Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian faces a tall task preparing for his upcoming matchup at No. 3 Ole Miss. The Vols face a Rebels defense that ranks No. 8 overall in pass defense and No. 21 in rush defense on Saturday.

“Their secondary in general is outstanding,” Bajakian said after Tennessee’s practice Wednesday. “The nickel, number 12, I believe his name is Tony Connor and number 25 Cody Prewitt, those guys play fast, they are very, very physical. You can tell, they strike you. To me, obviously, they have a lot of experience up front with [Robert] Nkemdiche and the whole crew, their secondary really sets the tone for them.”

Ole Miss’ “Landshark Defense” is responsible for 12 interceptions and has held opposing receivers to 193.8 yards per game. Tennessee has talent at wide receiver, but has experienced several injuries this season. Slot receiver Josh Smith has missed every game since suffering a high ankle sprain against Oklahoma in Week 3, while Von Pearson missed significant time since Week 2.

“Obviously when you have depth that works to your advantage because it takes a little bit of strain off the total number of snaps that each guy has to play,” Bajakian said. “When you can take that away a little bit, they can play faster and harder when they are in. So losing a guy like Josh Smith and obviously Von Pearson being as limited as he was up until now has caused more guys to play more snaps. That wear and tear throughout the course of a game and the course of a season continues to accumulate.”