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Ole Miss Football: Five Things We Learned Against Southern Illinois

By Daniel Skipper

OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 8: Sam Straub #4 of the Southern Illinois Salukis throws a pass during a game against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 8: Sam Straub #4 of the Southern Illinois Salukis throws a pass during a game against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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OXFORD, MS – SEPTEMBER 8: Jaylon Graham #45 of the Southern Illinois Salukis is tackled from behind after catching a pass against Vernon Dasher #3 of the Mississippi Rebels during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS – SEPTEMBER 8: Jaylon Graham #45 of the Southern Illinois Salukis is tackled from behind after catching a pass against Vernon Dasher #3 of the Mississippi Rebels during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Defense Is Concerning

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Saturday we saw a terrible first half defensively by McGriff and the Rebels. The Rebels defense allowed 38 points and 386 yards of Salukis total offense in the first two quarters of a game which was supposed to be a warmup. The performance was far below the Rebels week-one effort in the win over Texas Tech.

After week-two of the 2018 Ole Miss football season the Rebels defense is ranked 128th out of 131 NCAA DI teams. Thru two games we’ve watched the Rebels bleed away 68 points and 1,115 yards giving up 710 yards thru the air and 405 yards on the ground.

No doubt the first half of the SIU game did little to help the Rebels national ranking but they did play better in the second half allowing only 3 points and got their first three takeaways of the season two of which went for defensive scores.

Related Story. Burning Questions.... light

Yes, the first half was embarrassing and yes the Rebels defense is most concerning. However, the Rebels did play much better in the second half. Matt Luke stated in his weekly presser there weren’t adjustments made at halftime and the improvement in the second half was players flying and playing with a sense of urgency. We saw the talent on defense in the second half and there were big plays. How the Rebels respond against Bama will be seen this Saturday but one thing is for sure, the Rebels won’t be sleep-walking the first half this week.

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