Undefeated Ole Miss Rebels Continue Defensive Domination, Eye College Football Playoffs

And now, four sentences I never imagined I would write in sequence. There are three unbeaten teams that have a shot at making the first College Football Playoff. Two of them are from Mississippi. No. 3 Ole Miss is 7-0 (4-0) on the season. Yay.

With just five games remaining, only the LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Presbyterian Blue Hose (I know), Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs stand between Ole Miss and a perfect regular season. The probability of Ole Miss hosting Gameday twice more this year is high, and all is well in Oxford.

Led by the Landshark Defense, Ole Miss is only yielding an average of 10.6 points per game. In SEC games, the defense has allowed just over seven points per game (not including the fumble return for a touchdown by Alabama). Head Coach Hugh Freeze knows that when defense doesn’t give up much, an offense doesn’t have to be as aggressive in its play calling.

“You can tell from our play calling that we’re comfortable as long as the defense is playing like they are,” Freeze said, “We’re very cautious at times. You have to figure if we can score 17-20 points then we have a chance to win a lot of games with the way we’re playing.”

How’s their season going?
Total Combined Record of Ole Miss Opponents: 24-18

Boise State ~ 5-2
Lost to Ole Miss and Air Force.
Beat Fresno State, Nevada, Lafayette and Connecticut

Vanderbilt ~ 2-5
Lost to Temple, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia
Beat Massachusetts and Charleston Southern

Memphis ~ 3-3
Lost to UCLA, Ole Miss and Houston
Beat Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee and Cincinnati

No. 4 Alabama ~ 6-1
Lost to Ole Miss
Beat West Virginia, Florida Atlantic, Southern Miss, Florida, Arkansas and Texas A&M

Texas A&M ~ 5-3
Lost to Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama
Beat South Carolina, Lamar, Rice, Southern Methodist University and Arkansas

Tennessee ~ 3-4
Lost to Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida and Ole Miss
Beat Utah State, Arkansas State and Chattanooga

Tags: alabama, Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Boise State, Carver Rayburn, college football playoff, Hugh Freeze, Landshark Defense, LSU Tigers, Memphis, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Presbyterian Blue Hose, rebels, Rebs, SEC, Texas A&M, The Local Voice, Vanderbilt

About the Author

Carver Rayburn Carver Rayburn was born and raised an Ole Miss Rebel in Oxford, Mississippi. He has worked for many newspapers and magazines in both editorial and advertising, including OffBeat Magazine, The Hattiesburg American, The Meridian Star, The Neshoba Democrat, The Madison County Journal, The Clarke County Tribune, The New Albany Gazette, Southeastern Football Saturdays, and Rebel Yell. He currently lives in New Orleans and has a four-year-old son, Hart. You can contact Carver at carverrayburn@hotmail.com.