Scoring Defense: 13.8 (#1)
The Ole Miss Rebels have the best defense in the nation. They allowed only 16 offensive touchdowns in 12 games. The next closest team, Alabama, allowed 19. Last year's Ole Miss defense allowed 35 in the same number of games.
This is a special group. Yeah, they didn't allow the fewest yards, but scoring is what counts.
Scoring defense counts all points scored by the opposing team, so that stat is factoring in the I'tavius Mathers fumble against Alabama and the Bo Wallace pick six against Arkansas. Minus those scores, this defense only allowed about 12.6 points per game.
There's potential for the best scoring offense in the nation, Baylor, to square off with this defense in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington on January 1st. That would be a heck of a matchup.
Pass Yards Per Game: 187.6 (#16)
Ole Miss might be sending two players from this secondary to the NFL: Senquez Golson and Cody Prewitt. Prewitt finished 5th on the team in tackles, only behind guys who played linebacker or the "Huskie" position. Meanwhile, Golson finished second in the nation with 9 interceptions.
Passing defense was obviously this unit's strength this season. Only 1 team, Texas A&M, threw for more than 300 yards against them, and Ole Miss forced at least 1 interception in the first 10 games.
Rush Yards Per Game: 133.6 (#30)
Rushing defense was the "weakness" of this defense. They still finished in the top half of the SEC in rushing yards allowed per game at 6th, and they were 2nd in the league in rushing touchdowns allowed.
Footballoutsiders' power success rate measures how well defenses stop teams on third or fourth down with two yards or less to go. Ole Miss finished 14th in the nation, stopping teams in 56.1% of those situations. They got the job done when it mattered most. The only 2 games where teams rushed the ball for over 200 yards, LSU and Auburn, were just as much about the offense's inability to score in crucial moments as the defense's inability to adequately stop the run.
Be sure to appreciate what this group has accomplished. It's not every year that your team finishes with the best defense in college football.
By Tyler Slay @slaytyler
