Three Questions Ole Miss Must Answer vs. Missouri – Sports Illustrated

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A week after a 52-17 blowout victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores, the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels are hosting the No. 13 Missouri Tigers in a ranked SEC matchup that has major playoff implications for both teams.
Both the Rebels and Tigers have one loss on the season, meaning the loser of today's game will have to win out to guarantee a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Rebels will be looking to further reestablish themselves following an up-and-down start to the season that included a dramatic win against LSU, just to lose 52-28 against Florida a week later. Last week was a sign of good things to come for Ole Miss, but the team still has to answer some questions against Missouri to continue that trajectory.
In Ole Miss' victory over Vanderbilt, the Rebels' defense allowed less than three yards per carry, a far cry from the more than 300 rushing yards they gave up against Florida.
The Commodores scored just 17 points in the loss, with the last touchdown coming in the final minutes of the game when the result was already obvious.
Ole Miss won't have nearly as big of a talent advantage over Missouri as they did against Vanderbilt. The Tigers defeated the Florida Gators 45-17 the week after the Gators' blowout win over Ole Miss.
Another standout performance for the defense, this time against a top-15 opponent, would have the Rebels feeling confident heading into the final stretch of the regular season. However, that performance will have to come in the absence of one of their key players.
This week, Ole Miss defensive back Edwin Joseph Jr. had a tightrope procedure done on his high ankle sprain he suffered against Vanderbilt.
Joseph has filled multiple roles for the Rebels' defense, taking snaps at boundary corner, nickel and safety. Ole Miss will have a number of players ready to fill in for Joseph at each of those roles, but none with the obvious versatility to be a one-to-one replacement for Joseph.
With the secondary facing off against a talented Missouri passing attack led by former Rebels Austin Simmons and Cayden Lee, whoever steps up in Ole Miss' secondary will be thrown into a sink-or-swim situation immediately.
Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy has dealt with injury problems for most of the season. He was inactive in the loss to Florida, which was one of the reasons Ole Miss lost that game.
Last week, prior to the Vanderbilt game, Lacy was listed as questionable on Ole Miss' injury report. He would start the game for the Rebels, rushing the ball seven times for 39 yards and a touchdown before heading back to the bench thanks to Ole Miss' big lead.
This week, he's off the injury report and set to be the main rusher for the game against his former team. At his peak, Lacy is one of the best running backs in college football. Last season, he rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns.
If he's fully healthy and can come close to his 2025 form, he will add another dimension to an Ole Miss offense that is already averaging 38.8 points a game. If he's not fully back to form, none of the other rushers for Ole Miss have been able to come close to replicating what Lacy can do on the field.
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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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