Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. ET Wednesday
Ole Miss took an enormous step forward in Year 3 of the Hugh Freeze era, closing the regular season in the top 10 of the final College Football Playoff poll after recording three victories against 10-win teams (Boise State, Alabama and Mississippi State).
The Rebels cashed in on Freeze’s impressive recruiting record this season, boasting the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense while establishing themselves as an emerging threat in the SEC West.
For a program that once served as a doormat in the West, the 2014 season featured a number of milestone accomplishments. Ole Miss hosted College GameDay for the first time ever and certainly took advantage of that opportunity. It handed Alabama its only loss of the season later that day, then avenged last year’s overtime loss in the Egg Bowl by overwhelming Mississippi State in the regular season finale.
This all led Ole Miss to become the lone three-loss team selected to a New Year’s Six bowl game. A win over TCU in this year’s Peach Bowl would mark the Rebels first 10-win season since 2003, when Eli Manning was leading the offense.
Ole Miss was able to get healthy in its four-week hiatus from the end of the regular season to the New Year’s Eve bowl game, a welcome sight for fans of the Rebels.
The Horned Frogs explosive offense will provide the Ole Miss defense with another difficult test, and whether or not the Landshark defense can rise to the challenge could ultimately decide the outcome of this one.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
- Bo Wallace — one of the most polarizing players in the SEC in recent history — will play in the final game of his career when this one kicks off in Atlanta. Which Bo will show up for his career-ending contest: Good Bo or Bad Bo?
- Do the Rebels have a receiver capable of replacing Laquon Treadwell as the team’s No. 1 option in the passing game? TCU’s defense ranked 13th in the nation against the run but 88th against the pass, making it critical the Rebel offense succeeds through the air.
- How will a talented Ole Miss secondary fare against TCU’s explosive pass attack, led by Davey O’Brien Award finalist Trevone Boykin? Do All-American defensive backs Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt have one more sensational performance left in the tank?
- Players like Wallace and All-SEC left tackle Laremy Tunsil battled injuries throughout the month of November, but both are reportedly healthy for the bowl game. How will a healthy quarterback and a healthy left tackle impact an offense tasked with keeping pace with the explosive Horned Frogs?
- The Rebels impressive 2013 recruiting class will be expected to take a huge step in its third year in Oxford in 2015. Will stars like Robert Nkemdiche and Tony Conner give us a sneak peak of what to expect with their play in this year’s season-ending bowl game?
OLE MISS
Motivation: The Rebels haven’t won 10 games in a season in 11 years and they’ve only done it twice in the last 52 years. There’s plenty of motivation to achieve double-digit wins for a third time since the 1960s, especially following the Rebels successes against the best teams on their schedule during the regular season. A win in this game would cement 2014 as one of the greatest seasons in Ole Miss history, and those stakes should serve as plenty of motivation for the Rebels.
If You’ve Never Seen Them: Ole Miss has one of the nastiest defenses in the nation, and it loves to physically overwhelm its opponents in all areas of the field. The Rebels forced at least one turnover in each of their first 11 games this season, and they led the SEC with 28 total takeaways on the year. Few defenses are as fundamentally sound as the Landsharks were this year, rarely missing tackles or taking bad angles in pursuit of ball-carriers. Opposing offenses must play mistake-free football against Ole Miss, and even that might not be enough against a defense matching talent with tremendous discipline.
Weakness: The Rebels struggled to run the ball all year, failing to amass at least 4.5 yards per carry in more than half their games during the regular season. Ole Miss was prone to regressing into a one-dimensional offense when it couldn’t establish a threat with the run, and it may do so again against the Horned Frogs and their stout run defense. The Rebels are deep at the tailback position, but none of their four primary backs was ever able to assert himself as an every-down back, creating issues regarding the balance of the offensive game plan.
TCU
Motivation: The Horned Frogs were snubbed from the inaugural College Football Playoff despite closing the year with an 11-1 record and a share of the Big 12 title. They’ll be playing to prove why they deserved a spot in the playoff field, and they’ll also look to represent the only power conference left out of the four-team playoff. Some think TCU may play uninspired after missing on a chance to compete for the national title, but it’s also possible the Horned Frogs could be fueled by the slight handed down by the playoff committee.
If You’ve Never Seen Them: TCU is explosive on offense, but it is not as lightning-quick as some may think. Yes, the Horned Frogs offense maintains a quicker pace than the average FBS offense, but 26 other offenses ran more plays this season than TCU did. One thing the Horned Frogs love to do is throw the football. TCU attempted the 16th-most passes and just the 74th-most rushes in the FBS this season, and it finished seventh in the nation in passing yards per game. Trevone Boykin loves to spread the ball around, and he can do some running himself if need be.
Weakness: Although they boasted the 13th-best run defense in the nation this season, the Horned Frogs ranked just 88th in the nation against the pass. Opponents attempted 418 passes against TCU in 2014, which is a greater number than 83 other defenses faced this year. Opponents tested TCU time and time again, and the Horned Frogs proved they are susceptible to struggling against effective passing offenses.
Westgate SuperBook Line: Ole Miss -3.5
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
