Notes: Defenders excited to face prolific Tulsa passing attack

OXFORD -- Ole Miss has plenty of respect for Tulsa's offense.

The Golden Hurricanes have accumulated 413 yards per game so far this season, a statistic that leads the country. Quarterback Davis Brin has been excellent, completing 79 of 119 passes for 1,206 yards and 11 touchdowns. He's thrown just one interception.

Keylon Stokes already has 28 receptions, good for 457 yards and three touchdowns. Malachi Jones has 19 catches, good for 232 yards and a touchdown. JuanCarlos Santana has added 14 receptions for 326 yards and four scores. Tulsa is averaging 523.7 yards per game en route to a 2-1 start.

So the 16th-ranked Rebels (3-0) know Tulsa can move the football.

However, forgive Ole Miss' defenders if they're a bit giddy this week. After facing a vanilla Troy offense, Central Arkansas and an overwhelmed Georgia Tech unit this past Saturday, the Rebels are excited to know there's going to be a quarterback to pursue and some footballs in the air Saturday at 3 p.m. (SEC Network) when Tulsa invades Oxford.

"We always want to get after the quarterback but we're going to focus on stopping all the run plays first and force them to throw it and then, yeah, get after the quarterback for sure," Ole Miss defensive end Tavius Robinson said.

"They're really good on the outside and they have the best passing game in the country, so obviously, they've got some good receivers on the outside and we have to be up for the challenge on Saturday," Ole Miss safety A.J. Finley added. "When there's a team that's going to pass the ball a lot, that means there are going to be more opportunities to get interceptions. Obviously, we do get a lot more excited."

Brin , who threw for 3,254 yards last season at Tulsa, is 16th nationally in passing efficiency with a mark of 177.8. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound Texan had 18 touchdowns but also 16 interceptions a year ago.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, ranks No. 5 in FBS in sacks per game (4.33) and No. 12 in tackles for loss per game (8.7). The Rebels also lead the country in team coverage with a Pro Football Focus grade of 92.7 (out of 100). Ole Miss is No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 4.3 points per game.

"All the guys have bought in to what we know we have to do and I feel like we take it personally to do the job every week," Finley said.

Robinson had a key first-quarter sack at Georgia Tech, stopping the Yellow Jackets' only real scoring opportunity of the day. He has six tackles so far this season. Finley, meanwhile, has 14 tackles and two pass break-ups so far this season.

"I feel like we have to get the ball out of the air in the secondary and just make more plays when the ball gets in the air," Finley said.

Robinson credited Ole Miss' defensive prowess so far this season to two things -- the coaching of defensive coordinator Chris Partridge and the presence of depth all over the unit.

"I think (Partridge) has done a great job of really emphasizing the standard," Robinson said. "He really instills in us to play violent and to play relentless and you see it throughout the room. I think we play with a lot of energy and we focus on those points, we're really special.

"I think we're all making each other better. Every day at practice, we're learning from each other and pushing each other, so having depth is a great thing. It elevates people's games all around the defense. It's super important and it's good for sure. ...I think we all play with a chip on our shoulder. We try not to get too high, and three games into it, we want to keep that up. Definitely we want to play defense hard and that's what we go for, for sure."

Ole Miss offensive guard Nick Broeker was honored Monday as the Southeastern Conference's Offensive Lineman of the Week. Broeker helped pave the way for a Rebel rushing attack that amassed 316 yards on the ground and scored all six touchdowns on the day.

The Rebels recorded their most rushing yards against a non-SEC Power-5 opponent since at least 1967. It was the first time since Oct. 27, 1979 versus Vanderbilt that three Ole Miss rushers tallied multiple scores. Broeker graded out at 96 percent and totaled six knockdowns with zero pressures and zero sacks allowed.

Other players honored by the SEC Monday were Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, LSU safety Jay Ward, Texas A&M punter Nik Constantinou, Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann and LSU defensive end BJ Ojulari.

Ole Miss' Oct. 1 game versus No. 8 Kentucky has been slated for an 11 a.m. CDT start, the league office announced Monday.

The Homecoming contest will be televised on ESPN. The game will serve as the 95th Homecoming game at Ole Miss since the tradition started in 1924. The Rebels are 71-16-2 all-time and have won 22 of their last 25 Homecoming contests on the field.

It will mark the 45th meeting between Ole Miss and Kentucky dating back to 1944. The Rebels lead the all-time series versus the Wildcats, 28-14-1. The original record is 29-14-1, but Ole Miss vacated a win in 2010 due to NCAA ruling.