OXFORD — Ole Miss’ defense has a talent issue.

There’s no disputing that, and the only people who have disputed that over the past couple of years are media who wear the same laundry as the team they cover.

That said, blaming Saturday’s performance on a talent disparity is at least slightly disingenuous.

Southern Illinois is an FCS opponent. The Salukis had a solid plan Saturday, sure, but what happened in the first half to Ole Miss’ defense on Saturday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium simply can’t happen. It was, in the words of former Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone, unacceptable.

Southern Illinois scored touchdowns on its first three offensive possessions Saturday and added a field goal on its fourth. Disappointed at having to settle for three points on a drive, the Salukis’ fifth drive went 75 yards on six plays before ending with another touchdown. The sixth drive was even more efficient. Southern Illinois needed three plays to go another 75 yards and put up another seven points.

In short, it was a blitzkrieg.

The numbers were just embarrassing. The Salukis rolled up 191 yards of total offense — in the first quarter. By halftime, Southern Illinois had posted 386 yards of total offense. Three hundred eighty-six. The Salukis averaged 8.98 yards per play in the first half. Ole Miss, obviously, didn’t cause a turnover, sack a quarterback or anything.

For Ole Miss, it had to be humiliating. For fans, it had to be sobering, among other things.

The first half was historically bad. For a recap:

The news gets worse going forward. Ole Miss plays host to No. 1 Alabama next Saturday evening. Assuming the Crimson Tide watches film, they’re liable to arrive in Oxford sometime Sunday afternoon. They would be forgiven if they’re chomping at the bit.

Let’s keep this real: Without Jaylon Jones on the active roster, there’s not a shutdown-caliber cornerback available. The safeties are adequate but there are no stars. Kevontae’ Ruggs, a true freshman who sat out Saturday still suffering from the effects of a concussion suffered against Texas Tech a week ago in Houston, is the best linebacker on campus. The defensive line, which lost Breeland Speaks and Marquis Haynes to the NFL, looked like a unit without a playmaker Saturday. Oh, and there’s no depth at all.

There’s a lot to dissect. Southern Illinois had clearly watched film. The Salukis attacked Ole Miss’ linebackers in space, using the Rebels’ aggressiveness against the run to their advantage. Mis-direction, play-fakes and play-action all worked. Receivers won one-on-ones. The worst news, at least from Saturday: Southern Illinois put up those numbers against a quarterback with an average arm and against a receiving corps that certainly didn’t pop off the proverbial page.

Alabama will bring in Tua Tagovailoa, Damien Harris and an offense loaded with future NFL stars to Oxford in a week. Jarrett Stidham waits on Ole Miss’ schedule. So does Jake Bentley and Nick Fitzgerald.

All of those teams will have defenses as well. Ole Miss’ offense bailed out the defense on Saturday. Southern Illinois had no answer for Jordan Ta’amu, DK Metcalf, A.J. Brown or Scottie Phillips. Ole Miss rolled up 398 yards of first-half offense Saturday and then kept going in the second half en route to a 76-41 win.

The Rebels’ offense is dynamic but it’s not getting 10 yards per game against Alabama, LSU, Auburn and the like.

Of course, that’s really not the point. How did Ole Miss get here? And can it be repaired? Those are the big-picture questions that deserve answers.

This defense wasn’t built in a day. For years, the Rebels lost recruiting battles on that side of the ball. Former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze talked about size:speed ratios when he arrived in Oxford in December 2011. Years later, he stopped uttering those words, instead focusing on recruiting a “different kind” of player.

Freeze hired Wesley McGriff after the 2016 season, in large part because he thought McGriff could revitalize the Rebels’ recruiting efforts. Last season, Ole Miss was No. 123 against the run among FBS programs. A year later, it’s the Rebels’ pass defense that’s porous.

What can be done? Well, barring some marked improvement, Matt Luke is going to have to do some soul-searching in the coming weeks and months. McGriff wasn’t his hire, but he retained him, so fair or not, Luke gets some ownership of this defense.

Whoever is in charge is going to have to recruit better, more talented defensive players. That’s the bottom line. Ole Miss has to get bigger and faster at linebacker. It needs more athletic cornerbacks, bigger safeties with range and quicker, more explosive defensive ends who can get to the quarterback and disrupt defenses.

All of those questions must be addressed, and everyone inside the program knows it. There are games upcoming, like the one in a week, where there’s likely nothing Ole Miss can do to prevent what’s coming. If Southern Illinois can roll up 629 yards of total offense, what can those talented, dynamic offenses do? We're about to find out.

Saturday, however, wasn’t one of those games that can be explained away by discrepancy in physical skill. Southern Illinois wasn’t the most talented team on the field Saturday, and fortunately for Ole Miss, the Rebels’ offense was just overwhelming. Finally, one of Sam Straub’s floaters into space, the once that either found a receiver or landed harmlessly on grass, got picked off. Vernon Dasher intercepted Straub on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown to put the game away.

Let no one tell you differently; that was an ibuprofen for the flu. It made Ole Miss feel better, but it didn’t kill the virus. No, the Salukis’ offensive numbers Saturday were damning for Ole Miss. The Rebels’ defensive performance included no redeeming value whatsoever. Ole Miss got scorched on that side of the football, and it couldn’t be pinned on a talent disparity.

Ole Miss escaped disaster Saturday, but I’d have to guess no one left the Manning Center feeling good late Saturday night. It’s rare that a season hits its pivot point in Week 2, but it sure felt that way Saturday night in Oxford.