Ole Miss versus Penn State in Saturday’s Peach Bowl (noon, ESPN) will be a game of contrasts.
The No. 11 Rebels are quick and efficient on offense, with a roster helped with five transfers in from other FBS colleges.
“I’ve been a head coach in the SEC as well, so I’m very familiar and got a ton of respect for Ole Miss specifically and the conference as well,” Penn State coach James Franklin said Friday.
The No. 10 Nittany Lions are punishing and disciplined on defense, with a roster built more on the traditional model of not using many transfers.
“This is a huge challenge for us, playing one of the top teams in the country, one of the best coaches in the country, and the No. 1 defense by far in the country,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Friday.
It could be among the more exciting of the New Year’s Six bowl games.
“All I’ve been hearing all week is Penn State defense versus Ole Miss offense,” Penn State’s Curtis Jacobs said. “So I feel like when that’s been hyped up so much, you’ve got to pretty much give the people what they want.”
Breaking it down: Ole Miss was the 19th highest-scoring team in FBS, averaging 34.8 points per game. Six of its 11 projected starters on its offense, including quarterback Jaxson Dart, started their college path at other programs.
Kiffin said he felt using transfers was the best way to build and replenish the roster.
“That may change someday even where we’re at, as we maybe experience more success on the field in games like this and are able to sign more five-star type of high school players,” he said. “So it just is what it is now, and I think eventually the rules will change some too, and we’ll just continue to evolve with that.”
The Rebels’ tempo on offense is something that Penn State has been preparing for. Franklin said Ole Miss’ offense was effective because of its focus on mixing run and pass, utilizing all of the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, and attacking left, right or middle.
Ole Miss has three receivers with at least 740 yards and two running backs with at least 520 yards. Dart has passed for 2,985 yards and 20 touchdowns, and rushed for 377 yards and seven touchdowns.
“I think the quarterback has done a really good job of being able to make plays with his feet, being able to make plays with his mind, and being able to make plays with his arm and distribute the ball to multiple playmakers that Lane and their offensive coordinator have done a really good job of putting in really good positions to make plays,” Franklin said.
By contrast, the Nittany Lions’ entire roster features just eight players who transferred from other FBS schools. Penn State was No. 1 in total defense, 223.2 yards per game, and No. 3 in scoring defense, allowing an average of 11.42 points per game. Ole Miss co-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. said Penn State’s defense may be the most complete he’s seen this season.
A challenge for the Rebels will be that Penn State won’t be using the same play-caller, Manny Diaz, who called the plays for the defense in the previous 12 games. He resigned after he was hired as coach at Duke. Anthony Poindexter was appointed co-defensive coordinator and will call plays Saturday. Tom Allen will take over next season.
“It’s been about execution for us all year – execution, having fun, enjoying it, playing with each other,” Poindexter said. “That’s what we’ve done for 12 weeks, and we want to do it for one more week.”
Kiffin said he’s not sure if who calls the play will matter too much because what’s more important is the philosophy of playing hard. Penn State also led FBS in sacks (48), fewest first downs allowed (151) and tackles for loss per game (8.4).
“Under coach Franklin, the defense plays really hard regardless of who the coordinator is,” he said. “They have a special thing over there with the way that they play and the style that they play. So this is a huge challenge.”
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