3 Things We've Learned About Ole Miss' Defense in the First Half of the Season – Sports Illustrated

Halfway through this season, the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels are 5-1 ahead of Saturday night's matchup against the No. 19 Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas.
Ole Miss is looking to keep gaining momentum towards a possible College Football Playoff berth in what's been an up-and-down season after two consecutive wins over Vanderbilt and No. 22 Missouri. Texas is trying to save its season and avoid taking a third straight loss.
Yesterday, I wrote about what we have learned about the Rebels' offense through the first six games of the season. Now, it's time to do the same for the defense.
Ole Miss came into this season with high expectations for its defense in the first full-time season under defensive-minded head coach Pete Golding.
Through the first four weeks of the season, the defense had disappointed majorly, giving up 38 points per game to the three Power Four opponents they played in the first four games. The slow start finally caught up to them against Florida, who defeated the Rebels 52-28.
Following that game, it was obvious that changes had to be made to keep the season from going off the rails. After games five and six, the changes have seemingly worked for the Rebels.
Ole Miss defeated Vanderbilt in a 52-17 blowout and followed up its performance the very next week with a 31-3 mauling against No. 22 Missouri.
Although the Rebels' defense seems to be peaking, they still have to show they can do it week in and week out.
Despite the recent uptick in performance, Ole Miss hasn't completely escaped its early defensive struggles yet.
Holding No. 22 Missouri to just three points and less than 40 rushing yards is an impressive turnaround from the more than 300 rushing yards they gave up against Florida. However, one of the main reasons for the defense's improvements has been that Vanderbilt and Missouri played from behind nearly the entire game.
The defense hasn't had to respond to a slow start from the Rebels' offense since the blowout loss to Florida. Additionally, the defense hasn't had to play a ranked away game since the loss to Florida, though Florida wasn't ranked at the time of the game.
Both of these question marks that remain for the defense could be answered in the following weeks, as Ole Miss travels to play Texas this Saturday night and will play Georgia at home on Nov. 7. Those two games have been circled for the Rebels since preseason.
If the defense can maintain the level of play they've shown the past two weeks through those games, you're looking at a dangerous Ole Miss team.
One of the most impressive things about the Rebels' defense is its "next man up" mentality.
All season, Golding has been rotating players to keep his players fresh and ready to play. Nowhere has that paid off more than in how the team has responded to defensive back Edwin Joseph Jr.'s injury.
Joseph filled multiple roles in the defense, mainly spending time at safety, nickel and boundary corner. When he went down, Nick Cull was able to smoothly take his place.
Ole Miss has also played multiple defensive linemen, something expected under Golding's scheme.
A major difference in this season's defense compared to 2025's has been the linebacking corps production. Last season, TJ Dottery finished with 98 tackles, 33 more than Jaden Yates, the linebacker with the second-most tackles.
This past offseason, both Dottery and Yates transferred to other schools, but the Rebels have been able to replace them with three linebackers who are all producing.
Luke Ferrelli, Keaton Thomas and Tah'j Butler have combined for 109 tackles and 2.5 sacks this season. All three have tackle counts in the 30s, indicating a combined effort that wasn't nearly as prominent last season.
Ole Miss has a multitude of talent at all three levels of the defense. If they can prove that the last two weeks are the new normal, this is a defense worthy of a return to the College Football Playoff, and maybe another deep run, if not further.
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Jaydon Koss is a staff writer for Ole Miss on SI. He is a freshman journalism major at Ole Miss from Petal, MS. Prior to joining SI, he previously worked in community news at RHCJC News in Hattiesburg and shot live sports as part of the production team during his time at Petal High School. You can find Koss on social media channels at @jaydonmkoss.
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