Texas A&M Aggies

As Texas A&M approaches its next game, a road trip to Oxford, Miss., to take on Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi, GigEmNation sought insight on the 3-2 Rebels from Hugh Kellenberger, who covers the team for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

Sam Khan Jr.: When it comes to Ole Miss' defense, which is closer to a more accurate representation of what they are: the Sept. 15 loss to Texas when the Longhorns scored 66 or last week when they allowed just 33 points -- and six in the second half -- to no. 1 Alabama?

Hugh Kellenberger: I don’t know if either was truly more accurate of Ole Miss’ defensive talent, because Texas and Alabama approached their games against Ole Miss so different. Texas was very aggressive with its outside run and threw the ball vertically. That exposed Ole Miss’ lack of speed in the front six and the corners simply could not make plays on the ball. Ole Miss abandoned the 4-2-5 defense in favor of a 4-3 look against Alabama, and it was more successful in bottling up Bama’s running game. What Ole Miss did do well at times is on third down using a 3-2-6 look that put defensive backs across the field to attack the receiver. That used Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron’s love of the check down and underneath route against him, because those four and five yards receptions did not get much after the catch.

For this week, I expect a return to the 4-2-5 as the team’s base, but the 4-3 was effective enough we may see it on first down and third-and-short situations.

SK: The Rebels are in the top 25 nationally when it comes to running the football. What has been the key to that success?

HK: The read-option game has been a big success for Ole Miss, because both quarterbacks are comfortable taking the ball and getting yardage up field. That forces the defense to play both ends, and often not very well. Ole Miss also has four backs that will get carries, and their different styles have helped to diversify play-calling and further keep teams off-balance. But that number is also misleading, because it was garnered against teams with really bad run defense. Look at the first three games this season against FBS opponents; the best run defense was Texas, which is 89th nationally. UTEP is 108 and Tulane is 122nd. Against Alabama, Ole Miss had 80 yards on 35 carries. It’s not going to be that bad much, if at all, the rest of this season, because no one runs against Bama. But I also don’t know how many times Ole Miss can run for 300 yards or more this season, which it did against UTEP and Tulane.

SK: What have been their strengths and what have they struggled with the most through five games?

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