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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Peach Buzz: Good vs. Good
12/28/2023 | Football
Peach Bowl Gear2024 Party in the Sip SweepstakesWeis, Harris, Preiskorn PresserDart, Judkins, Watkins, Curne Presser
Presented by Kroger
ATLANTA – When the No. 11 Ole Miss football team meets No. 10 Penn State in the 2023 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, all eyes will be on the Rebel offense vs. the Nittany Lion defense, two units that are among the best in the nation at what they do.
Penn State is the No. 1 defense in college football statistically and will present a tremendous challenge, even for an Ole Miss offense that is one of the nation's best. Perhaps the toughest challenge presented by the Nittany Lions: a pass rush that produced the most sacks in college football. Rebel offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. spoke Thursday about what Ole Miss will do to meet that challenge.
"Tempo is always a huge part of what we do in terms of getting the D-line tired, not letting them sub, certain things like that," Weis said. "At the end of the day, we've got to block them. We've got to get the ball out on time. We've just got to go out there and execute. It's all about us at the end of the day is the thing that we talk about. So utilizing our tempo, playing fast, having success, moving the chains on third down. All those things go together into us having a good game on Saturday."
The Rebels have certainly faced some other elite defenses while traversing one of college football's most difficult schedules this season. While Penn State ranks No. 1 nationally in total defense, Ole Miss also faced the No. 9 (Georgia) and No. 17 (Alabama) total defenses this season.
"For us, they compare pretty well," Harris said. "We know statistically they're the top defense in the country. Going out there against them is going to be a great matchup, and we're really excited for it. To us, we're going to go out there and play our game, play our tempo, and be the most dominant team on the field."
Ole Miss knows full well that it will have to perform at its best to beat the Nittany Lion defense, but the Rebels are far from intimidated.
"I think that we're fortunate that we've had time to really dive into the film and watch them. They're a great unit, super explosive up front. And like the guys said earlier, they wreak havoc," said Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. "I feel confident in our game plan going into it. We've played against really good, my opinion, the best competition all year long. It's not going to be something to where we feel like it's out of the norm or anything like that. We've just got to trust each other, communicate on a really high level, and trust our training."
There will be marquee matchups all across the field when Ole Miss has the football. The Penn State defense was the best in the nation against the rush this year, allowing just 69.7 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, the Rebel rushing attack produced 178.8 yards on average this season, led by one of college football's best running backs in Quinshon Judkins.
"I think just me personally, I feel that as the type of team that we are, I know that we have grit. The guys up front, I believe in them as much as possible," Judkins said. "I know that Coach Weis and Coach Kiffin will put us in the best situation to win."
For Harris, the mindset and the objectives don't change week to week. Whether it's the No. 1 defense or the No. 133 defense, he and the Rebels will look to dictate the pace and play their game.
"For me, my mindset every week no matter what DB it is, go kill, go dominate, no matter who is in front of me," Harris said. "For me, it is just go out there and play my game and execute the game plan that's being made for us. We know they've got a good secondary back there, but we've got good receivers. We've got good guys with good pass catches and a good QB that is going to give us the ball on time. So we'll go out there and play our game, and we're going to bring it to them."
Party in the ATL
Grab the latest bowl gear and your Red gameday outfit through Ole Miss Authentics!
2024 Party in the Sip Sweepstakes
Don't miss any of the action in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 2024. Fans interested in 2024 football tickets can join our ticket interest list to be the first to know when tickets are available, and to enter the Party in the Sip Sweepstakes. One lucky winner will receive a VIP package for the home opener on August 31. The VIP package includes a premium tailgate experience, participation in the Walk of Champions, two sideline passes, and two field suite tickets.
Penn State is the No. 1 defense in college football statistically and will present a tremendous challenge, even for an Ole Miss offense that is one of the nation's best. Perhaps the toughest challenge presented by the Nittany Lions: a pass rush that produced the most sacks in college football. Rebel offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. spoke Thursday about what Ole Miss will do to meet that challenge.
"Tempo is always a huge part of what we do in terms of getting the D-line tired, not letting them sub, certain things like that," Weis said. "At the end of the day, we've got to block them. We've got to get the ball out on time. We've just got to go out there and execute. It's all about us at the end of the day is the thing that we talk about. So utilizing our tempo, playing fast, having success, moving the chains on third down. All those things go together into us having a good game on Saturday."
The Rebels have certainly faced some other elite defenses while traversing one of college football's most difficult schedules this season. While Penn State ranks No. 1 nationally in total defense, Ole Miss also faced the No. 9 (Georgia) and No. 17 (Alabama) total defenses this season.
"For us, they compare pretty well," Harris said. "We know statistically they're the top defense in the country. Going out there against them is going to be a great matchup, and we're really excited for it. To us, we're going to go out there and play our game, play our tempo, and be the most dominant team on the field."
Ole Miss knows full well that it will have to perform at its best to beat the Nittany Lion defense, but the Rebels are far from intimidated.
"I think that we're fortunate that we've had time to really dive into the film and watch them. They're a great unit, super explosive up front. And like the guys said earlier, they wreak havoc," said Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart. "I feel confident in our game plan going into it. We've played against really good, my opinion, the best competition all year long. It's not going to be something to where we feel like it's out of the norm or anything like that. We've just got to trust each other, communicate on a really high level, and trust our training."
There will be marquee matchups all across the field when Ole Miss has the football. The Penn State defense was the best in the nation against the rush this year, allowing just 69.7 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, the Rebel rushing attack produced 178.8 yards on average this season, led by one of college football's best running backs in Quinshon Judkins.
"I think just me personally, I feel that as the type of team that we are, I know that we have grit. The guys up front, I believe in them as much as possible," Judkins said. "I know that Coach Weis and Coach Kiffin will put us in the best situation to win."
For Harris, the mindset and the objectives don't change week to week. Whether it's the No. 1 defense or the No. 133 defense, he and the Rebels will look to dictate the pace and play their game.
"For me, my mindset every week no matter what DB it is, go kill, go dominate, no matter who is in front of me," Harris said. "For me, it is just go out there and play my game and execute the game plan that's being made for us. We know they've got a good secondary back there, but we've got good receivers. We've got good guys with good pass catches and a good QB that is going to give us the ball on time. So we'll go out there and play our game, and we're going to bring it to them."
Party in the ATL
Grab the latest bowl gear and your Red gameday outfit through Ole Miss Authentics!
2024 Party in the Sip Sweepstakes
Don't miss any of the action in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 2024. Fans interested in 2024 football tickets can join our ticket interest list to be the first to know when tickets are available, and to enter the Party in the Sip Sweepstakes. One lucky winner will receive a VIP package for the home opener on August 31. The VIP package includes a premium tailgate experience, participation in the Walk of Champions, two sideline passes, and two field suite tickets.
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