OXFORD -- No. 5 Ole Miss wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule Saturday night at 6:45 CDT at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The Rebels (3-0) and Georgia Southern (2-1) can be seen on the SEC Network.
Saturday Set-Up is presented by Comer Heating and Air and Southern Air Conditioning and Heating. Different names but the same great people, products and services. If you live in Oxford, Batesville, Tupelo or the surrounding area, call Comer at 662-801-1777. If you live in Hernando, Southaven, Olive Branch, Memphis or the surrounding area, call 662-429-4429.
Teams: Georgia Southern (2-1) at No. 5 Ole Miss (3-0)
Where:Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)
Series: Ole Miss leads, 1-0
Time: 6:45 p.m. CDT
Where to Watch: SEC Network
Live Stream: ESPN App/SEC Network+
How To Listen: SiriusXM: 119/191, Ole Miss Radio Network,
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Odds: Ole Miss -35, Over/Under 67.5 Money Lines -- N/A (per DraftKings)
Team Leaders:
Passing:
Georgia Southern — JC French, 776 yards; Ole Miss — Jackson Dart, 1,172 yards
Rushing:
Georgia Southern — Jalen White, 97 yards yards; Ole Miss — Henry Parrish, Jr., 338 yards
Receiving:
Georgia Southern — Dalen Cobb, 175 yards; Ole Miss — Tre Harris, 403 yards
Gameday Schedule
Parking Operations Begin – 7 a.m.
Reserved North Plaza Tailgate Opens – 7 a.m.
Sports Zone Saturday Show Live from Hollingsworth Field – 10 a.m.
Coca-Cola FanFest Opens – 3:45 p.m.
Walk of Champions presented by Mid South Ford – 4:40 p.m.
Gates Open – 4:45 p.m.
Pre-Game Radio Show presented by Guaranty Bank – 4:45 p.m.
Pride of the South Grove Show – 5 p.m.
Oxford Ortho Letterman's Lounge Guest Interview (Todd Wade) – 5:35 p.m.
Pride of the South Pregame Show – 5:59 p.m.
National Anthem – 6:35 p.m.
Lock the Vaught – 6:41 p.m.
Hotty Toddy – 6:44 p.m.
Kickoff – 6:45 p.m.Grove Closes – Midnight
Notes:
Sold Out Saturday Night: The crowd will be a factor on Saturday night. Ole Miss announced this week that it has sold out of all remaining Ole Miss football home games. The Ole Miss Athletics ticket office sold the remainder of its Georgia Southern tickets on Wednesday. SEC games have been sold out since late August. For remaining, fans can visit SeatGeek, the official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace of Ole Miss Athletics, to buy tickets from other fans who can't attend.
Eagle Aerial Attack: Fans expecting Georgia Southern to run the ball 59 times like they did at The Vaught in 2016 will be sorely disappointed. The Eagles rank No. 22 in the nation with 37.0 pass attempts per game, just ahead of the Ole Miss offense at 36.7. Quarterback JC French, a transfer from Memphis, will challenge a Rebel secondary that has, if anything, been the weak point in the defense this season.
Rebel Rush: While Ole Miss' biggest defensive concern is likely the passing attack, Georgia Southern's might be the ground game. The Eagles are third-to-last in the nation, allowing 236.7 rushing yards per game. They'll have to contend with an Ole Miss ground game that ranks No. 12 nationally at 257.7 yards per contest, led by running back Henry Parrish Jr., who is No. 13 nationally with a per-game average of 112.7 rushing yards.
Empty End Zone: Ole Miss is still yet to allow a touchdown this season. Will the Rebel defense continue the streak against a Georgia Southern offense that is in the top 25 nationally with 14 touchdowns scored through three games?
Well-Coached Foe: Lane Kiffin heaped praise on the character and competency of Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton in his weekly press conference. Helton earned his first major break in the coaching industry when Kiffin hired him to USC in 2010. Helton went on to be the head coach of the Trojans and even recruited Jaxson Dart to Los Angeles.
Touch Grass: This will be the first Georgia Southern game on natural grass since Arkansas (2021) and the first under Helton.
Eagles vs. SEC: Georgia Southern is 1-14 all-time against current teams from the Southeastern Conference. The Eagles' lone win came against Florida in The Swamp to end the 2013 season.
What they said:
"Clay is awesome, one of the finest people I've ever met and been around. He has a great wife, Angela, I’m telling the story because they asking in staff about how did you first come about Clay? And it’s another one of my dad's things where he just had a way of finding really good coaches and things and I didn't know anything about him, who he was. We were at USC and we were looking for a quarterbacks coach and he said, ‘Can you interview this Clay Helton?’ Because the year before we've been at Tennessee and Clay would’ve been at Memphis and they did a really good job on offense, did some really good scheme stuff against my dad and Tennessee on defense. He said, ‘You need to interview this guy,’ and he was at Arkansas State sitting on his office couch at the time. He had just taken a job there. I interviewed him. I was just really impressed. He’s a really good coach, great person.” -- Lane Kiffin
“It’s football. I think it’s football for all of us. You can’t let that (venue environment) get to you. If you’re playing the game worrying about focusing on the fans, I think you’re in the wrong sport to begin with.
“Going into the stadium to play football is not that hard. There will be a lot of fans but like I said at the end of the day it’s just football. We have to go out there and have fun. ...We have to communicate. We want the defense to run well and communicating is a big thing. We started slowly against Boise which is one of the better teams we’ll play this year. The last game we tackled and communicated better.”-- Georgia Southern safety Cam Williams
Post-Game Coverage:
MPW Digital PostGame Show, presented by Realtree (Chase Parham hosts, joined by Jeffrey Wright, Tyler Siskey, Brian Rippee and Neal McCready from Vaught-Hemingway)
https://www.youtube.com/@mpwdigital6243
Around the SEC:
Florida (1-2, 0-1 SEC) at Mississippi State (1-2, 0-0 SEC) Series: UF leads, 34-19-2
11 a.m. CT • ESPN Last: UF, 13-6 (2018 at Starkville)
Starkville, Miss. • Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field (60,311) SiriusXM: 374 - 106/190
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Ohio (2-1) at Kentucky (1-2, 0-2 SEC) Series: UK leads, 4-2
12:45 p.m. ET • SEC Network
Lexington, Ky. • Kroger Field (61,000) SiriusXM: 119/191
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
UCLA (1-1) at LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC) Series: UCLA leads, 1-0
2:30 p.m. CT • ABC
Baton Rouge, La. • Tiger Stadium (102,321) SiriusXM: 94/192
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Arkansas (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at Auburn (2-1, 0-0 SEC) Series: AU leads, 20-12-1
2:30 p.m. CT • ESPN Last: AU, 48-10 (2023 at Fayetteville)
Auburn, Ala. • Jordan-Hare Stadium (88,043) SiriusXM: 374 - 106/190
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Vanderbilt (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at Missouri (3-0, 0-0 SEC) Series: MIZ leads, 11-4-1
3:15 p.m. CT • SEC Network Last: MIZ, 38-21 (2023 at Nashville)
Columbia, Mo. • Faurot Field (62,621) SiriusXM: 380 - 119/191
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Tennessee (3-0, 0-0 SEC) at Oklahoma (3-0, 0-0 SEC) Series: OU leads, 3-1
6:30 p.m. CT • ABC Last: OU, 31-24 (2015 at Knoxville)
Norman, Okla. • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (83,489) SiriusXM: 82 – 84
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Bowling Green (1-1) at Texas A&M (2-1, 1-0 SEC) Series: First Meeting
6:30 p.m. CT • SEC+ / ESPN+
Bryan - College Station, Texas • Kyle Field (102,733) SiriusXM: 94/192
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Akron (1-2) at South Carolina (2-1, 1-1 SEC) Series: SC leads, 1-0
7:30 p.m. ET • ESPNU
Columbia, S.C. • Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) SiriusXM: 374
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
UL-Monroe (2-0) at Texas (3-0, 0-0 SEC) Series: First Meeting
7 p.m. CT • SEC+ / ESPN+
Austin, Texas • Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (100,119) SiriusXM: 106/190
Live Statistics/Matchup/Preview: https://www.secsports.com/scores/football?start_date=2023-08-25&end_date=2024-01-08
Open: Alabama (3-0, 0-0 SEC); Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)
Other Ole Miss Activities to Watch:
SATURDAY:
Men's Golf at Valero Texas Collegiate
Men's Tennis at ITA All-American Championships
Volleyball vs. Tennessee State | 11 a.m.
Volleyball vs. Texas A&M Commerce | 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 22
Men's Golf at Valero Texas Collegiate
Women's Golf at Mary Fossum Invitational
Men's Tennis at ITA All-American Championships
Soccer at LSU | 6 p.m. | SEC Network+
