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Ole Miss is 2-0 on the season after a strong 2nd half performance lifted the Rebels over Tulane, 37-20.
The Green Wave jumped to a 17-10 lead heading into halftime, but Ole Miss’ defense turned the intensity up to an 11 out of the gate, holding Tulane to just 3 points in the 2nd half.
Here’s a stock report after Week 2 for the unbeaten Rebels.
Player of the Week: Dayton Wade
Dayton Wade had a strong game for the Rebels in lieu of Tre Harris, who exited in the first half with an injury.
Wade hauled in 7 receptions for 106 yards, one of his best performances in a Rebels uniform to date.
Oh, and check out this catch below:
ARE YOU KIDDING ME DAYTON WADE???? ??pic.twitter.com/dNprp1DPGT
— The Field of 12 (@TheFieldOf12) September 9, 2023
Freshman of the Week: Suntarine Perkins, or lack thereof
No freshman really made an impact in Week 2 for the Rebels. Suntarine Perkins, who starred last week in the Rebels’ 73-7 win over Mercer, was absent from Week 2 for reasons that are still unclear.
But, Ole Miss played well without him all the same.
Biggest Surprise: The 2nd half
Ole Miss looked dead in the water at the end of the first half. The loss of Tre Harris (which we’ll get to) slowed Jaxson Dart and the Rebels offense to a halt as Tulane’s defensive front made life difficult for the Rebels offensive line.
The 2nd half intensity kind of came out of nowhere. Tulane backup Kai Horton was playing well before the Rebels came out of the locker room.
Here’s a look at Tulane’s offense in the 2nd half: Turnover on downs, punt, interception, downs, field goal, fumble returned for touchdown, downs. That’s what domination looks like.
Biggest concern: Tre Harris’ injury
Following the game Lane Kiffin relayed some good news to Rebels fans: He does not believe Tre Harris’ injury will present a long-term problem.
That’s amazing news, but it still leaves a lot of questions. How long will he be out? Will he return for the Alabama game in a pair of weeks? If not, who will step up in his wake?
The obvious answer is Jordan Watkins or Wade as previously mentioned. Watkins totaled 5 receptions for 60 yards on Saturday.
Developing trend: Ole Miss continues to rise as the SEC falters
The Rebels have their issues on the offensive line, but they’re making a legitimate claim to be the No. 2 team in the SEC right now. At least, nobody else is making the effort the Rebels are.
Other teams across the conference are struggling to even down their FCS opponents, but Ole Miss started the year by blasting Mercer and looked very strong in the 2nd half against the Green Wave. Even in the first half, the defense did enough to keep Tulane at bay. The Green Wave will definitely wish they had been able to get more going while the Rebels struggled offensively in the first half.
It all relies on Jaxson Dart and the offense moving forward. Defensive improvements against Tulane put the Rebels in a good spot right now and given the circumstances, Dart has continued to shine without his top WR and TE.
Key Stat: 5 turnovers to start 2023
The Rebels added a pair of turnovers Saturday to up their total to 5 on the season, the 3rd most in the SEC behind Mississippi State and Arkansas. While doing so the rebels have only committed 2 turnovers of their own.
Turnovers were not really Ole Miss’ thing last year. The Rebels defense forced 20, which sat in the middle of the SEC.
That’s an encouraging trend for the Rebels. Let’s see if it keeps up heading into Week 3 against the Yellow Jackets.
First impression about Week 3: Can Ole Miss improve to 3-0 ahead of Alabama?
Ole Miss takes on Georgia Tech next week and is facing a prime opportunity to establish themselves as the dominant team in the SEC West.
Alabama of course lost to Texas on Saturday night, 34-24 within the walls of Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Longhorns looked good, the Tide did not.
Let’s switch gears. Georgia Tech is 1-1 after a close loss to Louisville in Week 1 and a dominant win over SC State in Week 2. The Yellow Jackets look decent under head coach Brent Key and should be able to test the Rebels’ defense some more. Former Texas A&M QB Haynes King leads the Yellow Jackets.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
