Ole Miss Offense Looking For Consistency Entering Week 4 vs. Alabama
OXFORD, Miss. -- The No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels are undefeated through their first three games of the 2023 season and are currently tied for first in the daunting SEC West after taking down the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 48-23 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Despite their perfect record, the Rebels have a lot to work on offensively, especially with conference play starting on Saturday.
Ole Miss is set to travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 4 who are currently 2-1 and appear to be the weakest they have been in a long time, after losing to the Texas Longhorns and struggling to score on the USF Bulls.
It is still Alabama, however, and that means it is going to be tough to get into the endzone. The Rebels have not necessarily struggled to find paydirt early in the season, but their offense has certainly looked out of sync at times.
In their last two contests, the Rebels have only managed to score 10 points entering halftime. That would be enough to hang with Alabama from Week 3, but something tells me Nick Saban's team is going to play with a little added intensity in their first conference matchup versus Ole Miss.
Lane Kiffin's offense has been able to find another gear in the second half, but if you take two quarters to get your offense churning against a team like Alabama, you are likely going to have a rough outing.
Fortunately, most of the problems with consistency on the offense boils down to playmakers not being on the field. Former transfers Zakhari Franklin and Caden Prieskorn were expected to play crucial roles in Ole Miss' offense, but both players have not seen the field through three games. Receiver Tre Harris was also absent from Saturday's matchup with a knee injury.
Running back Quinshon Judkins has been dealing with a minor injury, as he was declared "doubtful" ahead of Ole Miss' matchup versus Georgia Tech, before logging 37 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
Ole Miss' offensive line has also not lived up to expectations. Quarterback Jaxson Dart has spent a lot of time under pressure during the first three games and the line has struggled to create lanes for the former No. 1 rushing attack in the SEC.
Hopefully, the solution to the lack of consistency on offense is players just need to get healthy, but time will tell. This is also a group that has been built primarily by the NCAA Transfer Portal so players may have needed a few games to adjust to each other.
