Ole Miss Rebels: By the Numbers

Oklahoma faces a tall test on the road this weekend, as the numbers indicate Ole Miss is a tough matchup for the Sooners.

Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin reacts after a play against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The SEC honeymoon is officially over for Oklahoma. 

Four games into their new league, the Sooners are faced with the harsh reality that an improved defense hasn’t been enough to paper over an awful offense. OU rolls into Oxford to take on No. 18 Mississippi this weekend 4-3 on the year and just 1-3 in conference play. 

Offensive coordinator Seth Littrell lost his job after just seven games, and Oklahoma will now have to upset a team currently ranked to even battle back to 6-6 by the end of the year. 

Ole Miss isn’t without its own problems, sitting at 5-2 after a 1-2 start to its own conference slate, and there’s no margin for error left for the Rebels to make the College Football Playoff. 

But Lane Kiffin has been good at home, and Ole Miss still has a high-flying offense paired with a scout defense. 

In short, the vibes are bad around Norman. 

Oklahoma will need to play virtually a perfect game to hang around and try to pull an upset, which will be made more difficult as the Rebels are a terrible matchup for the Sooners on paper. 

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Kiffin paired a strong foundation of returning starters with a host of talented transfers, and the results have been a punishing defense. 

The Rebels rank eighth in the country in Stop Rate, a measure of how many defensive drives have either ended in a punt, a turnover or a turnover on downs. 

Ole Miss has held opponents scoreless on 75.7 percent of drive this year, which is a bad recipe for an OU offense that is historically bad. 

Oklahoma has been unable to run the ball consistently at any point in 2024, and that’s unlikely to change on Saturday. 

The Rebels boast the nation’s best rushing defense, allowing just 66.6 yards per game, and Ole Miss’ defense ranks seventh in sacks per game. 

Finding a way to stay ahead of the chains consistently seems unrealistic, so Oklahoma’s offense will have to find a way to avoid turnovers and pick off a few explosive plays while leaving the rest to the Sooners’ defense. 

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As experienced as Kiffin’s offense is, led by quarterback Jaxon Dart who is playing in his third year in the system, finishing off drives hasn’t been a given. 

The Rebels enter the weekend ranked 78th in red zone scoring, and even when they have put points on the board from inside the 20, it’s usually after settling for a field goal. 

Eight of Ole Miss’ 29 red zone scoring drives have ended in field goals. 

Oklahoma’s defense has given up a handful of big plays in each of the Sooners’ four SEC games so far this year, but forcing a field goal is a win — especially when it comes to keeping the game close early while OU hopes the offense can find any kind of success. 

Kiffin’s offense may be down a key piece, too. 

Wide receiver Tre Harris, who leads the Rebels with 59 catches for 987 yards and six scores, was listed as questionable on the SEC Availability Report on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Harris has caught 39.1 percent of Dart’s completions this year, which is the largest share by a QB/WR duo in the FBS per Ole Miss’ research, which could further throw a wrench into the Rebels’ red zone offense. 

OU’s path to victory includes holding on for dear life for large portions of Saturday’s game, so the defense must bend without breaking when Ole Miss’ offense does start to march down the field. 

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This season, Ole Miss is eighth in scoring offense, averaging 41.4 points per game. 

But a lot of that damage was done against a soft non-conference schedule. 

Against SEC competition, the Rebels average just 23.3 points per game. 

The struggles over the past few weeks have frustrated fans in Oxford, putting some extra pressure on Kiffin’s team that was expected to potentially break through and win the conference after setting a program record in wins a year ago. 

If Oklahoma can hang around early, the atmosphere inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium may turn toxic, which will only help a struggling OU squad.