When the sign with the Corvette logo is raised on the Ole Miss sideline, it’s go time. Get to the line and get ready to snap the ball as soon as possible. This week No. 24 Ole Miss will not only be running the up-tempo offense, but also defending it as the Rebels travel to Auburn to face Gus Malzahn’s offensive attack.
“We certainly can look just alike offensively,” head coach Hugh Freeze said. “We’ll be able to simulate their looks very efficiently for our defense.”
The tempo is an effort to catch defenses off guard and tired. It is an attempt to get more possessions and plays than the opponent. If you get more possessions and plays, then you have an advantage that should help lead to outscoring opponents.
“Our goal is to play faster than anybody in college football,” Malzahn said at SEC media days this offseason. “We feel like, if you can execute our offense at a fast pace, it’s a big advantage. So we’ll be striving for that.”
For both Ole Miss and Auburn this season, their offenses have not been as fast as anticipated or advertised. Both of these supposedly fast-paced offenses are ranked outside of the top 60 in plays per game, according to TeamRakings.com, which only calculates FBS versus FBS games.
In all games, Ole Miss is averaging 73.8 plays per game, while Auburn is right below at 72.5. There are three teams currently running over 90 plays per game and 21 teams averaging over 80 plays per game, a benchmark that Malzahn declared for his team this offseason.
“Our goal when we talk to our players is 80 (plays per game),” Malzahn told Al.com. “But each game unfolds differently. Sometimes, you can score enough points on less than 80. The main thing is we play faster than any team in the country on each snap.”
Auburn has only eclipsed 80 plays once this season in a loss to LSU, while Ole Miss ran over 80 plays against Vanderbilt and Southeastern Missouri State, but just 57 against Alabama.
A drawback of the up-tempo offense is the strain it can put on your defense if your offense doesn’t spend enough time on the field. Ole Miss and Auburn are currently in the bottom 35 of the NCAA in time of possession.
While time of possession is a poor indicator of winning and losing, as Texas A&M, Georgia and Oregon all ranked in the bottom 35 last season but won at least 10 games, it can cause your defense extra wear.
The up-tempo offense is only bad for your defense if your offense isn’t picking up first downs. In any style of offense, constant three-and-outs will wreak havoc on your defense.
So far this season, Ole Miss is snapping the ball every 21.5 seconds on offense, while Auburn is running a play every 23.2 seconds.
A key difference between Ole Miss and Auburn is the backfield. Auburn employs a two running back formation more frequently than Ole Miss. Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne have both carried the football more than 40 times. The only Ole Miss running back that has received that much of a work load is senior Jeff Scott.
With slightly bigger backs, expect Auburn to run between the tackles more often than Ole Miss as well. All three of Auburn’s running backs weigh over 200 pounds, while Scott and sophomore Jaylen Walton, the only other Ole Miss running back with 20 carries, weigh less than 170 pounds.
One advantage the Rebels have is at quarterback. Junior Bo Wallace has completed 61.9 percent of his passes this season, down from his 63.9 completion percentage last year, which was the second best in Ole Miss history. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall is only completing 58.3 percent of his passes and has thrown four interceptions in four games.
Wallace hasn’t thrown an interception this season, an improvement from his SEC-leading 17 picks a year ago. That doesn’t mean Wallace hasn’t made mistakes. He has had multiple passes hit defenders in the hands, but they failed to make him pay.
Wallace, in year two of running this offense against SEC defenses, has proven to be slightly better than Marshall, who has had just four games.
This game should allow for both teams to up their average plays per game as the opponent won’t be sitting on the ball like Alabama, Vanderbilt or LSU do, which all rank in the bottom 35 of plays per game.
This could be the first of many match ups between two coaches and teams trying to change the offensive philosophy in the SEC. In the future, this could be the game that determines which up-tempo team will challenge for the SEC title.
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