Ole Miss's offense vs. A&M's defense
Texas A&M projected depth chart
DE: #4, Shemar Stewart; Fr.; 6-4, 285
#8, Anthony Lucas; Fr.; 6-6, 270
DT:#35, McKinnley Jackson; Jr.; 6-2, 325
#5, Shemar Turner; So.; 6-4, 300
DT:#88, Walter Nolen; Fr.; 6-4, 325
#34, Isaiah Raikes; Jr.; 6-1, 325
DE: #10, Fadil Diggs; RS-So.; 6-5, 260
#18, LT Overton; Fr.; 6-5, 280
LB: #45, Edgerrin Cooper; RS-So.; 6-3, 225
#23, Tarian Lee Jr.; RS-Jr.; 6-2, 235
LB: #24, Chris Russell Jr.; Sr.; 6-2, 235
#32, Andre White; Sr.; 6-3, 235
NICKEL: #27, Antonio Johnson; Jr.; 6-3, 195
#33, Jarred Kerr; Fr.; 5-11, 175
CB: #17, Jaylon Jones; Jr.; 6-2, 205
#11, Deuce Harmon; So.; 5-10, 200
S: #26, Demani Richardson; Sr.; 6-1, 210
#1, Bryce Anderson; Fr.; 5-11, 195
S: #20, Jardin Gilbert; So.; 6-1, 185
#14, Jacoby Mathews; Fr.; 6-1, 205
CB: #7, Tyreek Chappell; So.; 5-11, 185
#11, Deuce Harmon; So.; 5-10, 200
Ole Miss depth chart
QB: #2, Jaxson Dart; So.-TR.; 6-2, 220
#7, Luke Altmyer; So.; 6-1, 200
RB: #4, Quinshon Jenkins; Fr.; 5-11, 210
#6, Zach Evans; Jr.-TR.; 6, 215
WR: #1, Jonathan Mingo; RS-Sr.; 6-2, 225
#19, Dayton Wade; Jr.-TR.; 5-9, 175
WR: #8, Malik Heath; Sr.-TR.; 6-3, 215
#86, JJ Henry; Fr.; 5-9, 170
TE: #81, Casey Kelly; Jr.; 6-3, 255
#13, Kyirin Heath; Fr.; 6-4, 235
LT: #71, Jayden Williams; RS-Fr.; 6-5, 300
#66, Cedric Nicely; RS-Fr.; 6-5, 310
LG: #64, Nick Broeker; RS-Sr.; 6-5, 315
#75, Mason Brooks; Sr.-TR.; 6-6, 315
C: #54, Caleb Warren; Jr.; 6-5, 310
#56, Reese McIntyre; Jr.; 6-5, 305
RG: #78, Jeremy James; Jr.; 6-5, 305
#73, Eli Acker; So.; 6-5, 295
RT: #57, Micah Pettus; RS-Fr.; 6-7, 360
#50, Jalen Cunningham; RS-Sr.; 6-5, 330
Injury update
Texas A&M: CB Myles Jones (Hamstring) is out. DE Tunmise Adeleye, Nickel Antonio Johnson and LB Edgerrin Cooper are probable. CB Denver Harris is suspended indefinitely.
Ole Miss: No reported injuries
Ole Miss statistical leaders
Rushing: Judkins, 146 carries, 831 yards (5.7 YPC), 12 TD
Evans, 100 carries, 605 yards (6.1 YPC), 7 TD
Passing: Dart, 119-196, 1,771 yards, 11 TD, 7 INT
Altmeyer, 8-17, 125 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Receiving: Mingo, 26 catches, 575 yards (22.1 YPC), 3 TD
Heath, 31 catches, 491 yards (15.8 YPC), 3 TD
Watkins, 24 catches, 335 yards (14 YPC), 3 TD
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Tackles: Johnson, 48
Gilbert and Russell, 47
Tackles for loss: Russell, 5.5
Cooper and Diggs, 5
Sacks: Diggs, 3
Russell, 2.5
Stewart, 1.5
Interceptions: Gilbert, 2
Forced fumbles: Diggs, 3
Richardson, 2
Five players with 1
Fumble recoveries: Anderson, 2
Six players with 1
Head-to-head
| Category | Ole Miss | Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|
|
Total offense/yards allowed |
490.5 YPG (12th nationally, 3rd SEC) |
353.7 YPG (44th nationally, 6th SEC) |
|
Rushing yards/yards allowed |
252.1 YPG (3rd, 1st) |
179.3 YPG (102nd, 12th) |
|
Passing yards/yards allowed |
238.4 YPG (71st, 8th) |
174.4 YPG (12th, 2nd) |
|
Third down conversion percentage/defense |
52.3% (9th, 2nd) |
38.2% (67th, 8th) |
|
Red zone conversion percentage/defense |
86.8% (43rd, 6th) |
65.2% (3rd, 1st) |
|
Sacks allowed/sacks |
6 (7th, 2nd) |
12 (95th, 10th) |
|
Tackles for loss allowed/tackles for loss |
5 per game (51st, 7th) |
5.3 per game (84th, 7th) |
|
Time of possession |
24:49 (128th, 14th) |
28:38 (98th, 11th) |
|
Turnovers/forced |
11 (66th, 8th) |
11 (65th, 7th) |
|
Turnover +/- |
+2 (54th, 7th) |
Even (67th, 8th) |
What Ole Miss wants to do
Go up-tempo, move the ball as fast as possible and run at every opportunity. Ole Miss completely revamped their offense in the offseason, going from pass-heavy to run-heavy. And it's worked well, before last weekend. The Rebels have been able to gash opponents with the running game, with Judkins easily being an freshman All-American candidate.
When Ole Miss does throw, it's still Lane Kiffin, so they want to throw deep. Mingo has put up huge numbers as he's the primary target for Jaxson Dart, who has been up and down in his first season at Oxford. Still, they're picking up a lot of chunk plays when they need them and stay out of third and long situations.
They know A&M has struggled against the run and they're going to try to exploit that. And why not? They've got an excellent running game.
How A&M may try to counter
Do what they did in the first half against South Carolina and bottle up the running game. A&M gave up just 15 yards in the first half, which proves they can stop the running game if they play smart. Getting Adeleye, Cooper and Johnson back (hopefully) should help in that cause. Ole Miss isn't going to give A&M time to substitute, so they may go with the jumbo line of Shemar Turner, Walter Nolen, McKinnley Jackson and Fadil Diggs a lot. That's their best shot at slowing down the running game and holding their own against a massive Ole Miss front.
And, when they do get Ole Miss into passing situations, they have to get off the field. That was their killer last week, getting South Carolina into 3rd and long situations and not finishing the deal. If they get the Rebels into situations like that, they've got to come after Dart, get him out of the pocket and force bad throws.