Ifs and buts aren’t candy and nuts, but if Ole Miss hadn’t collapsed against Florida State and Alabama, the Rebels might be the No. 1 team in America.
There is room for argument there, but there’s not much if or but to an argument that No. 23 Ole Miss’ receivers make up the best unit in the NCAA – in size and skill.
During Saturday’s 45-14 mauling of No. 12 Georgia, those collapses seemed pretty far back in the rearview mirror, and it provided a winning view of just how good the Rebels’ receivers are.
Ole Miss annihilated the Bulldogs, an early third-quarter touchdown deleting any chances of another second-half nightmare. Chad Kelly threw for 282 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18-of-24 passing.
The Rebels were already the best first-half team in the country. Even the most vocal detractors had to admit deep down that the Rebels’ talent top to bottom was undoubtedly that of a top 10 team. That showed Saturday nowhere more than in the receiving unit.
They win too many one-on-ones to single cover, and there are too many of them to double cover.
It is a deep group, and they are long. The scary part: It showed in youth. Kelly, who overtook Eli Manning’s record with his 17th straight game with a touchdown pass, threw four of his completions to 6-foot-1, 225-pound freshman A.J. Brown (4 catches, 46 yards). Two more went to 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman Van Jefferson (2 catches, 20 yards).
It comes with D.K. Metcalf on the bench. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound true freshman from Oxford made highlight-reel touchdown catches in the first two games of the year before breaking a bone in his foot. Metcalf and Brown were Mississippi’s top two receivers, four-star signees.
Brown has made his own early impact. He plays like Laquon Treadwell and is built like Randy Orton, a perfect combination of tough as nails and smooth as silk. Jefferson was the most improved player of the spring and has done nothing but warrant that praise.
Elsewhere, 6-foot-2 sophomore DaMarkus Lodge made DBs Juwuan Briscoe and Deandre Baker look junior varsity on Kelly’s 55-yard toss-up touchdown in the second quarter. Briscoe was all but in Lodge’s helmet. He had 2 catches for 72 yards.
The youth is matched by the vets. Evan Engram, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound tight end, went up and over free safety Quincy Mauger for a 31-0 lead with seconds left before halftime. He had 6 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, five yards shy of his third 100-yard game of the season. He came back for his senior season and is stacking NFL dollars by the week.
Senior Quincy Adeboyejo and junior Damore’ea Stringfellow are No. 1 starters on any team in the country. They combined for 5 catches for 81 yards. Even converted receiver Derrick Jones had a pick-six.
In the first half alone, Kelly completed six passes of 20-plus yards to five different pass-catchers.
The Rebels lost the SEC’s best receiver when Treadwell went to the Vikings in the first round of the NFL Draft. Cody Core went to Cincinnati in the sixth round. This group hasn’t skipped a beat. From Kelly and Jason Pellerin, Ole Miss caught 21 passes for 330 yards.
Ole Miss outscored Florida State, Alabama and Georgia 83-30 in first halves. Kelly and the receiving corps is why. The group is also why Ole Miss is going to be in the national title conversation for years to come.
Brandon Speck covers Ole Miss for Saturday Down South. Follow him @brandonspeck.
