The mission this week for the Ole Miss offense? Finding its identity and getting back to its roots
Ole Miss is in a unique place for the first time under head coach Lane Kiffin. Through the first four weeks of the season the offense is considered a major weapon in all of college football.
The offense is being discussed plenty but for all the wrong reasons as the Rebels are currently spinning its wheels, trying to get out of the mud and back onto the freeway.
Coming off its second lowest point total in the Kiffin era, scoring 10 points at Alabama, Ole Miss is scratching its head and wondering how to get back to the offense it used to be. The mission to return to form is taking place at a potentially good time.
Ole Miss hosts No. 13 LSU (3-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) on Saturday and the Tigers are currently 73rd in scoring defense, giving up 25 points per game through the first four week. This stat may be skewed but it is also telling. In the loss to Florida State and the win over Arkansas the Tigers defense allowed a combined 76 points.
They held Grambling State and Mississippi State to 10 and 14 points, respectively.
On the other side of this is the Ole Miss offense that is currently the 12th best scoring offense with 42 points per game. Though this stat is also skewed due to the 73 points put on Mercer in week one. In the three games since, the Rebels have scored a combined 95 points to average 31.7.
There was a step up in competition this past weekend and it was reflective with the 10 points on the scoreboard. But this weekend, though it might not seem like it, is a chance to find the Rebels identity on offense.
“We didn’t have a perfect game at all (at Alabama). We had a lot of flaws on offense,” Jordan Watkins said after Tuesday’s practice. “We came in and watched the film (on Monday) and realized that we have a lot of work to do. I think we still have to find our identity a little bit on offense and get the run game going a little bit.”
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The Ole Miss run game, and its struggles, is the one common thread throughout this search for the offense’s identity.
There is no secret that the Rebels ground attack is not near as intimidating to opposing offenses like it was this time a year ago.
Ole Miss currently has the 79th rushing offense in the country, averaging 146.8 yards per game. Through four games last year the Rebels were averaging 280.8 yards per game and had two games of at least 300 rushing yards.
Sophomore Quinshon Judkins is not off the All-American start that he was at this point of his debut season a year go. At this point last year Judkins had already gained 429 yards on his way to almost 1,600 yards during the campaign. Through four games this year, Judkins had rushed for 201 yards and it not even leading the team in rushing.
The run game is the bread and butter of the Ole Miss offense, even Lane Kiffin acknowledges that despite the perception he is a pass-first offense type of coach.
“We got to find that spark,” Watkins said. “You look back at last year at some of the things we were able to do on offense and I think we just got to get back to that. We got to get back to just really finding out who we are on offense and coming out there and playing a complete game. I don’t think the offense has had a complete game yet to where we just went out there and dominated. From the first game to the last game at Tuscaloosa.”
