Ole Miss Football: Keys to victory vs Texas A&M

Ole Miss are having another good season under head coach Lane Kiffin. With 4 regular season games left on the Rebels schedule, it’s time to step up and make it an unforgettable one. Firstly, it starts Saturday against Texas A&M, but what will be the keys to winning this game?

Bring heat in the pass rush

The defense has stepped up over the last 3 games for the Rebels. With that, we have seen the pass rush become more potent. The defense had 5 sacks against Vanderbilt last weekend, taking their tally to 30 on the season, ranked 4th alongside Virginia Tech in the FBS.

Texas A&M have allowed 17 sacks so far this season, ranking them 84th in the FBS. Four of those came against South Carolina last weekend. Not only that, they are allowing a lot of QB pressures since SEC play started.

Asking questions of the Aggies OL early will keep the pressure on the already struggling unit. Jared Ivey and Cedric Johnson have both been on a tear over the last few weeks, being backed up by Suntarine Perkins.

Making QB Max Johnson rush decisions is going to continue the offensive struggles for the Texas A&M offense. However, it’s not only the Ole Miss pass rush that needs to perform well.

Persevere with the running game

The Aggies defense is the reason why they have stayed competitive in games this season. They are particularly good at stopping the run, something Ole Miss have success doing.

The Texas A&M defense holds opposing run games to an average of 96.1 yards. However, a very good Tennessee run game managed 232 rushing yards in the week 7 game.

The Rebels offense relies on the run game in a few ways, not just gaining yards on the ground. A good run game opens up the passing game and creates RPO plays. This is something Kiffin loves to scheme up alongside OC Charlie Weis Jr.

There will likely be times that running the ball will be a struggle during the game. Sticking with it will be important, as it has the talent to go off eventually. Judkins and Bentley IV alongside QB Jaxson Dart have the talent to unlock any opposing defense on the ground. However, it may take until the second half when the defense is tiring.

Stop the explosive plays

The Aggies have a couple of receivers who can cause carnage with ball in hand. Ainias Smith and Evan Stewart are a talented pair, who can cause a lot of separation against man coverage and expose zone coverage.

Smith is averaging 17.2 yards a play from 33 receptions. He is a YAC monster and the Ole Miss defense need to try control how much open space he possesses throughout the game.

Stewart can also create lots of separation. However, he is very good in contested catches, making spectacular plays that others can’t. Even when you have him in tight coverage he is a handful.

Holding these two opposing players to low yardage and limited splash plays is another key to a Ole Miss Victory on Saturday against Texas A&M.