Ole Miss Report Card

Boy, this felt like an old school Kentucky game where we snatch defeat out of the hands of victory. It was heartbreaking and just when 10 win seasons have me thinking we have a new culture, Lucy pulls the ball out again. I am hoping that the coaches can get these guys over this game and that it doesn't impact the rest of the season. Much can be accomplished. We are a legitimate top 15 team imo.



Quarterbacks – C

Levis was 18-24 for 220 yards and 2 TD’s and a number of accurate throws. However, the two fumbles overshadow his passing accomplishments. I am a big Levis fan, and I love his toughness, but his alpha mentality is what also gets him in trouble in my opinion. Though he has improved his footwork considerably this year, he still holds onto the ball too long. The safety is an obvious example. I think it also contributes to the number of sacks taken this year. One could argue his first fumble might have come from a targeting non-call but more I think from his reckless nature in going downfield. To give him credit, he was going all out to make the first down; but he won’t last physically in the NFL with that style. Not sure he could have avoided the second fumble that ended the game. It was a horrible time for Flax to leave with an injury.

Running Backs – B

It was nice to see Rodriguez back. The run game looked much better with him back, but the stat sheet still says we averaged 2.9 yards per carry which is just not acceptable for the offense we play. McClain looked good on his carries. CRod also had 3 catches for 40 yards so an overall productive day for him. Running backs were targeted 7 times today which I think was used to slow down the rush.

Receivers/TE’s – A

The best group of playmakers we have ever had on the outside and if we can get the ball to them, they make things happen. Brown led the way with 81 yards receiving on 2 catches. Personally, I thought he should have caught the deep throw on the sideline in the second half as it hit his hands. On the touchdown catch that wasn’t, Key made a terrific grab. He only had two catches as well. Tavyion Robinson had 4 catches, but it seemed he had a quiet day. I submit to the court that Brown and Key must have more than 4 catches in any game moving forward. They are as good of playmakers as any two in the SEC. Jordan Dingle had 3 catches and is as talented as our freshman receivers. The future is very bright here as long as we bring in a QB that keeps our guys from going to the portal.

Offensive Line – C+

Honestly, not sure how to grade these guys this week. The run game looked better with CRod back but how much of that was Rodriguez getting it on his own. We did give up 3 sacks but again Levis has to get the ball out of his hand. Ole Miss also had 9 tackles for a loss. Too many! I am really hoping Flax is good to go next week. I don’t recall too many penalties here but don’t have any stats and may have forgotten them.

Defensive Line – B-

I thought the line was able to cause Dart some discomfort at times, but he was also adept at getting positive yards after breaking the pocket. We held Ole Miss to just 186 net yards of rushing which is well below their season average. In our defense, I know the line is supposed to hold up blocks for the LB’s to clean up, but our line just isn’t making plays. No sacks and Deone Walker is the only lineman to record a solo tackle (2). We had 4 tackles for lost but all by linebackers or the safety. Again, Oxendine just hasn’t returned to the player we saw before he was hurt in the Florida game last year.

Linebackers – A

In our keep everything in front of you mentality, the linebackers continue to make plays and are the strength of the defense. The long run in the first half was a mistake and I was concerned at that point, but the guys hunkered down. Square was in on 11 tackles, with 7 solo to lead the effort. Jordan Wright always has an impact play and he deflected a key pass in the second half.

Secondary – B

We gave up 213 yards receiving in what seemed to me to be a lot of zone coverage. Again, keep it in front. They could have used some push from the dline as Dart did have a lot of time on some of those completions down the field. Keidron Smith was active with 6 tackles and it was good to see Ajian was able to play today. Jordan Lovett had the key breakup on the 4th down pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter. I just don’t recall any bonehead plays or bad interference calls for this group

Special Teams – C-

What a strange game this was for ST. We left 5 points on the table and that would have won the game. The kicking game was a total mess and it seemed to be an 11-man effort. On the other hand, Barion Brown had 164 yards on kickoff returns and was only stoppable by our own players. He would have scored on the second return when he was tripped. Brown had 245 all-purpose yards and is an elite talent. I repeat he must get the ball in his hands as often as we can. I have to believe that today was an aberration for the kicking team and we won’t see that level of incompetence again this year.

Coaching – B-

Okay my reasoning here is that I thought Stoops made an error when he turned down the holding call to let Mississippi kick the 53 yard field goal. The scouting had to tell him that Ole Miss has had success on long field goal attempts this year. I also thought that the defense wasn’t getting their signals soon enough. There were multiple snaps where they were still looking at the sideline when the ball was snapped. This was the second SEC game where Brad White seemed to absorb what the offense was doing and was able to shut them down in the second half. I also think Scangarello gets a bit predictable at times (first/second down), but I don’t think play calling was an issue.