Peach Preview: Ole Miss and Penn State ready for showdown

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ATLANTA — No. 10 Penn State and No. 11 Ole Miss square off on Saturday at noon EST (11 a.m. CST) in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The game will be televised by ESPN.

Both teams enter the game with 10-2 records. Penn State lost to Big Ten powerhouses Michigan and Ohio State while Ole Miss lost at Southeastern Conference behemoths Alabama and Georgia.

Penn State coach James Franklin and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin discussed the similarities between the Nittany Lions and the Rebels as 2023 concludes and both programs — as well as all of college football — begin to turn their attention to 2024 and a new College Football Playoff model, one that will increase the field from four teams to 12.

“I think that it's been a really exciting season for us, probably some similarities with two losses to two of the elite teams in college football,” Kiffin said. “For us to be in a position in our program, having never won 11 games, is really amazing for these players. Especially to me the way we built our team, whether it's right or wrong, is very heavy through the portal. So a lot of new players. So I commend our coaches and our players of coming together. That's not very easy. Otherwise, free agency, these dream teams and people put them together in professional sports or NBA, they don't always work. And it takes some unselfishness because they all come thinking that everything's going to go their way and then it doesn't, so they've got to buy into the team. So I'm really proud of our guys.”

“I think the way we ended last season with a Rose Bowl win, I felt like the momentum was a real positive for our program, whether it was recruiting, whether it was transfer portal, whether it was just a general feeling and excitement with our fans, with the media, with our players in the locker room,” Franklin said. “I think that was helpful.

“I think in some ways obviously a bowl game is the ending of the previous season, but in a lot of ways, you can also look at it as the start of the next year. I think our programs both are similar in some ways, but very different in others. We have not been a big transfer portal team. We've been more of a traditional high school recruiting team, but we do accent our recruiting through the transfer portal. We're excited. We're excited about playing this game and playing this opponent and hopefully playing well enough that, again, we can have this momentum going into the off-season for recruiting, for spring ball, for the confidence that a lot of players that are going to play in this game that maybe haven't had as significant of roles earlier in the season.

“So I think there's just a ton of reasons why this game is important for both programs and looking forward to playing it.”

Here are also some matchups of note that likely will determine the outcome of Saturday’s game:

Penn State defensive end Adisa Isaac declared for the NFL Draft earlier this week but said he intends to play in the Peach Bowl. But how much? Penn State beat writers have said several players, including Isaac, might not play the entire game Saturday, protecting their health as they prepare for the NFL Draft process.

Cornerback Johnny Dixon isn’t with the team in Atlanta, Franklin confirmed on Friday. Dixon is training in Florida and won’t play against Ole Miss. Kalen King, a likely second- or third-round draft choice, will start at cornerback against Ole Miss, but there are questions about how long he’ll stay in the game. The same likely holds for cornerback Daequan Hardy.

That likely means a bigger role for sophomore Cam Miller and true freshmen Zion Tracy and Elliot Washington II.

Tight end Theo Johnson, who has declared for the NFL Draft, will play Saturday, but he’s also expected to have a pitch count, so to speak. Offensive lineman Olu Fashanu hasn’t publicly stated whether he will play Saturday or not, but if he does, it’s expected he, too, will be very limited.

"It creates some more opportunities in this game," Franklin said. "We've embraced it with a next-man-up mentality.”

Penn State’s top defensive player, linebacker Chop Robinson, announced earlier this month that he’s going pro and opting out of the Peach Bowl.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart passed for 2,985 yards with 20 touchdowns and rushed for 377 yards with seven touchdowns so far this season. He leads an up-tempo offense challenged by a Nittany Lions defense that allowed the fewest yards and first downs and collected the most sacks in the nation. Penn State set a school record with 48 sacks, including 7.5 by Isaac.

“Jaxson and Ole Miss, I think the thing that jumps out from my perspective is balance,” Franklin said. “And a lot of times when you talk about balance, people think you're talking about running the ball 50 percent of the time and throwing the ball 50 percent of the time. And the reality is they have done that too. I think maybe their perception of Lane and Ole Miss is throwing the ball all over the field, but their running back is a challenge. And I think they do a great job of running the ball and running into advantageous looks.

“The other thing, when you talk about balance in my mind is also being able to spread the ball around the field, that there's not one receiver that you have to stop. They've got three receivers that have all been really productive, probably the best combination of production at the receiver position that we've faced this year. Obviously, they've been able to run a ton of plays, and that's a combination of tempo, but just as much tempo as it is offensive success. They've been successful. So they've been able to put drives together and get on the field and get off the field.

“I think the quarterback has done a really good job of being able to make plays with his feet, being able to make plays with his mind, and being able to make plays with his arm and distribute the ball to multiple playmakers that Lane and their offensive coordinator have done a really good job of putting in really good positions to make plays.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar passed for 2,336 yards with 23 touchdowns and only one interception while completing 61.1 percent of his passes. Since 2000, only three other FBS quarterbacks threw for at least 20 touchdowns with only one interception through 12 games: Ohio State’s Justin Fields (2019); Western Michigan’s Zach Terrell (2016) and South Carolina’s Connor Shaw (2013). Allar has also rushed for four touchdowns.

“I think he does a phenomenal job of taking care of the ball, first off, and commanding the offense, getting the ball in the right place,” Kiffin said. “When it is not there, breaks it down, does a great job of vertical scrambling and making plays and moving the sticks.

“So those guys are always challenging because they're going to win a lot of games by the style that they play. They complete with the ball. They don't turn the ball over, and they don't make negative plays. So they've done a great job.”

The Nittany Lions will be without defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who was hired as Duke’s head coach on Dec. 7. Despite the hiring of former Indiana coach Tom Allen as its new DC, Penn State safeties coach Anthony Poindexter and analyst Robb Smith will serve as co-interim coordinators against the Rebels.

Diaz became the second Penn State coordinator to depart in 2023 after offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was fired in November. Tight ends coach Ty Howle and running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider will continue to run the offense in his place as the newly-hired Andy Kotelnicki watches from the sidelines.

“I'm not Coach Manny, but we know how we operate on a day-to-day basis and how we get our team prepared … We'll be ready to play on Saturday,” Poindexter said.

Kiffin said Friday he didn’t believe the upheaval at Penn State would necessarily help his team in the Peach Bowl.

“I think it's very complicated with new coaches, with Manny moving on,” Kiffin said. “So I think everybody that the first assumption is, ‘Oh, that's great for the opponent because the coordinator is not there,’ but it's also complicated because play callers have tendencies.

“So we don't know really what to expect. We know it's a major challenge of phenomenal players and a really good scheme. I don't think the coach matters as a play caller.

“Under Coach Franklin, the defense plays really hard regardless of who the coordinator is. They have a special thing over there with the way that they play and the style that they play. So this is a huge challenge.”