Ole Miss manhandled Texas A&M at the line of scrimmage — particularly on defense — on Saturday night in a 29-19 win.

The Rebels tamed what had been a potent Aggies rushing attack that had gained at least 215 yards in each of its last 3 games. This defense held Texas A&M to 141 yards rushing on 29 attempts. What was perceived as this defense’s biggest Achilles’ heel became it greatest strength in a win that put the program on the precipice of its first 10-win regular season in history.

Isaiah Spiller had just 47 yards on 12 carries, and Ole Miss stifled Texas A&M consistently enough early to deter Jimbo Fisher from sticking with the running game. Zach Calzada threw 42 passes, far too many attempts with the way A&M is constructed. Fisher has shown at times that he can be impatient with the running game and shy away from trying to establish it, and that is exactly what happened on Saturday night. Texas A&M had just 378 yards, a large chunk of that when the game was essentially over.

Ole Miss populated the football well. Its defensive line rotation played its best game of the season, and the secondary played well in run-stopping responsibilities. It’s worth noting this defense accomplished all of this despite not having Jake Springer for the 2nd half after his ejection for targeting.

“The defense stepped up,” Lane Kiffin said. “Arguably our best or 2nd-best defensive player goes out, and so you’re going, ‘All right, 2nd half boy, they’re moving and we just lost our guy that has really been a big difference when Springer is in there or not.’ Guys stepped up, and what an awesome play by AJ [Finley], so it was really neat.”

The defense kept Ole Miss afloat as the offense spun its wheels a bit during the middle part. The Rebels outgained A&M by nearly 300 yards at halftime but had only 13 offensive points to show for it, plus a safety. The defense made the game-clinching play on Ashanti Cistrunk’s interception, then scored for a 2nd time on the next drive when Finley picked off Calzada and took it to the house.

The group played with a physicality and edge that the program hasn’t seen in 6 years. This defense is coming into its own in the most crucial stretch of the season. It’s not totally unfair to say that the defense has carried the entire team on its back for a month now, as the Rebels have endured a rash of injuries on offense. Snoop Conner’s 4th-quarter touchdown rush was the first 2nd-half touchdown this offense has produced in 3 weeks, yet the Rebels went 2-1 over that stretch and had every opportunity to beat Auburn on the road. A flip has switched with this defense since the Arkansas game, though it’s hard to tell what exactly it is. Getting Springer back from injury after that Arkansas win has helped, but it’s also in large part due to multiple guys improving as the year has worn on.

“I wouldn’t really say it was a schematic thing because we’ve been doing the same things defensively, but I think we came together and got closer,” Finley said. “We took it kind of personally to improve our defense as a whole.”

Ole Miss is on the verge of its first 10-win regular season, and it’s largely due to how a defense that was seen as a weak link has carried the team for the last 4 weeks. That was fully on display on Saturday night as the Rebels got a program-defining win on a national stage.