Aggies on Saturday.
However, he was correct when stressing the need to protect the football. There are only so many issues with a day that piled up 384 passing yards, but several of Kelly’s throws hit NMSU defenders before falling to the ground. Those are interceptions in the SEC, and it needs to be cleaned up quickly.
“I have to see the holes,” Kelly said. “I have to make sure I find the holes to throw through and then don’t turn the ball over. I did decent, but I turned the ball over once. You can’t turn the ball over. You lose games doing that.”
He’s 10th nationally in passing yards and can deliver wins for the Rebels, but he’s focused on fixing the few errant throws each game that could turn things negative. That’s a good thing, and to this point he’s exhibiting the intangibles you want to see in a quarterback.
Kelly has completed 64.4 percent of his passes on first down and 75.8 percent of his passes on second down but just 42.4 percent on third down. That’s because he’s 11-of-28 when throwing on third downs with more than three yards to gain for a first down. Eight of those 28 throws have resulted in first downs.
Alabama leaned on Arkansas and the Hogs finally fell over, but the Tide didn’t look like some unstoppable juggernaut to me. I’m not sure the complete discombobulation of Georgia isn’t the anomaly in the equation. Alabama is good. Very good. But the Tide isn’t going to cake walk to the SEC title. They’ll have to navigate more tight ropes along the way.
Jim McElwain is doing a heck of a job. That was evident in Florida’s ability to overwhelm and fluster Ole Miss a couple weeks ago, but it was also impressive how the Gators handled the success and appropriately dispatched of Missouri. That team that barely beat Kentucky may be the East favorite now. Will Muschamp was a disaster as a head coach, but the cupboard had some items on the shelves.
It’s not often a player can injure three ligaments in his knee and see it as good news, but that’s the case with Nick Chubb this weekend. The horrific screenshot sent to my phone of the injury made me look away, and I’ve made sure to avoid it ever since then. Twitter was speculating about the potential of nerve injuries, but while surgery is necessary and there is damage, the nerves and ACL are intact. That’s tremendous news for a great player and his career.
The scuttlebutt following Chubb’s injury made me think about Tim Simon — a super person who injured his knee during his first career action for Ole Miss at South Carolina. Living a normal life became the goal following Simon’s setback, as his career ended that night in Columbia due to the extent of the injury. I was told last week Simon is now a coach at Cordova High School in Alabama — his alma mater. I hope he’s doing well, it’s great he’s still around the sport he loves. He deserves it.
LSU isn’t just Leonard Fournette. The quarterback play remains poor, and that very well may be the Tigers’ fatal flaw that keeps them out of Atlanta, but the offensive line and run game are incredibly formidable. Derrius Guice broke eight tackles and had a productive game against Carolina. Fournette is the Heisman favorite and the path to a special season for LSU, but he can catch a breather without the offense falling apart.
Texas A&M-Alabama and LSU-Florida next week will provide Ole Miss with more of an idea and roadmap for the rest of the season.
I give Tennessee credit for keeping the energy up despite all the blown leads and struggles. That’s a tough task for a coaching staff. However, that will be known as the game Georgia lost more than Tennessee won.
Good grief Steve Sarkisian. Some reports are that he was inebriated during the game. I hope those are well sourced because a mistake there is screwing with someone's life. And as much as I want to quip about the situation, these coaches are under a crazy amount of stress. And while they get paid well, it can cause addictions and other negative situations to spiral out of control. Gary Kubiak collapsed on the field in 2013.
The Saints are awful. Burn it down and start over. Honeymoon is done. Time for divorce. Except for Sean Payton. He needs to stay.Reports this morning said Dolphins and Colts are interested in him. I'm scared.
Chase Utley should have been tossed for his slide several feet from the bag. However, he wasn't trying to break Ruben Tejada's leg. He was trying to break the play up. That play needs to be officiated differently in the future.
Andy Dalton is 5-0. I can't wait for that playoffs collapse.
I don't have an MLB team really, so I'm just watching for the entertainment. The game has never been better. It's incredibly high quality. For some reason, I enjoy the Astros winning.
As I posted Saturday, Preston Tarkington has hung up his cleats. He had Tommy John last year, and while a complete recovery was expected, he decided to not pursue another season of college baseball. He's a good dude, and I hate it for him. The hard cutters and sliders at that high of a percentage can bomb an elbow.
One last thing…
Stuart Stevens’ The Last Season: A father, a son and a lifetime of college football sat on my dining room table for a couple weeks before I could pick it up. I saw the threads on the message board about it, and I think those pushed me to finally read it so I could stop staring at it.
The review copy showed up at my doorstep two days before my father passed away. It was still there when I got back home from the funeral.
It intimately hit me hard due to the timing, and I do recommend you give it a shot. This isn’t really a review as much as an opinion on the book. It’s a quick read, and you’ll appreciate the familiar football parts, but football was simply the vehicle to delve the father-son human dynamic.
I personally got a lot out of it, and it very easily can reach an audience beyond Mississippi due to the theme. However don’t pick it up because you’re looking for an outstanding football book that goes into detail about that season. That’s not what this is and doesn’t try to be.
Due to my personal situation I've spent a lot of time thinking about fathers and sons and how that relationship evolves and grows over the years. That book struck me with those thoughts, as did the Presidents Cup over the weekend. For the non-golf fans, it's a competition every two years between the United States and an international team from everywhere but Europe. This one was in South Korea.
The last singles match of the event, which turned out to be a deciding point, came down to Bill Haas, whose dad, Jay, was the United States captain (think, head coach) and chose his son for the team with one of two captain's picks. He was matched with South Korea's Sang-Moon Bae, who now has to leave the PGA Tour for two years in order to fulfill a military obligation.
I stayed up to watch it on Saturday night, and it was incredibly neat to see Bill Haas win his match and clinch the cup for his team, country and, most importantly, his dad. Jay couldn't speak through tears when he was asked about his son's play, and their hug following the match was a really cool moment. I also felt for Bae, who collapsed on the ground after messing up a pitch shot on the final hole. He's dealing with a difficult situation and had his home country counting on him to pull it out.
It's just golf, and the thing didn't matter at all in the big picture, but everything comes back to relationships and great moments with those you care about. Both the book and golf event showed that.
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