BWI Live: Penn State vs. Ole Miss Peach Bowl preview
Today on the BWI Live Show, we dissect Penn State’s 2023 Peach Bowl opponent, Ole Miss. We’ll talk about what the offense, under head coach Lane Kiffen, likes to do, and how they do it. We’ll also discuss the team’s defensive abilities, schemes and players. Check out the show here or on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Page.
We’ll also discuss new Penn State’s offensive coordinator, Andy Kotelnicki and his offensive approach.
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Penn State defense vs. Ole Miss
Today’s show is based on the By The Numbers series from earlier this week, after the bowl matchup was announced. Here’s an excerpt of what we discuss on the show.
From a productivity standpoint, Jaxson Dart is the best quarterback that Penn State will face this season. All the former USC commit has done in two seasons under Lane Kiffen is throw for just under 3,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Despite that, the team isn’t a pass-happy unit with a 60% pass ratio. The team only threw the ball on 48% of its offensive plays this year. We’ve been obsessed with the term “balance” this season with the Penn State offense. This offense truly has balance in its offensive threats.
That’s allowed Kiffen to scheme up explosive plays for the Ole Miss offense. Dart has generated 92 explosive passing plays (15-plus yards) this season, tied for seventh most among Power Five offenses. That accounted for 2,442 yards.
Check out the complete breakdown of the offense here.
Drew Allar, running backs will face a familiar challenge
As for the defense, we folded in some early scouting to give fans a picture of what Ole Miss does defensively. The answer? A lot.
The official Ole Miss depth chart says that the team runs an odd front defense, with three defensive linemen and an “outside” linebacker, but the team can and does run just about every front with regularity. While they “base” out of an odd front (3-4), they play wide over, odd, wide under, and even fronts an equal amount. Despite being listed as an outside linebacker starter, Cedric Johnson has dropped into coverage 44 times out of 526 total snaps in the regular season.
To cut through the technicalities and jargon, Ole Miss deploys two defensive linemen and two edge defenders that they use in multiple ways, including odd fronts. It’s about how you’re used, not always what you “can” do. But the bottom line is that the Penn State offensive line must be ready for many different looks.
Once again, you can see the full breakdown of the defense and it’s schemes here.
Learn more about those topics and hear fan questions in quarter three of the show!
