COURTESY THE MANEATER
James Franklin warms up before a game this season
James Franklin is set to make his return as the starting quarterback for the Missouri Tigers, in hopes of leading them to the Southeastern Conference title game.
Franklin hasn’t started since he sprained his shoulder in the Tigers’ win over Georgia Oct. 12. He did enter the Tigers’ last game two weeks ago against Kentucky, but he didn’t attempt a pass and just handed the ball off five times.
Franklin had guided Missouri to a 6-0 start prior to his injury. His numbers through six games were incredible, completing 68 percent of his passes while throwing 14 touchdowns to just three interceptions. Franklin also did damage with his feet, as he rushed for 48 yards per game on 4.46 yards per carry.
Those aren’t daunting rushing statistics, but given Franklin’s mobility and Ole Miss’ inability to slow running quarterbacks, the Rebel defense is in for a tough matchup with Franklin, assuming he is healthy.
Ole Miss has struggled with quarterbacks who can take off when a play breaks down. Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel ran for 124 yards on 19 carries against Ole Miss, his highest yardage total this season. His yards per carry of 6.53 was also above his season average. Last year, Ole Miss surrendered the second-most rushing yards Manziel had in his freshman season, as he rushed for 129 yards on 20 carries.
Manziel made his biggest impact by moving the chains with scrambles. Five times Manziel took off on third or fourth down, and on four of them he picked up the first down. Most notably, on a third and 14, Manziel scampered away for 24 yards.
But it wasn’t just Manziel that hurt Ole Miss; Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall posted his second-highest rushing total of the season when he played Ole Miss. Marshall used 14 carries to pick up 140 yards. His 10 yards per carry was well above his season average.
Franklin may not be completely up to speed, but he possesses the ability that Manziel and Marshall used to burn Ole Miss. The Rebels can’t afford to let Franklin keep drives alive by scrambling on third down.
That’s a down that has been a problem for Ole Miss in SEC play. At 46 percent, Ole Miss is allowing the fourth-highest conversion rate in the SEC. Only Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky rank below the Ole Miss defense.
Franklin and the Missouri offense will get more help than Manziel did from the Texas A&M defense. The Missouri defense is superb.
Missouri has the second-most efficient defense in the SEC, behind Alabama, and the tenth-most efficient defense in the country, according to FootballOutsiders.com. That measure does factor in strength of schedule, in which Missouri ranks 66th.
They are allowing 5.11 yards per play, third best in the SEC. Their rush defense is allowing 3.33 yards per carry; Ole Miss is just 2-6 under Hugh Freeze when they rush for fewer than 4 yards per carry with those two wins coming over Arkansas.
Their pass defense is allowing the most yards per game in the SEC at 274.9. But that is not a bad number when you consider that Missouri has faced the second-most pass attempts in the entire country.
If you look on a per-play basis – which is a better measure than per game – Missouri is tied for second with Alabama and Vanderbilt, at 6.5 yards per pass attempt. They do, however, allow a high completion percentage of 62.5.
They have the most interceptions (17) and sacks (34) in the SEC, but those numbers aren’t as dominant when you look at it per play. Missouri is intercepting 4 percent of opponent passes, still an impressive number that ranks third in the SEC.
For their sacks, they are still tops in the SEC. The Tigers are getting a sack on 8.1 percent of opponent dropbacks, the highest in the SEC.
And they are good in third down too. Against SEC opponents, Missouri is allowing a conversion 28.41 percent of the time, the best in the SEC.
Don’t sleep on this Missouri defense; they are excellent. And James Franklin brings the skill set that has tormented the Ole Miss defense. The Tigers are 9-1 for a reason and are a legitimate threat to win the SEC.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
-Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
