No. 21 Ole Miss quickly finds footing – dominates Georgia State 63-7 with explosive offense and suffocating defense
At times it wasn’t pretty, but Lane Kiffin’s No. 21 Ole Miss Rebels made quick work of the visiting Georgia State Panthers.Austin Simmons had two head-scratching interceptions but quickly established himself as Kiffin’s next big thing at quarterback – putting up 695 yards of offense via 341 yards passing and three touchdowns.The first interception wasn’t […]
At times it wasn’t pretty, but Lane Kiffin’s No. 21 Ole Miss Rebels made quick work of the visiting Georgia State Panthers.
Austin Simmons had two head-scratching interceptions but quickly established himself as Kiffin’s next big thing at quarterback – putting up 695 yards of offense via 341 yards passing and three touchdowns.
The first interception wasn’t great as Simmons tried to force a throw into coverage. The second was the result of taking a hit as he lit it fly. But, he was able to settle in nicely as the game went on and finished 20-for-31 through the air and showcasing Ole Miss’ brand new wide receiver room.
Ole Miss has found its run game already.
Sure it’s a small sample size but Kewan Lacy appears to be the answer at running back the Rebels have been looking for. The Missouri transfer ran the football 16 times for 108 yards and three touchdowns.
Coming out of Lancaster (Tex.), the Rebels appeared to be the destination but Lacy quickly changed course and chose Missouri. But, after his freshman year in Columbia, he hopped in the portal and quickly chose Kiffin’s program.
He was a decisive runner – flexing his wiggle between the tackles and power in the openfield for would-be tacklers trying to bring him down. Logan Diggs also chipped in 91 yards and a score on just seven carries – giving the Rebels a nice one, two punch.
Zxavian Harris is the next big thing on the defensive line.
Harris was involved a lot in 2024 whenever JJ Pegues or Walter Nolen needed a breather. But, the 6-foot-7 big man from Germantown (Miss.) introduced himself once again Saturday in a monster way.
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding and defensive line coach Randall Joyner have been adamant about his progress all fall camp and we saw it on Saturday. Harris snagged an interception in Saturday’s contest and rumbled for a nice return to boot.
Then, he shattered the basketball goal in half when he got to the sidelines to celebrate. I expect Harris to be a focal point of the defense in 2025 and is sure to impress NFL scouts en route to a Top 3 round draft pick, in my opinion.
The new-look Ole Miss wide receiver room has a new star.
Penn State transfer Harrison Wallace III had quite the debut Saturday – finishing with five receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. Ole Miss had to replace Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, and Juice Wells and went out in the portal and did just that.
Wallace was Saturday’s star but me thinks it will be a group effort in 2025. DaeQuan Wright and Caleb Odom are tight ends by trade, but play like wide receivers. Both combined for eight catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Elsewhere, De’Zhaun Stribling added three grabs for 55 yards and true freshman Winston Watkins made his debut with two receptions for 33 yards.
When Harris was healthy in 2024, he was unstoppable. But the operative word being “healthy”, it wasn’t as consistent as most would have hoped. Maybe the best news for Ole Miss was returning leader Cayden Lee didn’t have to do a lot.
The emergence of the room is going to be indicative of how the season goes for Simmons Kiffin’s offense.
All in all, it was a great opener for the Rebels. Collectively it appeared everyone got out unscathed in the injury department and despite the early turnovers, life after Jaxson Dart looks promising.
Ole Miss will learn a lot more about itself next week on the road against Kentucky as Southeastern Conference play begins quickly. Revenge will be on the mind of the Rebels and a big-time SEC statement could be just what the doctor ordered as Ole Miss looks to continue to march forward towards yet another double-digit win season and hopefully a CFP berth.
