The Ole Miss defense struggled mightily in 2020. The Rebels were dynamic on offense, but the defense couldn’t stop anyone.

The Rebels gave up an SEC-worst 38.3 points per game and allowed an SEC-worst 519 yards per game. No other SEC defense allowed more than 492 yards per game.

In Athlon Sports’ annual conversations with anonymous SEC coaches, no one pulled any punches. Here are a couple of quotes from unnamed coaches:

“The defense is keeping them down. I’m not sure there’s a bigger gap between two sides of the ball in this league.”

“They just don’t look SEC, honestly. We judge that by looking at the front seven, and there’s not enough size or grit. If you’re big up front you can maul them and hide the ball from that offense. They were light on the edges and you could tempo them back and gas their front, which is why they ended up in so many of those track meet finishes.”

Will Lane Kiffin and his coaching staff be able to turn things around on defense this fall? That will likely be the difference between a mediocre and good season in Oxford.

There’s some talent on the Ole Miss defense, so we’ll see if it all comes together in 2021.