OXFORD | Saturday was supposed to be several things for Ole Miss — a ninth win of the season, a brunch cupcake before the Egg Bowl in five days, the completion of an undefeated home campaign and a 21st home win the last 23 chances.
A walk-over warm-up of sorts against two-win ULM that hadn’t won a game since September and against an FBS opponent since the opening week of the season.
And while it was an eventual 35-3 blowout victory that accomplished those statistical metrics, it was far from well-played or comfortable for a while. It was also a first-half examination on the current state of the Ole Miss offensive line.
Mississippi State has only five wins for a reason after it beat USM, but the Rebels on Thursday in Starkville must be better up front to avoid a complicated path toward their second 10-win regular season in three years.
Ole Miss (9-2) led ULM (2-9) just 7-3 at halftime thanks to drops, slips and general listlessness, but also because poor line play made it difficult to run the football and protect Jaxson Dart consistently.
The Rebels failed on a fourth down in the red zone and missed a 50-yard field goal in the first half. Ole Miss, despite the scoring issues, only had one drive without a first down in the first half.
The Warhawks sacked Dart three times in the first half and disrupted several other dropbacks, while Ole Miss ran for fewer than four yards per carry in the opening two quarters. Eventually, Ole Miss outgained ULM 498-258 but still rushed for only 3.4 per attempt. As a team, the Rebels threw for 371 yards.
“I felt like blocking, overall, we have to definitely be better,” tight end Caden Prieskorn said.
Right tackle Micah Pettus injured his foot in practice the week of the Georgia game and is expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season. Left tackle Jayden Williams — who was expected to be the primary person at that position in Pettus’ absence — played just five snaps against the Bulldogs before leaving with an injury.
Ole Miss shuffled various combinations versus Georgia and mostly settled on a rotation against ULM of Victor Curne and Quincy McGee on the left side, Caleb Warren and Jeremy James on the right side and Reece McIntyre at center.
McIntyre injured his snapping hand against Georgia but looked normal at that on Saturday. None of the five is in a position that’s completely unfamiliar from some part of their careers, but it’s not a combination that’s gotten many repetitions this season.
Lane Kiffin said Willams should be back for MSU.
“The holding penalties felt big, and through two games it’s been a challenging situation,” Kiffin said. “You lose your right tackle and then your next tackle after five plays (against Georgia). It’s challenging for everybody.”
ULM’s three sacks tied the most its had against an FBS team this season, as eight of the Warhawks’ 26 sacks came against FCS Lamar in week two. ULM also tackled the Rebels for loss 11 times.
Ole Miss was much cleaner in the second half and scored on its first three possessions to turn it into a rout, as Dart had three touchdown passes and threw for 310 yards. Quinshon Judkins rushed for 65 yards on 18 carries and is 67 yards from 1,000 for the season. Dayton Wade had seven catches for 108 yards including a 58-yard touchdown.
Ole Miss offensive linemen were called for three holding penalties — two on Curne — and one false start.
The Rebels took out the starters with eight minutes in the game following a red zone stop while leading by three touchdowns.
Spencer Sanders threw a 51-yard touchdown to Cayden Lee to cap that drive after ULM roughed the punter on the fourth play of the series. Lee caught it at the 48 and ran down the left sideline the rest of the way.
The backup offensive line — a group the Rebels have rarely dipped into the past two weeks — was in the game with Sanders.
Ole Miss got marginally better up front as the game went on, but the Rebels also adjusted to compensate in that area. Both contributed to the 28-0 run after halftime.
It’s a golden opportunity on Thanksgiving to cap the second 10-win regular season in program history and make the Citrus Bowl the floor for bowl hopes.
There’s one thing for certain, though: the level of difficulty lies to some extent with the offensive line.
