OXFORD — Quinshon Judkins said Monday he’s not frustrated.
The Ole Miss All-American running back has been limited to 201 yards and four touchdowns on 57 carries so far this season, a total that isn’t even No. 1 on his own roster (Jaxson Dart has 219 rushing yards). He admitted he had loftier expectations coming into this season, but he said he’s focused on fixing the running game woes and not on distributing blame.
“I believe in my offense. I believe in my coaches. So me just being level-headed with the same poise and not getting frustrated, knowing that it’ll come if we just keep working and keep grinding and fix everything that we can to get the run game going because that’s what the offense is based off of.”
Judkins rushed for 56 yards on 13 carries in Ole Miss’ 24-10 loss at Alabama, but he said Monday he felt healthier against the Crimson Tide than he had in previous weeks after suffering an undisclosed injury in the Rebels’ win over Tulane on Sept. 9.
No. 20 Ole Miss (3-1 overall, 0-1 in the Southeastern Conference) entertains No. 13 LSU (3-1, 2-0) at 5 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN.
“You can’t dwell on what happened this past Saturday,” Judkins said. “You fix the mistakes and you fix the things that can be changed and you look forward to next week.
“I think it takes more than one person to do it. It takes everyone. It’s a team effort. You can be the best player in the country but if someone right next to you or in front of you isn’t doing their job then it does no good.”
Judkins said Ole Miss learned lessons from handling adversity last season and expects a focused team on Saturday.
“I feel like last year around this time, we faced the same thing,” Judkins said. “This isn’t anything new to me. It’s the same adversity. I think everyone is handling it really well and we’re just excited to go to our new game this Saturday with a new opponent and showcase what we do.”
LSU, Judkins said, is “definitely more physical than Alabama was up front. Way bigger, a lot of older guys as well, and they rotate a lot, so that’s going to be something for us that we need to change with our gameplan and be more up-tempo.
“Everyone is focusing in on the run game because that’s how we were successful last year. As an offense and as a team, we have to figure out a way to get it.”
Rebels gearing up for major test versus Tigers: LSU’s offense is dynamic, led by quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. Running back Logan Diggs adds a strong rushing element as well. Daniels has thrown for 1,296 yards and 12 touchdowns so far this season, with Nabers and Thomas catching five touchdowns apiece.
Ole Miss defensive back John Saunders Jr. said Monday the Rebels have to be constantly aware of Nabers’ presence Saturday.
“They line him up at multiple different spots,” Saunders said. “They’re going to try to be doing different things to get him the ball, so we have to be aware of where he’s at every single play.”
Daniels is a mobile quarterback, and while acknowledging his talents, Saunders said the Rebels plan to eliminate explosive plays and make sure there’s no free runner.
“They're going to have to compete for everything when they come in here,” Saunders said.
Kickoff time set for Razorbacks-Rebels: Ole Miss football's home game against Arkansas on Oct. 7 will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network, the league office announced Monday.
Next Saturday will mark the 70th all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Arkansas. The Razorbacks hold a 37-29-1 series lead, with the original record being 37-31-1 before vacated wins.
