Tre Harris only wants to 'go kill, dominate' Penn State's secondary in Peach Bowl
ATLANTA — It turns out Saturday’s game against No. 10 Penn State in the Peach Bowl is not Tre Harris’ swan song with Ole Miss.
The Louisiana Tech transfer announced earlier this month he will return for a final season with the Rebels in 2024. But what Saturday is for Harris is another chance to provide highlight reel catches and make things miserable for the Penn State secondary.
The Nittany Lions have the third best passing defense in the nation, holding opposing offenses to 153.6 passing yards per game. They are tied with Michigan and Notre Dame with seven touchdown passes allowed, the least amount by any defense in the country.
For Harris, Penn State is the next team up on the schedule but despite the credentials its defense brings into the game the strategy does not change for the Rebels top receiver.
“For me, my mindset every week no matter what DB it is, go kill, go dominate, no matter who is in front of me,” Harris said Thursday. “For me, it is just go out there and play my game and execute the game plan that’s being made for us.
“We know they’ve got a good secondary back there, but we’ve got good receivers. We’ve got good guys with good pass catches and a good QB that is going to give us the ball on time. So we’ll go out there and play our game, and we’re going to bring it to them.”
Ole Miss enters the Peach Bowl with the 26th best passing offense, averaging 276.6 yards per game and 23 touchdown catches. Harris has accounted for eight of them this season and averaging 77.4 yards per game, which is sixth best in the Southeastern Conference.
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One way Harris and Ole Miss needs to neutralize the Penn State secondary is by its signature tempo offense.
When things are going well it is because the Rebels offense is going fast and furious and successfully finding the endzone in bulk.
Another positive Harris and the rest of the Ole Miss offense feels they have going for them is how comparative the Penn State defense is to two other defenses already faced this year.
Co-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. stated earlier in the same press conference that the Nittany Lions defense reminds of the defenses of Alabama and Georgia. Ole Miss is familiar with each and that thought process has gone into the Peach Bowl preparations.
“For us, they compare pretty well. We know statistically they’re the top defense in the country,” Harris added. “Going out there against them is going to be a great matchup, and we’re really excited for it.
“The way they compare to those other teams, I feel like they have a lot of — I feel like D-linemen, the way they go out there and pretty much wreak havoc out there, the D-linemen are pretty good, as well as pretty much the SEC guys. …To us, we’re going to go out there and play our game, play
our tempo, and be the most dominant team on the field.”
