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Derrius Guice is an incredible talent.
Hot take, right? Saying that a preseason All-American is good at football is like saying Butch Jones hasn’t lived up to expectations at Tennessee. It’s obvious. Then why does it need to be said?
I used that universal opinion to preface the following point about what Guice did on Saturday. The LSU tailback got all sorts of love after scampering for 276 yards on Saturday. He passed the likes of Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson for most career games of 250-plus yards rushing (3). Saturday was the first time he accomplished that impressive feat in 2017.
After the game, the praise continued to flow. Guice earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Several LSU beat writers broke down how Guice, who wasn’t at 100 percent entering Saturday, was that dominant after averaging 52.75 rushing yards vs. four Power 5 opponents. Really, there was no need to go back and break down the film to find that answer. It was simple.
Guice had the pleasure of facing Ole Miss’ terrible run defense.
For that reason, I winced every time I saw someone praising Guice’s outstanding performance. It’s an easy narrative in a blowout game. Banged up tailback with high preseason expectations plays his best game of the year and looks to be coming into his own.
Ole Miss was indeed exactly what the doctor ordered for Guice. It was also what the doctor ordered for nearly every tailback who faced the Rebels in 2017.
Go back two weeks ago to when Ralph Webb faced Ole Miss. Webb, who came into the season as the most accomplished SEC running back, had a miserable first half of 2017. In his first six games, the Vanderbilt tailback broke 50 rushing yards once. That was when he trucked his way to a whopping 54 yards against Alabama A&M in Week 2.
In steps Ole Miss. Or really, to the side steps Ole Miss.
The Rebels allowed Webb to run for 163 yards, which was more yards than he had in the last month combined. It was no coincidence that Webb more than tripled his season-high rushing total against Ole Miss. The Rebels’ run defense, which ranks 127th of 130 FBS teams, has been the get-right matchup for nearly every featured tailback it faced.
Five tailbacks had their season highs against one Ole Miss. And Harris didn’t rush for a season-high because Alabama won 66-3, he got seven carries and spent the second half on the bench.
It’s easy to look at that list and think that Ole Miss has played against some talented backs. Harris, Webb, Guice and Johnson might be four of the five or six best tailbacks in the SEC. But I began following this in Week 2 when I watched Galloway, an FCS tailback who averages 80.3 rushing yards, nearly hang up 200 yards in Oxford.
The Rebels just flat out can’t tackle. It’s as simple as that.
Did losing a guy like D.J. Jones to the NFL draft hurt? Sure, but what SEC team didn’t lose a talented defensive tackle from its 2016 team? Does the fact that Matt Luke is an offensive-minded coach have something to do with it? Of course. And just like with everyone, Ole Miss has had its fair share of injuries.
Still, there’s no excuse for being this poor in such an important element.
Guys like Marquis Haynes and Benito Jones were supposed to be difference-makers for Ole Miss’ front seven, but their production hasn’t been there.
The question for Ole Miss is if it can ever stop the run. Without Shea Patterson, the Rebels’ shootout formula will be put to the test even more. That’s not good news for a run defense that appears to be getting worse as the season progresses.
Ole Miss still has plenty of matchups against capable backs. The Rebels will face Arkansas’ David Williams, who doesn’t have a 100-yard game yet, but easily could by Saturday afternoon. The likes of Benny Snell, Trayveon Williams and even the improved Aeris Williams will all get their chance against Ole Miss, too.
You can bet they’re already licking their chops.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
