HOT: VINCE SANDERS

Sanders had played a modest role in the Rebels’ passing offense through Ole Miss’ first two games, catching a combined seven passes for 100 yards in wins over Boise State and Vanderbilt. However, the senior had a breakout performance in last week’s win over UL Lafayette, catching eight balls for 125 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Rebels’ wideouts in all three categories. He’s now tied for the team lead in catches and currently ranks second on the team in yards and touchdowns.

Ole Miss has proven it is deep at the wide receiver position, and Sanders has done his part to contribute to that depth through three weeks. He’s also the Rebels most veteran receiver, and could play a larger role in the passing game as Ole Miss approaches a difficult stretch in its schedule featuring four top 10 teams in a span of six weeks. Laquon Treadwell is still the Rebels’ top wideout, but Sanders could be a critical complementary piece in the Ole Miss air attack for weeks to come.

WARM: BO WALLACE

Wallace has improved from week-to-week since the start of the season, and now ranks 10th in the FBS at 341 passing yards per contest. He’s thrown for at least 300 yards in all three of Ole Miss’ games, and has posted two games with at least four touchdown passes. Wallace has shown great command of the Rebels’ offense, and appears to be settled into his role as a game-manager under center.

With the playmakers Ole Miss possesses on offense, Wallace does not need to be a guy who elevates the entire unit. Instead, he must simply avoid critical mistakes and allow playmakers like Treadwell, Sanders, Cody Core, Jaylen Walton and others to do all the work. Wallace’s 17 career starts against SEC opponents (including a Week 2 win over Vanderbilt this season) should come in handy against fellow top 10 teams Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M and LSU.

If Wallace continues to limit his turnovers the way he has the last two weeks, he can lead the Ole Miss offense to a potential College Football Playoff bid at the end of the year.

COLD: OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY

The Ole Miss offensive line played better last week against UL Lafayette, but still left plenty of room for improvement heading into the bye week. The Rebels allowed one sack and three tackles for loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns, which is actually an improvement from the pace the Rebs’ offensive line was on through two weeks.

Ole Miss allowed five sacks and 19 tackles for loss to Boise and Vandy, an average of 2.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss per game. Nevertheless, the Rebels still rank sixth in the SEC in total offense and fifth in the SEC in scoring offense despite a large handful of negative plays. The offensive line has drastically reduced its total number of false starts for the season after committing seven in Week 1, but the line must play better after the ball is snapped for the offense to reach its full potential.

Ole Miss has one of the worst rushing offenses in the SEC (we’re about to get to that), another sign the offensive line is not playing up to snuff. It is crowded at the top of the SEC West, and poor offensive line play could cost a highly talented Rebels team its chance at a West division title.

FROZEN: RUN GAME

There’s no way around it: the Ole Miss running game must perform better in its final nine games than it did in its first three games of 2014. The Rebels have rushed for 155 yards per contest as a team, but that number is inflated by 30-point leads in back-to-back week resulting in run-heavy playcalling during garbage time. In critical situations, Ole Miss has remained almost exclusively a pass-first offense, and the lack of versatility on that side of the ball could make the Rebels easy to defend against by the second half of the season.

Ole Miss has plenty of experience and plenty of versatility in its backfield. The Rebels lost Jeff Scott from last year’s team, but returned two of its top three rushers in I’Tavius Mathers, a between-the-tackles runner with deceptive speed, and Jaylen Walton, a scat back who can sneak through tiny creases while playing low to the ground. Tailback Mark Dodson has emerged at times this season in the Ole Miss run game, but he has not yet found the consistency to make a regular impact on offense.

The Rebels have depth at tailback and can beat opposing defenses in a number of ways in the run game. But until Ole Miss can run the ball well enough to make it a legitimate threat, opponents will not respect that dimension of the offense and will scheme to eliminate Wallace’s explosive targets in the passing game. Expect Hugh Freeze and company to address this issue during the bye week.