KEY BULLDOG
Matthew Wells, linebacker
With future NFL wide receiver LaQuon Treadwell out due to a season-ending injury suffered in a 35-31 loss to Auburn earlier this month, the biggest playmaker in the Ole Miss offense is now sophomore tight end Evan Engram, who has 35 catches for 475 yards and two touchdowns this season, including 13 catches for 183 yards and a score since Treadwell went down. That will put responsibility on Wells, MSU’s best coverage linebacker. All season, Wells has been the go-to defender for MSU’s passing defense in the middle of the field, and he will be tested early and often on Saturday. On the year, Wells, a senior from Lawrence County High, has 45 tackles and nine passes broken up.
KEY MATCHUP
Ole Miss passing game against
MSU defensive backs
Through 11 games, the Rebels are one of the Southeastern Conference’s worst offenses running the football, a fact made evident by a 33-carry, 63-yard performance in a 30-0 loss at Arkansas. Conversely, MSU’s defense ranks among the league’s best at stopping the run, as the Bulldogs have given up just eight rushing touchdowns this season. But the Rebels can pass it, and that, statistically at least, is MSU’s weakness defensively. The Bulldogs give up a league-worst 281 yards per game through the air and have been exploited for 14 passing touchdowns. On the other side, Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace ranks second in the SEC with 2,789 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. Whichever unit wins this matchup likely has a say in who wins the game.
STATISTIC TO WATCH
Interceptions
Wallace, while brilliant in a 23-17 win over No. 1 Alabama and a four-point loss to then-No. 3 Auburn, has struggled with interceptions during his three-year Ole Miss career, tossing a league-leading 27 picks since the start of the 2012 season. That propensity to turn the ball over continued in last Saturday’s loss at Arkansas, a game that saw Wallace turn the ball over four times, two by interception. If MSU’s defense – which had its first two picks in more than a month in Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt – can force interceptions, the Bulldogs should have an inside track at their fifth victory in six seasons over the Rebels.
WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
Road performance
MSU started off the conference season with a masterful performance in a 34-29 win over then-No. LSU in Baton Rouge, a place where the Bulldogs hadn’t won since 1991. The SEC road grew more difficult from there, however, as MSU looked sluggish in a 45-31 win over 5-6 Kentucky on Oct. 25, then MSU struggled mightily at Alabama, falling behind 19-0 midway through the second quarter. In an Egg Bowl rivalry that has seen the home team win nine of the last 10 games, MSU must avoid the road doldrums on Saturday in Oxford.
SURPRISE BULLDOG
Will Redmond, cornerback
All season long, Redmond has been MSU’s best cover corner. But he’s disappeared of late, and he hasn’t had an interception since a game-sealing pick on Nov. 1 against Arkansas. This Saturday, if MSU’s defense is to contain Wallace and a high-powered passing attack, Redmond must have a big game.
OLE MISS PLAYER TO WATCH
Vince Sanders, wide receiver
Sanders, a senior from Noxubee County, leads Ole Miss in receiving yards (637) and touchdowns (six), and with no Treadwell on the field, he represents the Rebels’ greatest deep threat against a Bulldogs’ defense that has been susceptible to the big play this season. If Wallace and his receivers get on track early, Sanders could be in line for a big day.
— Brandon Walker
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