Ole Miss vs Oklahoma Game Preview:
No. 8 Ole Miss at No. 13 Oklahoma is the game of the week. This week only has three games that puts a ranked team against another ranked team. This game also has significant implications for the SEC standings and the upcoming college football playoff. Both Ole Miss and Oklahoma have the same overall record at 6-1, and both are only separated by two spots in the conference standings.
Neither team has much room to survive a loss at this point in the season, specifically pertaining to the college football playoff. While Ole Miss has a rather favorable remaining schedule, Oklahoma is a case study for what it would look like if Power 4 teams only played other Power 4 teams.
By season’s end, Ole Miss will have faced three ranked teams. LSU, Georgia and the Oklahoma Sooners this afternoon. Oklahoma on the other hand, will face six. Four of which all coming in a row. Starting with today, Oklahoma is set to face Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri. All four of which are ranked in the top 15. Oklahoma cannot afford to more than one loss over the next four.
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has been the most consistent and threatening rusher on the Sooners team as of late. Oklahoma needs to be more of a threat running the ball against Ole Miss than they have been to this point. Against South Carolina, Oklahoma ran the ball relatively well. 153 rushing yards, 5 explosive runs. They will need more of that against the Rebels.
Trinidad Chambliss, a rising Heisman candidate, could present real problems for Oklahoma. Against Georgia, Chambliss threw for 263 yards, but had two rushing tds and a respectable yards per carry average. The counter to Chambliss could be the Sooners pass rush. Oklahoma has a 47% pressure rate, the most of any team in the Power 4. Oklahoma blitzes at the 4th highest rate among all Power 4 teams. The issue with that is Chambliss performs better when pressured. Oklahoma will need to maintain gap discipline if they hope to keep Chambliss in check on the ground.
If Oklahoma can keep Chambliss in the pocket, this could turn into a very different game for Oklahoma. Ole Miss does surprisingly well when Chambliss can roll out and make plays on the outside of the pocket. This game could come down to how free Chambliss is permitted to play vs can Oklahoma be a threat in the running game. If both of those factors play out, expect a lower scoring, control the clock, and try to win with defense, sort of game.
The QBs will be a factor. Can Mateer return to his pre-injured hand form? Or can Chambliss handle the Oklahoma pressure and be a dual threat in this game? If neither of those is true, this game could come down to which defense is more opportunistic and which running game is more dominant.
