Ad Disclosure
Saturday night’s Texas A&M-Ole Miss game features a pair of teams looking to bounce back from tough losses last week. The Aggies allowed three pick-sixes in their 41-23 home loss to Alabama. Meanwhile, after taking a 14-0 lead, the Rebels completely fell apart in an eventual 37-24 loss at Memphis.
And with the way Alabama and LSU are playing lately, this week’s matchup in Oxford could very well be an elimination game in the SEC West.
Here is what a few media outlets are saying about the biggest divisional contest of the week:
- Robert Nkemdiche’s status remains unclear after his concussion. The Ole Miss defensive end apparently suffered the concussion last week against Memphis on an offensive play. And this article proves that Rebels coach Hugh Freeze is either brave, crazy or both. He says he plans on using Nkemdiche — whenever he is cleared to play again — on more offensive plays in the future. Hmm.
- The Rebels need Chad Kelly’s success to continue. So says The Clarion Ledger, which is rather obvious. What might help Ole Miss more is more balance in its offense. Led by Kelly, the Rebels have the top passing offense in the SEC while their running game is only 8th in the conference. Any kind of improvement in their rushing attack might be the difference between a win and a loss on Saturday night.
- The Ole Miss defense is hungry to get back its Landshark identity. ESPN.com says there’s no time like the present for the Rebels, who have allowed a total of 75 points in their two losses this season.
- A&M will keep Kyle Allen at QB, but Kevin Sumlin seeks more help from his wideouts. It’s hard to imagine Christian Kirk doing more than he already has during his fantastic freshman season, but his coach thinks he and his receiving peers can improve their play against the Rebels.
- If Texas A&M is truly different this year, now is the time to prove it. This article indicates that this season is reminiscent of last season, when the Aggies started out 5-0 before eventually finishing 8-5. Sumlin’s squad still has a shot to better that mark this year, and it starts with Saturday night’s game.
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
