The University of Mississippi Athletics
Observations from the Best Seat in the House - Sept. 14
9/14/2014 | Athletics, Blog
This is the third installment of Observations from the Best Seat in the House. The idea of this weekly feature will be to bring you all some of our observations from the previous week in Ole Miss Sports. This week was a combined effort with Metz Camfield. Let's get into it:
1. Another week, another unbeaten record in Ole Miss Sports. The football, volleyball and soccer teams went a combined 6-0 on the weekend, highlighted by volleyball improving to 10-0, its best start in school history, and football breaking into the top 10 of the AP poll.
2. It was a good looking crowd Saturday as 60,937 filled Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and were treated to a fantastic, and convincing, opening half. We know Rebel Nation will turn out again in two weeks against Memphis on Sept. 27.
3. On the field, Ole Miss has gone as Bo Wallace has gone, and Wallace leads the nation in completion percentage (75.5 percent), including 80.5 percent of his passes since the start of the second half against Boise State.
4. Wallace's complete stat line since the start of the second half against Boise State: 58-of-72, 875 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception.
"It's what I'm expecting out of myself," Wallace said. "I'm trying to get in a rhythm as soon as I walk out. Get in a rhythm, and I have felt good the past couple of games. I'm playing how I expect myself to play. I have to continue it each week."
5. With the help of long touchdown runs from I'Tavius Mathers and Jaylen Walton, the Rebels eclipsed 200 yards rushing for the first time this season. Co-offensive coordinator Dan Werner was pleased with the explosive plays in the running game, but he wants more consistent three and four-yard runs. He also noted opposing defense have been selling out to stop the run.
"I keep saying it every week, and it doesn't look like it's great, but we did have a bunch of yards," Werner said. "It opens up the passing game. If they're going to take the run away, we're going to pass it and get some big plays."
6. It's not Shark Week anymore on the Discovery Channel, but it seems like episodes keep airing during Ole Miss football games with that vicious Landshark Defense. The Rebels have allowed just two touchdowns in their first three games and only 189 passing yards in their past two games.
7. The pass defense ranks second in the SEC and 7th nationally, giving up just 4.4 yards per attempt. The biggest area of concern appears to be the run defense, as opponents are averaging 4.4 yards per rush, which is 12th in the SEC and 84th nationally.รย
8. Starting cornerback Mike Hilton and Senquez Golson continue to show up and make plays. Hilton picked off his first pass of the season and leads the team with 16 tackles and four pass break-ups, while Golson picked off two passes, including one that he returned 59 yards for a touchdown.รย
9. With their three interceptions, Ole Miss leads the nation with eight interceptions and ranks fifth nationally with nine turnovers forced. Individually, Golson is one of five players with three interceptions on the season.รย
10. With a 56-15 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, Ole Miss moved up four spots to No. 10 in the latest Associated Press poll, good for fifth among SEC Western Division teams. The Rebels play each of the other four teams in a five-week stretch starting with No. 3 Alabama on Oct. 4.รย
11. The SEC West is a combined 18-0 against non-SEC West teams, including wins over Boise State, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Texas Tech. The lone loss among SEC West teams this season was Arkansas' 45-21 loss at fellow SEC West team Auburn.
12. It was in doubt for a couple of sets, but the Ole Miss volleyball team rallied to defeat Jacksonville State 3-1 to capture the Magnolia Invitational and improve to 10-0 on the season. The Rebels have four more nonconference matches, at home in the Rebel Classic, before entering SEC play.
13. Freshman Lexi Thompson helped Ole Miss through the second and third sets, putting down a combined 13 kills in the two sets, to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead in the match against Jacksonville State. She finished with a career-high 18 kills and 17 digs and earned tournament MVP honors.
"I expected a change, but I didn't expect this big of a change," Thompson said. "I knew that we would do better, and I was excited to see what we would do with a new coach, and we're going well beyond any expectations."
14. After battling injuries for much of her Ole Miss career, Georgia Russell scored her first collegiate goal in a 4-0 win over MTSU Sunday. It was a cool moment for the Tupelo, Mississippi, native, one of four native Mississippians on this year's roster. Russell was one of three players to score her first goal of the season, along with Jennifer Miller and Gretchen Harknett.
"It was a struggle," Russell said. "I had to get back in shape and get my touch back on the ball. I hurt my ankle last season. It's been a struggle and I'm getting there. It looks like things are coming together. I'm 100 percent healthy, and I want to keep it that way."
15. A couple of interesting road trips on the horizon for Ole Miss soccer this weekend. On Friday, the Rebels travel to Mississippi State for a match that will be televised on the SEC Network. On Sunday, they play at UCF, the alma mater of Ole Miss head coach Matt Mott.
16. In case you missed it, here's Episode 3 of The Season: Ole Miss Football and photo gallery and infographic from the win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
