Ole Miss looked as good as advertised on offense, and the defense looked much improved in the Rebels’ 43-24 season-opening win over Louisville on Monday.

We learned a lot about this team after just one game, but there is also much more to learn. With an FCS opponent in Austin Peay up next in Oxford on Saturday, followed by a home bout with Tulane and a bye week before a showdown at Alabama, Ole Miss has a couple of weeks to learn more about itself before it hits SEC play.

Here are 5 things to look for this Saturday.

5. Does the running game look better?

It’s weird to say the running game can be improved after the Rebels compiled 188 yards against Louisville, but that number was a bit misleading in some senses. The offense struggled with some outside zone concepts and had trouble consistently generating yardage with some of its staple run plays. Matt Corral ran the ball 12 times for 55 yards, and Ole Miss needed every bit of it to supplement its struggles in other facets of the running game.

Yes, it will be somewhat difficult to gauge how improved, if at all, the running game is from Week 1 to Week 2 with an inferior opponent, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the offensive line and how it executes. Ben Brown didn’t play a good chunk of the second half at right guard and was replaced by Bryce Ramsey. Is there anything to read into that? And how much of those struggles were simply a product of this unit getting used to playing together? We’ll learn more in game No. 2.

4. Do more guys play on the defensive line?

Quintin Bivens had a terrific game at nose tackle for Ole Miss. He stifled Louisville’s interior running game, which proved to be key in making the Cardinals somewhat one-dimensional in their read and option concepts. Bivens played nearly two-thirds of the total snaps, with KD Hill and Isaiah Iton splitting the rest. Will we see more of both Iton and Hill this week, as well as Jamond Gordon? Gordon, a junior college transfer, didn’t play in the season opener. Ole Miss went with a 3-2-6 scheme for most of the night due to its strength being in the secondary. But there will come a time when the Rebels face a team that will force them to play more guys on the defensive line, making depth and versatility all the more crucial. Neither was tested in the opener. Do we get a glimpse of what the defensive line depth looks like this week?

3. Does Ole Miss feature Drummond more?

Monday’s win became the Dontario Drummond game. Drummond caught 9 passes for 177 yards and 1 touchdown. Ole Miss moved him around from slot to outside, and Louisville didn’t have an answer. Does this become a theme? The Rebels spent the offseason aiming to replace the production of Elijah Moore after force-feeding him the football for much of the 2020 season. It’d be silly to compare Moore’s incredible year with a single game from Drummond, but it will be interesting to see if Ole Miss continues to feature him in a variety of ways. Drummond has great hands, and he has improved his elusiveness in the open field. Ole Miss might just have a late-blooming star in the making.

2. Who backs up Corral?

If things go according to plan, Ole Miss likely won’t have to play Corral for the entire game. Which one of Luke Altmyer or Kinkead Dent sees extensive action in relief of Corral? I imagine both play, but it was Altmyer who came in for one snap against Louisville when Corral’s helmet popped off and forced him to sit. I wouldn’t read a ton into a single snap, but you will likely know a bit more about the backup quarterback job after Saturday’s game.

1. Do we see a Plumlee package?

Speaking of quarterbacks, quarterback turned receiver John Rhys Plumlee played 19 snaps against Louisville, all of them at receiver. But will we see a package with Plumlee at quarterback? While some of you may be wondering why the Rebels would show a gadget package against a team they will likely beat handily, Lane Kiffin has shown that he prefers to put things on tape rather than be vanilla, giving future opponents more to think about. It’s really an effective strategy. Does Ole Miss use Saturday to experiment with using  Plumlee somewhere other than receiver? I wouldn’t rule it out.