2008 Woodie Awards
Rebels hungry for first conference win
Robert Beckmann
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Arkansas isn't the only team that knows what it feels like to be winless in the Southeastern Conference. In fact, the Ole Miss Rebels have done the Hogs one better - or worse - by dropping four conference games this season.
With both teams battling to chalk up a mark in their respective win columns, one squad will get their wish this Saturday when the Razorbacks travel to Oxford, Miss., to face the Rebels.
"Ole Miss is very similar to us; they're hungry for that first SEC win," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "They look very physical running the ball and they look good on defense, so this will be another hard battle."
Much like Arkansas, Ole Miss is a difficult team to label.
At times, the Rebels have shown signs of brilliance, such as leading Florida 27-24 with five minutes left in the game. At others, they've fallen flat, getting crushed 45-17 by Georgia.
One chink in the Rebels' armor appears to be their run defense. Against moderate rushing teams like Alabama and Vanderbilt, Ole Miss held its own. However, against more high-octane attacks like those of Georgia and Florida, the defense struggled to keep up.
By persistently pounding the ball on the ground, Georgia amassed 328 rushing yards against Ole Miss on 45 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per run. The first score for UGA came on a 50-yard run by Bulldog tailback Thomas Brown, who scored a total of three touchdowns in the contest.
Felix Jones and Darren McFadden, following poor performances against Auburn, would like nothing better than to imitate the big plays the Bulldogs ran on the Rebels.
To counteract this, Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron may do some mimicry of his own by taking a page from Auburn's defensive playbook.
"They played basic defense and did not blitz them a lot on first and second down," Orgeron said of the Auburn defense against Arkansas. "They brought some eight men in the box, and I do not think they were threatened by their passing game."
With both teams battling to chalk up a mark in their respective win columns, one squad will get their wish this Saturday when the Razorbacks travel to Oxford, Miss., to face the Rebels.
"Ole Miss is very similar to us; they're hungry for that first SEC win," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "They look very physical running the ball and they look good on defense, so this will be another hard battle."
Much like Arkansas, Ole Miss is a difficult team to label.
At times, the Rebels have shown signs of brilliance, such as leading Florida 27-24 with five minutes left in the game. At others, they've fallen flat, getting crushed 45-17 by Georgia.
One chink in the Rebels' armor appears to be their run defense. Against moderate rushing teams like Alabama and Vanderbilt, Ole Miss held its own. However, against more high-octane attacks like those of Georgia and Florida, the defense struggled to keep up.
By persistently pounding the ball on the ground, Georgia amassed 328 rushing yards against Ole Miss on 45 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per run. The first score for UGA came on a 50-yard run by Bulldog tailback Thomas Brown, who scored a total of three touchdowns in the contest.
Felix Jones and Darren McFadden, following poor performances against Auburn, would like nothing better than to imitate the big plays the Bulldogs ran on the Rebels.
To counteract this, Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron may do some mimicry of his own by taking a page from Auburn's defensive playbook.
"They played basic defense and did not blitz them a lot on first and second down," Orgeron said of the Auburn defense against Arkansas. "They brought some eight men in the box, and I do not think they were threatened by their passing game."
Be the first to comment on this story