Ole Miss DC Wesley McGriff addresses Rebels’ atrocious defense

The Ole Miss Rebels have been abysmal on defense this year, to say the very least. Of 130 FBS teams, the Rebels rank No. 127 in total defense, giving up 543.7 yards per game.

They also rank No. 125 in scoring defense, allowing a whopping 43.3 points per contest. Yet, thanks to a dynamic offense, the Rebels are 2-1 heading into Week 4.

On Monday, DC Wesley McGriff, who is taking a lot of heat for the poor defensive start, said he accepts responsibility for the atrocious play so far (via 247Sports):

“I think the source is everybody. I think at the end of the day it falls on me as the defensive coordinator,” McGriff said. “But the source is everybody.

“We have to do a better job…myself…to make sure that we have the right game plan. Making sure we play with a lot of energy for 60 minutes. I was real happy to see the guys finish the game with a fight.”

McGriff added that the Rebels may look at simplifying their defensive system moving forward:

“You’ve always got to listen to your players,” said McGriff, “because they’re the one’s who have to go out and execute. We simplified the game plan, but we’ll look at it…That’s the bottom line. The bottom line is that we’re all in a production-based business, and we have to be productive. If that means simplifying it a little bit more, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Ole Miss has a chance to get right on defense this week when Kent State comes to town. However, then it’s back into the SEC fold, with a game at red-hot LSU in Week 5.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.