Why Ole Miss is a legit contender, plus other notes

After answering a question Saturday about Ole Miss’ upcoming off-week, Lane Kiffin decided to jokingly throw out a question of his own. “Who do we play after this (open) date?” Kiffin playfully asked the reporter. “I haven’t looked yet.”

His team will face No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and he obviously was kidding. Nevertheless, Kiffin and the No. 13 Rebels now get to spend these next two weeks prepping for a matchup that could be a significant challenge for the top-ranked Crimson Tide.

After finishing 5-5 in 2020 in Kiffin’s first season, Ole Miss (3-0) continues to look capable of being a top contender in the SEC this season.

The latest win for Ole Miss was a 61-21 demolition of Tulane, which lost by just five to No. 4 Oklahoma in Week 1. It came two weeks after a season-opening 43-24 victory over Louisville in which the Rebels led 26-0 at halftime.

Behind quarterback Matt Corral, Ole Miss may be even better on offense than last season’s group that ranked third-best nationally with an average of 555.5 yards per game. The Rebels, who had 61 points and 601 yards by the midpoint of the third quarter vs. Tulane, are ranked No. 1 nationally in total offense (638.3 yards per game) and scoring offense (52.7 points per game). Despite limited second-half action in the past two games, Corral — a leading Heisman contender — is seventh nationally in passing (335 yards per game) and has 14 total touchdowns with no interceptions. Corral became the first player in SEC history with four rushing touchdowns and three passing touchdowns in one game against Tulane.

It goes beyond just the offense, though. Ole Miss believes it is also much improved on defense after ranking last among Power 5 teams in total defense last season.

It all factors into why one coach with SEC ties told On3 on Sunday that his money would be on Ole Miss in head-to-head matchups against several teams currently in the top 10. That offense, he said, is likely going to lead the way to a lot of wins. Maybe even against Alabama.

“Wish we didn’t have a bye because we’re playing so well,” Kiffin said. “But it is what it is. We’ll look to get better during that … and get ready for some really good teams.”

Clemson has issues at QB

Last season, only one Power 5 team — Alabama — scored more touchdowns than Clemson. This year? There’s only one Power 5 team with fewer (not counting games against non-FBS teams).

In two games against FBS programs — a 10-3 loss to Georgia in Week 1 and a 14-8 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday — the Tigers have just two touchdowns. Both came during the narrow victory over Georgia Tech, a game Clemson entered as a 28-point favorite.

So what’s going on?

Issues at quarterback with former five-star recruit D.J. Uiagalelei are a big part of the early issues. In the games against Georgia and Georgia Tech, Uiagalelei threw for just 304 total yards, accounted for zero touchdowns and had two turnovers. That includes a pick-six against Georgia that served as the game’s only touchdown. In addition, Uiagalelei was just 14-of-24 for 171 yards with one passing touchdown, two short rushing scores and an interception during Clemson’s 49-3 win over FCS South Carolina State in Week 2.

One veteran college football personnel figure summed it up like this regarding Uiagalelei: “He’s big and he has a strong arm, but he doesn’t play the position very well right now. He isn’t processing things very quickly, and he’s not very accurate.”

Clemson plays at NC State this weekend.

What to take away from Fresno State’s win over UCLA

In Week 1, Oregon escaped against Fresno State, scoring the winning TD with 2:57 remaining to win 31-24. UCLA wasn’t as fortunate Saturday night, losing 40-37 after Fresno State scored the game-winner with 14 seconds left.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking the loss means that then-No. 13 UCLA was overrated. More so, the game was just further confirmation that Kalen DeBoer has a talented squad in his second season as Fresno State’s coach. DeBoer won three NAIA national titles as coach at Sioux Falls (S.D.) and was an OC at Southern Illinois (2010-13), Eastern Michigan (2014-16), Fresno (2017-18, under Jeff Tedford) and Indiana (2019) before being hired as Bulldogs coach.

Led by quarterback Jake Haener, the Bulldogs are 3-1 and newly ranked at No. 22. Haener, who began his career at Washington before transferring in 2019, ranked fourth nationally in passing last season (336.8 yards per game). He threw for 455 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA.

“I think we ran everything against Jake Haener,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly said. “We blitzed him, we played Cover 0, we rushed three and dropped everybody into coverage. We threw the whole kitchen sink at that young man, and I think he handled everything. You’ve got to give him credit because we ran everything that was in our defensive repertoire at that guy, and he just continued to make plays.”

Fresno State also got 136 yards and two touchdowns from running back Ronnie Rivers, a fifth-year senior whom NFL scouts view as a potential Day 3 pick in the 2022 draft.

The Bulldogs, who finished 3-3 last season, begin Mountain West Conference play at home against UNLV (0-3) Saturday.

Quick hitters

+ Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III has emerged as a dark-horse Heisman candidate. Walker, a Wake Forest transfer, ran for 172 yards and had a receiving touchdown during the Spartans’ 38-17 road win over then-No. 24 Miami. In Michigan State’s two games against FBS teams (the victory over Miami and a 38-21 season-opening upset at Northwestern), Walker has rushed for 436 yards with five total touchdowns and an average of 8.7 yards per carry.

+ Kevin Kelley’s first game at Presbyterian against a fellow FCS program didn’t go well. Kelley — known for, among other things, his no-punting approach — and the Blue Hose had opened the season with wins against two lower-level programs (84-43 over St. Andrews and 68-3 over Fort Lauderdale University). On Saturday, Campbell crushed Presbyterian 72-0. Quarterback Ren Hefley, who threw 10 touchdown passes against St. Andrews, threw for just 164 yards and tossed six interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.

+ Only one FBS quarterback has more than 11 touchdown passes. It’s SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, who has 16. Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, has thrown for at least 311 yards and at least four touchdowns in each of the Mustangs’ first three games. During SMU’s 39-37 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Mordecai threw for 395 yards and five touchdowns, including a game-winning 33-yard Hail Mary. SMU (3-0) plays rival TCU this weekend.