3 keys to Florida Gators beating Ole Miss Rebels revolve around generating explosive plays
While both teams have started at 3-0, the Florida Gators have a clear pathway to beating the Ole Miss Rebels.
One of the biggest games on the Week 4 schedule is happening in The Swamp, as the Florida Gators are set to take on the Ole Miss Rebels. After both teams started 3-0 and securing big SEC wins last Saturday night, will either team suffer a hangover from their wins?
The Gators beat the Auburn Tigers 44-39 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, making it Jon Sumrall’s first win in the SEC as a head coach. For the Rebels, they got a modicum of revenge for Lane Kiffin leaving the way he did with a 32-24 win over the LSU Tigers.
The SEC home opener for the Gators will be rocking, and they are currently favored by 3.5 points per DraftKings Sportsbook after opening with the Gators as 1.5 point favorites. How can they get the win? These three keys make a lot of sense.
Jadan Baugh needs to go off
If the Gators are going to win this game, it will come on the backs of the offense. Defensively, they are still getting their bearings together, as Florida Atlantic’s fast tempo offense put up a lot of yards, and the Auburn Tigers got a lot of chunk plays as well. Their EPA/rush allowed is a whopping 0.28, ranking them 126th in the nation. Offensively, they are 14th in the country at a 0.26.
The key to that success will be running back Jadan Baugh, who has arguably been the best player in the country so far this season, with 458 yards and eight touchdowns across three games, and he did so at a whopping 8.5 YPC.
The most impressive element of the success of the run game is how well the wide receivers are blocking. The effort is tehre across the board, and it’s a major contributor to their 96th percentile explosive rushing percentage. The Rebels are also average to below-average against the run, and they haven’t seen anyone like Baugh.
Generate explosives in the passing game
Aaron Philo has done a really good job this season in being an explosive point guard. Philo doesn’t have an elite arm, but he can attack every blade of grass and throws an accurate football. The Gators are third in EPA/pass in the nation at a whopping 0.75, and have the No. 2 net EPA/play overall at 0.44. This offense can generate explosives across the entire field.
Being that point guard will be key, including avoiding pass rusher Will Echols, who has been a major impact player for the Rebels’ defense. Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has done a great job in creating space for his star players, Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III. Plus, we haven’t seen Eric Singleton Jr. nearly enough yet, and he projects to be a game-time decision. Getting them the ball in open space will be huge.
Containing Trinidad Chambliss
We can talk about getting pressure on quarterback Trinidad Chambliss all we want, but it’s not that simple. He’s so good at escaping the pocket and creating outside of structure, and it’s a big reason why the Rebels have started 3-0.
The Gators have some really intriguing pass rushers, and it starts with Jayden Woods. He leads the Gators with 10 pressures and 3.0 sacks, with Emmanuel Oyebadejo not too far behind with nine pressures and 2.5 sacks. The depth across the board with the Gators’ pass rush, both on the interior and on the edge. Generating pressure up the middle while keeping Chambliss in the pocket will be crucial to getting a win on Saturday afternoon.
