OXFORD — The trend for University of Mississippi football team is an embarrassing one.
Run the ball against the Rebels’ defense. Win an award.
Opposing running backs have won the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week three straight weeks, the result of a porous Ole Miss defense that’s been an issue all season.
It all started with the University of Alabama’s Trent Richardson, who broke free for 183 yards and four touchdowns while the Tide amassed 389 rushing yards as a team on Oct. 15. The following week Arkansas’ Dennis Johnson rushed for 160 yards and one touchdown. Then Auburn’s Michael Dyer rushed for 177 yards and one touchdown on Saturday.
Not surprisingly, the Rebels lost all three games.
Ole Miss ranks last in the SEC having allowed 226.8 yards per game on the ground, 18 rushing touchdowns and 5.5 yards per attempt.
Coach Houston Nutt pointed to several reasons for the Rebels’ lackluster run defense.
“It is going to take better tackling,” Nutt said. “There have been times when we have looked so good and everyone has been in perfect position. We have gotten big hits and kept them behind the count. Then we get into a groove where they stay on the field too long.”
This weekend the Rebels (2-6 overall, 0-5 SEC) travel to Lexington, Ky., to face Kentucky (3-5, 0-4), a team that is struggling to move the ball on the ground so far this season.
That’s good news for Ole Miss, but the Rebels are still emphasizing their run defense.
If they’re going to improve in that area, they will need sixth-year senior Kentrell Lockett to build off of last week’s performance.
Against Auburn, Lockett had his most productive performance of the season, recording six tackles, one tackle for loss and two fumble recoveries.
After missing the majority of last season because of an ACL tear, Lockett has only shown flashes of his former self this fall. But the defensive end looked full strength against the Tigers, constantly getting into the backfield to disrupt plays.
“I have been challenging myself because I’ve been battling what I can do on the knee and what I can’t do on the knee,” Lockett said. “But then when I saw what I could do I was like, ‘Let’s just play ball now’ and I got into a groove and felt like myself again.”
Despite the improved production last week — Lockett now has 13 total tackles — the senior can still tell a difference between how he played two years ago.
“Of course you’re going to see a difference. That was a guy that was flawless,” Lockett said. “Just like a car when you get into a wreck and then you have to replace the engine, it runs but it doesn’t run the same as a couple of years ago. It’s moving and getting from Point A to B, it knows what it can do and what it can’t do. I’m getting back to that. I’m not going to say I’m there yet, but I’m getting back to that.
“I know my strengths and I know my weaknesses when it comes to actually being on the field.”
In order to compensate for his repaired knee, Lockett said he has had to become better at reading plays.
“You pretty much have to be a student of the game,” he said. “You can rely on your talent and athleticism, but you’re not as athletic as you were a couple of years ago compared to everybody else
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