That was certainly the case Saturday night, as Ole Miss beat Memphis 24-3 on an otherwise frustratingly sloppy night offensively. But in this case looks really don't matter. No. 10 Ole Miss is 4-0, and can now turn the entirety of its focus to No. 3 Alabama. It's arguably the biggest game in modern Ole Miss history. ESPN GameDay will be in attendance and the game itself will be televised nationally by CBS. There isn't a brighter spotlight in college football than the one the Rebels will be in this week. A win would catapult the Rebels into the Top 5 and into early playoff discussions, and it really doesn't get any bigger than that in this new playoff era of college football.
And if it's true that defense wins championships, the Rebels would deserve to be in the playoff discussion. This Landshark defense just keeps getting better.
Memphis gained just 104 total yards the entire night, averaging a paltry 1.7 yards per play. On some drives the Tigers just went backwards. The defensive domination was so thorough that the game never seemed in jeopardy despite the Rebels holding only a 7-3 lead early in the 4th quarter. It stayed close until freshman defensive end Marquis Haynes wrapped his arms around Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch and forced a fumble deep in Tiger territory. Ole Miss capitalized on the very next play with a 23-yard touchdown bolt from that flash of lightning Jaylen Walton for a 17-3 lead. The 14-point margin may as well have been 40. Memphis wasn't going to move the ball on Ole Miss.
"We haven’t had a better effort than that in our two and a half years here," Hugh Freeze said.
Offense was a different story.
And if it's true that defense wins championships, the Rebels would deserve to be in the playoff discussion. This Landshark defense just keeps getting better.
Memphis gained just 104 total yards the entire night, averaging a paltry 1.7 yards per play. On some drives the Tigers just went backwards. The defensive domination was so thorough that the game never seemed in jeopardy despite the Rebels holding only a 7-3 lead early in the 4th quarter. It stayed close until freshman defensive end Marquis Haynes wrapped his arms around Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch and forced a fumble deep in Tiger territory. Ole Miss capitalized on the very next play with a 23-yard touchdown bolt from that flash of lightning Jaylen Walton for a 17-3 lead. The 14-point margin may as well have been 40. Memphis wasn't going to move the ball on Ole Miss.
"We haven’t had a better effort than that in our two and a half years here," Hugh Freeze said.
Offense was a different story.
The once unstoppable up-tempo Rebels looked like a team that had been knocked out of rhythm by the bye week. Interceptions, penalties and the inability to execute plagued the Rebels for most of the 1st three quarters. Wallace threw two picks, and threw for less than 300 yards for the first time this season.
Laquon Treadwell's 123 yards receiving and two touchdowns highlighted the offense.
It would be easy to be alarmed by the offensive struggles, but the fact is Ole Miss beat Memphis by 21 points on an off night. To me, that's a good sign.
Ole Miss is 4-0 for the first time since 1970. ESPN's College GameDay is coming to our city, and the Rebels can at last turn their attention to the game most of us have been waiting for since the schedule was announced last spring - ALABAMA.
Weeks like the one to come are what you dream about if you're an Ole Miss fan.
Thanks to an inspirational head coach named Hugh Freeze, your dreams are coming true.
It's a fun time to be a Rebel.