Penn State defense prepping for explosive Ole Miss offensive attack

Penn State’s defense will face one of its toughest tests to close the season against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl on Saturday. The Rebels, playing head coach Lane Kiffin’s proven system, was third in the SEC in total offense and fourth in scoring in 2023.

Ole Miss features playmakers at the skill positions that the Nittany Lions have gotten familiar with during bowl prep. Sophomore running back Quinshon Junkins is one of the nation’s best, while a trio of wide receivers featuring Tre Harris, Dayton Wade and Jordan Watkins will give the Rebels options through the air. Harris, Wade and Watkins all finished in the top 11 in receiving in the SEC. 

“They’re explosive, and they move fast,” Penn State safety KJ Winston said on Tuesday. “They do hurry-up plays. What stands out to me is that they have three great receivers. From every receiver from top to bottom, they’re great players. They can make plays. The stats will show that. The film shows that as well.

“The running back to me, much respect to him. He’s a great running back, runs very hard and makes plays. Then the quarterback. So from top to bottom, overall the whole offense, to me, I have much respect for them. They’re a great offense, and I’m looking forward to playing against a great offense like Ole Miss.”

Skill players highlight Ole Miss offensive attack

Ole Miss averaged over 34 points per game this season with a relatively balanced attack. Judkins, a Freshman All-American in 2022 and former Penn State target, wasn’t leaned on as heavily in 2023 but he still broke the 1,000-yard barrier for the second year in a row. He has 33 touchdowns in his first two seasons and has carried the ball over 500 times. His yards per carry dipped from 5.7 in 2022 to 4.4 this season.

The triple threat at wide receiver will be a formidable challenge for Penn State’s secondary. Harris caught 47 balls for 851 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns in 11 games this season. Wade added a 52-769-4 line and Watkins actually led the team with 53 receptions that he turned into 741 yards and three scores. 

Quarterback Jaxson Dart, who started his career at USC before transferring to Oxford in 2022, finished fifth in the conference in passing this season. He completed over 65 percent of his passes in the fall, throwing for 2,985 yards and 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions in the process. Dart also was a threat with his feet, finishing third on the team in rushing and scoring seven touchdowns on the ground. 

“He put up really good numbers in the passing game in terms of yards per attempt, in terms of completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio,” James Franklin said on Tuesday. “He’s also a guy that can beat you with his mind and decision-making, with his arm and accuracy, but then also with his feet.

Link: Penn State-Ole Miss matchups: Who will have the edge in the Peach Bowl?

“They’re a challenging offense. You take his athleticism. You take their tempo. They’re one of the better offenses that we’ve seen this year. So it’s going to be a challenge. Lane’s always done a really good job, specifically on that side of the ball, so it will be a challenge.”

The Rebels did finish 74th nationally by allowing 26 sacks in 12 regular season games this season. The Nittany Lions hope that they’ll be able to get to Dart, even without star pass rusher Chop Robinson in uniform. 

“I feel like they run a great system over there,” said defensive end Adisa Isaac, who led the Nittany Lions with 7.5 sacks on the year. “I feel like they haven’t seen anybody like us. We just got to go out there and play how we play. But they have a solid team, no doubt.”