1. Flush the Texas game
Both Hugh Freeze and members of the Ole Miss team have mentioned not letting Texas beat them twice. Freeze’s team experienced failure for the first time this season and in a particularly rough fashion.
It will be important for the Rebels to come out and play like it’s any other game, instead of stepping onto the field with the memories of the Texas game in the front of their minds.
2. Retooling the secondary
Ole Miss changed up some things in the secondary in an effort to get a better performance from the back four, and this will be the first test of how that shuffling has gone. Junior Charles Sawyer is back at corner, while true freshman Trae Elston will start in Sawyer’s safety spot.
True freshman Quintavius Burdette has also moved to corner, so that rotation will look a little different than it has during the first three games.
Tulane will likely be starting a true freshman of its own at quarterback, so Saturday should provide a good chance for the new secondary to gain confidence and gel.
3. Youth movement
Already a young team, expect Ole Miss to throw more younger players into the mix against the Green Wave. Channing Ward should see expanded snaps at defensive end, while Mike Hilton and Anthony Standifer will likely see playing time in the secondary as well.
Add in the youth that the Rebels already have on the field, and it’ll be a glimpse at what the future of the program looks like. It’ll be a game where Ole Miss gets to see what it has in some of these younger players, and the younger players in turn get a shot to prove they deserve more playing time and bigger roles going forward.
4. Let it loose offensively
Ole Miss’ offense played pretty well last week against the Longhorns, and I expect Freeze will let the offense go full throttle at every available spot on Saturday.
With Alabama coming up, another impressive offensive performance will build confidence going into what will be a gigantic struggle next week against the Crimson Tide defense.
Expect sophomore wide receiver Donte Moncrief to have a big game catching the ball and for all the running backs to get in on the action against a struggling Tulane defense. There should be plenty of offensive fireworks in the Superdome Saturday when the Rebel offense is out there.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @thedm_sports and @bennetthipp on Twitter.
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