Six Reasons the Ole Miss Offense is Headed Up

The Ole Miss offense was offensive in a bad way for the first three quarters of football in its 35-13 win over Boise State Thursday. Bo Wallace threw three interceptions; The rushing game was almost non-existent and the false start penalties were way too numerous. Needless to say, the offense, with all its weapons, fell short of our expectations. Should we adjust those expectations, or were those three quarters just growing pains on the way to something much better? It's probably foolish to draw too many conclusions after just one game, but I've got a few reasons why the offense will only get better from here.

1. False starts can be ironed out. To be sure, those false state penalties will be talked about in great detail in the film room this week and practiced even more. I'm betting you won't see many false starts in Week 2.

2. Less penalties will allow Hugh Freeze to utilize the running game more. Ole Miss could never commit to the run against Boise State due in part to persistent penalties and the resulting long yardage situations. With less penalties against Vanderbilt you'll see more runs on 1st and 2nd down.

3. A more effective ground game and less penalties will keep Bo Wallace out of bad situations. Wallace's weakness is his impatience. When he thinks the entire offense is on his shoulders, and that he has to be the one to make the plays he presses too much and makes bad decisions. When the Rebels are running the ball effectively Wallace doesn't feel that pressure. Plus, Wallace is entitled to some 1st game jitters, too. He'll watch the film this week and calm down. If 1 and 2 (above) come to pass, Wallace will be just fine. Don't forget his four touchdown passes. He looked great in the 4th quarter.

4. The offensive line will get better. Teams usually improve the most between that 1st and 2nd game. With new starters across this line, this group is still finding its way. It'll get better.

5. Vanderbilt. The Commodores looked really bad in their loss 37-7 to Temple. Temple? Yes, Temple. The Owls finished 2-10 in 2013, and they smoked Vanderbilt. James Franklin left and then Vanderbilt fell straight off a cliff into the abyss. Ole Miss will get better this week, and then work out everything it practiced against Vanderbilt, and the Rebels will move to 2-0 a much-improved football team.

6. 4th quarter Ole Miss was awesome. At one point Wallace threw three consecutive completions for touchdowns. The Rebels were positively lethal. With a little more consistency and a running game to balance it out Ole Miss could still be unstoppable.