EDITOR’S NOTE: Counting down to the first week of Ole Miss football practice the week of August 15, HottyToddy.com’s own Collin Brister, former sports editor of the Daily Mississippian, will bring you exclusive “5 at 5” analyses of either A) the opponents Ole Miss will be facing this season or B) some background on Ole Miss’ players at each position. It’s being called “5 at 5” because each original piece will give you 5 key things to know, and we will post these stories at 5 p.m. every Monday-Friday.
NUMBER 1:
Schedule
The Rebels will take on Georgia Southern after three consecutive SEC West games. The Eagles come on the schedule for the Rebels at an extremely weird time, the first weekend in November. The Rebels will have SEC West opponent Texas A&M the next week, so it could possibly be a trap game for the Rebels.
NUMBER 2:
Georgia Southern Offense
Like Wofford, the Eagles run a triple option. The Rebels will at least have a little experience with Wofford in defending the triple option before this contest. Georgia Southern will be with a new coach, as former Eagle coach Willie Fritz took the Tulane job after the2015 season. The Eagles are now coached by Tyson Summers, Summers was previously the defensive coordinator at Colorado State.
NUMBER 3:
2013 Florida
The Eagles knocked off SEC power Florida during the 2013 season, and they did so without completing a pass. Georgia Southern has been extremely competitive in power five conference games over the past three seasons. In 2014 they lost to N.C. State by one point, and last season they took Georgia into overtime. Georgia Southern’s offense allows them to stay in games with teams that are more talented than they are.
NUMBER 4:
Memphis Memories
Hopefully, for Rebel fans, the Memphis game taught this team some lessons last year. The Rebels overlooked Memphis during the 2015 season, and that came back and bit them. The reality is that Ole Miss probably isn’t going to let that happen again. The Rebels potent offense allows for them to jump out on the Eagles and score some points, and if you can put Georgia Southern down by a few scores, with the way they run their offense, they have very little chance of erasing ad deficit.
NUMBER 5:
Analysis and Pick
This game could be interesting on a multitude of different levels. Are the Rebels competing for a national title when they come into this contest like some expect them to be? Have they lost three games and are reeling? The mental state of the team will be a big factor in this contest. Make no mistake, Ole Miss and Georgia Southern are not comparable from a talent standpoint, but the Eagles’ offense methodically moves the football down the field, maybe keeping the Rebels off the field.
Ole Miss-28
Georgia Southern-17
Collin Brister is a staff writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at collin.brister@hottytoddy.com.
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