Ole Miss has 11 wins in a single season for the first time in program history.
The No. 11 Rebels beat No. 10 Penn State 38-25 in the Peach Bowl on Saturday to add an exclamation point to a fantastic 2023 season and make it clear that it's playoff or bust in 2024.
Ole Miss (11-2) rolled up over 500 yards of offense against a shorthanded Penn State defense and pulled away in the third quarter. The Rebels led 20-17 at halftime but outscored the Nittany Lions 11-0 in the third thanks to a long field goal from Caden Davis and a TD pass from Jaxson Dart to RB Quinshon Judkins.
Ole Miss and coach Lane Kiffin have navigated the transfer portal expertly through the month of December. Despite a recruiting class that ranks outside the top 15 in Rivals' team rankings, the Rebels are No. 8 in Rivals' comprehensive rankings (high school recruits and transfers) because of the talent the team has brought in through the portal.
The Rebels have secured transfer commitments from Texas A&M DL Walter Nolan, Florida DL Princely Umanmielen, South Carolina WR Juice Wells, Oklahoma DB Key Lawrence and Arkansas LB Chris Paul Jr. among others. All five of those players rank in the top 50 of Rivals’ transfer rankings and four of those five players playing on the defensive side of the ball is no coincidence.
Ole Miss hasn’t had any trouble moving the ball or scoring points in Kiffin’s tenure. It’s been the defense that’s held the Rebels back. Ole Miss was gashed by Georgia in one of its two losses this season and gave up at least 42 points in three of its five losses a season ago.
With a defense that should be bolstered through the portal, the Ole Miss offense brings back Dart, Judkins, WR Tre Harris and WR Jordan Watkins in addition to adding Wells. The former South Carolina receiver played in just three games in 2023 but had 68 catches for 928 yards and six scores in 2022.
Combine all that talent on the roster with a schedule that’s as easy as you can get for a team in the SEC and it’s easy to see why we could be entering the offseason of Ole Miss. The Rebels are the biggest beneficiary of the SEC’s move to get rid of divisions as they don’t have to face Alabama in 2024. Games vs. Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma loom, but the Rebels should be comfortably favored in every other matchup.
Throw in the attention Kiffin always draws and it’ll be a shock if Ole Miss isn’t the team seen as the biggest threat to Georgia and Alabama’s reign over the next eight months.
Penn State offense struggles again
Saturday was a familiar sight for Penn State fans; the offense struggled in a big game. PSU’s defense held both Ohio State and Michigan to fewer than 25 points in the team’s two losses, but the offense scored just 27 points over those two games.
Penn State was an abysmal 1-of-16 on third downs against the Buckeyes and had just 238 yards against Michigan, including 74 through the air. After the November loss to the Wolverines, the team parted ways with offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.
The yardage numbers were much better against Ole Miss on Saturday, but the unit again struggled on third downs and fell flat in the second half.
Penn State finished the game 6-of-15 on third downs and opened the second half with three punts and a missed field goal. All three of those punts came after three-and-outs. And even the drive that ended with the blocked field goal took 11 plays to go 55 yards. By the time Penn State had the ball for a fifth time in the second half — a drive that resulted in a Drew Allan fumble — Ole Miss was up 21.
The offense should look different in 2024 under the guidance of Andy Kotelnicki. The former Kansas assistant has run one of the most imaginative offenses in the country under Lance Leipold and, if anything, should give Penn State some creativity it’s desperately needed since the departure of offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead after 2017.
The pieces are there too for a very good offense. Allar is a former top recruit entering his second season as a starter and RB Nicholas Singleton rushed for over 1,000 yards and nearly seven yards a carry as a freshman in 2022. If Kotelnicki can immediately give Penn State an offense that doesn’t disappear against top teams, Penn State should be in the mix for the expanded playoff too.