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OXFORD — No. 5 Ole Miss has rolled so far this season, blowing out Furman and Middle Tennessee by a combined score of 128-3.
Ole Miss leads the FBS in rushing defense (27 yards per game) and is No. 3 nationally in tackles for loss (25). Offensively, the Rebels are No. 1 nationally in yards per game, scoring offense, passing offense and plays that gain more than 20 yards.
Of course, the Rebels haven’t left the friendly confines of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, nor have they played a Power-4 opponent. That changes Saturday when Ole Miss travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to face ACC foe Wake Forest (1-1).
“I think it's going to be a great measure because these first two weeks we've been playing FCS teams,” Ole Miss defensive end Princely Umanmielen said. “So I think it's just going to be a great test to see where we are. But I feel like weekend and week out, we go into the game with the same mentality. No matter who we play, we going to go into wait for us to try to dominate just like we have these past two weeks.”
The Rebels didn’t allow a point for the first 89 minutes and 45 seconds of the season before surrendering a field goal Saturday. Still, Umanmielen said Monday, there is plenty to work on.
“We are just only two games into the season,” Umanmielen said. “We’ve got just a little more stuff we need to clean up to be like truly elite at every single phase of the defense. But I think so far we've been doing pretty good.”
Umanmielen has three tackles, one sack and four quarterback hurries so far this season. He spent much of preseason camp recovering from an offseason labrum surgery and mastering Pete Golding’s defensive scheme.
“Just playing fast and with fast physical with a lot of effort, you know, I want to show that I can play with the same effort throughout the entire game,” Umanmielen said. “During camp, you have to learn a whole bunch of plays and stuff like that. But, you know, when you go into the game week, game plan and stuff like that, it's not like we have a set amount of plays that we're gonna run.
“So it's gotten much, much simpler. I still have had to have a couple of extra meetings with my coaches just to learn the real insides and outs of it so I can play really, really fast. But yeah, I've gotten to understand much better earlier.”
Rebels keeping an eye on Francine: Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris acknowledged Monday that Tropical Storm Francine might make her presence felt Saturday night. If that happens, ball protection could become an even bigger deal. It’s something, Harris said, the Rebels harp on constantly.
“We still have the same mentality of protecting the ball down with the ball,” Harris said. “That’s something that's constantly drilled into us. For us, whenever you have that ball in the hand, you have a team in your hands, and that's something that each and every ball carrier has to have in their mind in order to carry the ball. Hey, we're protecting the team. You're not just protecting yourself, you're not just protecting the ball, but this is the team that you're protecting, you're looking after.”
The forecast in Winston-Salem Saturday calls for a 75 percent chance of rain. Forecasters are predicting Francine could be upgraded to a Category 2 hurricane before making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday and then moving northeast.
As for the Demon Deacons, a team that defeated North Carolina A&T in its opener before losing Saturday to Virginia, 31-30, Harris said the Rebels are expecting a “very sound defense for sure.”
“They're very, very technical,” Harris said. “They have a pretty good solid front. The linebackers, they move side to side. They're pretty aggressive and the back end is not terrible. They're gonna go out there and they're gonna play their game. They’re gonna play off and we know we're gonna go out there and do what we gotta do.
"It's really the same thing each and every week for us. It's about us and it's not really about them. We know our coaches are gonna create a great team for us to go out there and execute. That's the main thing for us as players to do.”
