Penn State heads into Saturday's Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl after a month long break since its regular season finale victory over Michigan State, looking to put the finishing touches on a successful campaign in Happy Valley. Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss stand in the way of a fifth 11-win season for the Nittany Lions under head coach James Franklin.
The Rebels, also 10-2 this season, have had a eerily similar year to Penn State. Kiffin and company have only lost to the college football powerhouses Alabama and Georgia en route to what could be their best season in program history with a win on Saturday in Atlanta.
Happy Valley Insider dives into Ole Miss by the numbers ahead of the Peach Bowl this weekend.
Offense:
Ole Miss owns one of the top offenses in all of college football this season under Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.. The Rebels are tied 19th in points per game at 34.8 and 15th in total offense (455.4 yards per game) in 2023.
A large part in that success has been the play of junior quarterback Jaxson Dart, who had a successful campaign in year two as a starter. Dart is top five in yards in the SEC with 2,985 and counting, along with tying a career-high with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. The Rebels are in the top 25 nationally in passing offense, picking up 276.6 yards per game through the air.
The junior signal caller has also been a threat with his legs, rushing for 989 yards over his last two seasons with the Rebels which includes seven touchdown runs this year.
Dart has found a reliable trio to throw to in 2023, with three receivers having 47 or more catches and over 700 yards this season. At the forefront of the pass catcher group is Tre Harris, who leads the team with 851 yards and eight scores after transferring in from Louisiana Tech last off-season. Fellow transfer receivers Jordan Watkins and Dayton Wade have also racked up 50+ catches and 700+ yards apiece, along with combining for seven touchdowns.
To a lesser extent, tight end Caden Prieskorn has also found success in his first year with the Rebels, accounting for 20 catches for 313 yards and a pair of scores.
The Ole Miss run game has also been stellar in 2023, ranking in the top 40 of rushing yards per game (178.8) and 19th in touchdowns (28) this season. That success on the ground has been behind sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins.
Judkins has seen a dip in production coming off his SEC rushing title in 2022, but has still been a productive back for the Rebels. The sophomore standout has picked up 1,052 yards and leads the SEC with 16 rushing touchdowns on the year, which is also good for 10th in all of college football. Judkins has formed somewhat of a 1-2 punch with Ulysses Bentley IV in the Ole Miss backfield, as Bentley has rushed for 521 yards (on a 5.7 yard average) and four scores.
Ole Miss has struggled with keeping Jaxson Dart upright as the offensive line in concerned, however. Penn State's nation-leading 48 sacks in 2023 could be a precursor of what's to come for a unit that has allowed just over two sacks per game this season, which is tied for 74th in the country.
The Ole Miss defense has not been as lethal as Lane Kiffin's offense, but has been a strong unit throughout 2023. Nationally, the Rebels are 35th in scoring defense (21.8 points per game) and 59th in total defense (allowing 371.9 yards per game) this season.
Ole Miss has been prone to surrendering big days to opposing offenses this season, giving up a pair of 50 point outbursts at the hands of LSU and Georgia, which is something that Penn State hasn't done since the 2017 Rose Bowl against USC.
Defending the run has given the Rebels fits at times throughout the year, allowing north of 150 yards on the ground per game. Penn State's dynamic duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas SIngleton could be in line for another strong day after finding more success down the stretch this fall.
The top defenders in the trenches for Ole Miss have been Jared Ivey and JJ Pegues, who will not be lining up next to Cedric Johnson, who opted-out of Saturday's game to prepare for the NFL Draft. Ivey and Pegues have combined for 17.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks this season while being first and second in both categories individually.
The Rebels have limited opposing quarterbacks to just 220 yards per game through the air in what has been a strong suit for the unit this season behind its secondary. The leaders of that group are safeties John Saunders Jr. and Trey Washington, who are tied for the team-lead with three interceptions apiece. The duo has also combined for 136 total tackles and seven passes defended. Saunders and Washington are first and third on the Ole Miss defense according to Pro Football Focus, holding grades of 79.0 and 76.9 respectively.
Similar to Penn State, the Rebels are amongst the nation's best in turnover margin. While Ole Miss isn't first in the country in that category like the Nittany Lions, it is still tied for 12th nationally at +9 this season. That will be tested by a unit that has turned the ball over just six times in 2023.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
