3 critical takeaways from Ole Miss’ season-opening victory over Troy

Ole Miss got the victory in its season opener on Saturday afternoon, taking down visiting Troy, 28-10.

There wasn’t as large of a gap between the teams in the final score as some might have expected, but the 21st-ranked Rebels have plenty of time to remedy some issues with an easy schedule ahead of the Oct. 1 meeting with Kentucky.

Here’s a look into 3 takeaways from Saturday’s win:

Much was accomplished on the ground

There was a lot to be said about Ole Miss’ “score from far offense” and the success it had through the air under former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby with quarterback Matt Corral taking the snaps. But the passing game did not rule the day on Saturday, with the Rebels’ running backs carrying a lot of the load.

Zach Evans led the way with 20 carries for 130 yards, averaging 6.5 yards per touch and crossing the century mark before halftime. All but one of the team’s touchdowns were scored on the ground, with Quinshon Judkins, Ulysses Bentley IV and Jonathan Mingo each taking it to the house.

Ole Miss’ leading pass catcher was USC transfer Michael Trigg, who had just 33 receiving yards on 4 receptions. The Rebels only managed 167 passing yards compared to 266 rushing yards.

Jaxson Dart still has a long way to go

Named the starting quarterback not long before the opener over Luke Altmyer, the ex-USC quarterback Dart looked efficient at times and his mobility was easy to see as he carried the ball 4 times for 40 yards. He finished the contest 18-of-27 passing for 154 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

The misfire came after the Rebels were already up 28-3 in the final 6 minutes of the game, but it could hardly have been a more ill-advised decision that fell straight into the lap of Trojans defender Markeis Colvin in the end zone.

Dart received some preseason Heisman Trophy hype and some of his traits are reminiscent of Corral, certainly something to be optimistic about. But there’s a lot of development to be had for a quarterback who is still largely inexperienced with a small sample size.

How he continues to come into his own will be something to keep an eye on as the Rebels continue to face a challenge in replacing one of the best quarterbacks in the nation last season.

Defense holds strong

Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin commended the defensive effort afterwards, as the unit built upon the improvement it showed in the back half of last season. The Rebels did allow 346 yards of total offense but surrendered just 1 touchdown, which enabled them to stay ahead despite multiple turnovers by the offense.

“Great performance by the defense,” Kiffin said in his postgame press conference. “The guys really came out, held us together. Three offensive turnovers in the second half and, really, about as ugly as you can play in the second half offensively. It’s great our defense showed up today.”

Safety Tysheem Johnson led the defense with 12 total tackles (6 solo), with 1 tackle for loss. Linebacker Troy Brown was right behind with 11 total tackles (7 solo) and 1 quarterback hurry. Fellow linebacker Khari Coleman was responsible for 2 of the team’s sacks, with defensive end Jared Ivy and defensive tackle JJ Pegues adding 1 each.

Penalties, an issue for the Rebels last season, were kept to a minimum, with only 3 called.

While there was some rust in the first game, more will be known about this year’s group as it faces another cupcake opponent in Central Arkansas next Saturday. After that, the Rebels will face Georgia Tech and Tulsa, which bodes well for them in terms of having time to make improvements before their first real test against Kentucky.

And making tweaks is something Kiffin knows is necessary.

“A lot of work (to be done),” Kiffin said.

Crissy Froyd

Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.