LSU will have a tough task trying to stop the No.7 University of Mississippi due to the Rebels’ elite rushing attack. Ole Miss has the 14th ranked offense in the country, averaging 503 yards a game.
Although many people believe that Ole Miss is a passing team due to head coach Lane Kiffin’s background, most of their yardage has come from ground coverage.  The Rebels have the third-ranked rushing attack in the country averaging 271 yards a game. Only Air Force and Army have more as they both run the triple option. Ole Miss also has 24 rushing touchdowns as a team, which is tied for most in the SEC.
One important area that the Ole Miss offense is effective at is on third downs. Ole Miss is third in the nation converting on third downs.
Let’s take a look at their personnel, their philosophy on offense and how LSU’s defense can stop them.
Personnel
Ole Miss has one of the best backfield tandems in college football with true freshman Quinshon Judkins and TCU transfer Zach Evans. Judkins leads the team in rushing yards with 720 yards, which is the second best in the SEC and 11th in the country. Judkins also has 10 touchdowns and averages about six yards per carry. Evans has rushed for 605 yards and seven touchdowns and averages just over six yards per carry as well.
Altogether, Judkins and Evans have placed the Rebels with the second-most rushing yards. Ole Miss has 24 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for most in the SEC.  
The Rebels also have one of the most experienced offensive line groups in the country. Ole Miss returns all of their offensive linemen from last year, including first team all-SEC left guard Nick Broeker. Every single starter on the Rebels’ offensive line has started in at least 20 games.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart is one of the strongest quarterbacks in the SEC. Dart secured the starting position over Luke Altmeyer just after the second game of the season. He has thrown for 1,488 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, he has had some turnover problems as he’s thrown six interceptions this year. Dart, however, has proven to be dangerous when he leaves the pocket. He’s rushed for 371 yards and totaled 115 in his last game against Auburn, which resulted in a 48-34 victory.
The Rebels have some decent receivers as well. Johnathan Mingo is the team’s leading receiver, hauling in 507 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He broke the Ole Miss single-game receiving yard record against Vanderbilt in a 52-28 victory, garnering 247 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Malik Heath and tight end Michael Trigg are also trustworthy targets for Dart as well.
Philosophy
Kiffin prefers to pass the ball. However, he likes his offense to be run-first and he’s not afraid to run more than pass depending on who’s on his roster.  
The Rebels’ offensive staff has called a run play on 64% of its offensive stats. Last season, the team ran the ball 48% of the time, mostly due to the skill possessed by then quarterback Matt Corral. 
“Everybody thinks you throw the ball in this system,” Kiffin said. “You really don’t. You run the ball a lot in this system when you really have it going.”
Ole Miss tends to run perimeter running plays often. Kiffin and the offensive staff do a good job of mixing up their run plays. They run an assortment of jet sweeps, around, reverses and RPOs. They also like to run a lot of counter runs as well, pulling their guards and sometimes even their tackles. 
Like Tennessee, the Rebels like to spread the field as long as possible by using wide splits. Kiffin started installing wide splits in his offense when he hired Jeff Lebby from UCF as the Rebels’ offensive coordinator.
A wide split formation is when the receivers are lined up outside of the hashes and outside of the numbers. Wide splits allow the middle of the field to open for passing and running lanes. This tactic forces linebackers to move further away from the play.  Wide splits also allow for easier screen plays due to the field’s openness. 
The combination of an efficient running back duo and wide split tactics have allowed the Rebels to average hundreds of yards per game, easily. 
Another thing that the Rebels do that is similar to Tennessee’s offense is the use of tempo. Even though Ole Miss runs the ball more than they have in years past under Kiffin, Ole Miss is able to run an effective up-tempo offense due to getting big plays. Against Vanderbilt, they had three one-play scoring drives. The most any other team in college football has had all season is four. Ole Miss has produced 49 plays of 20-plus yards, which is more than they did in any season under Kiffin through seven games.
However, the most dangerous thing you can assume about Ole Miss by looking at their stats and the way they play is that they are strictly a run team.
When Ole Miss played against Vanderbilt, the Commodores did a good job of stacking the box, forcing Ole Miss to pass. Vanderbilt had the lead with 20-17 points going into halftime. However, when the second half started, Ole Miss started throwing bombs up and down the field. When the game was finished, Ole Miss had scored 35 points in the second half to win the game 52-28 and finished the game with 448 passing yards.
“It’s an offense that has been set up to force the ball outside, but they have a quarterback now that can run it so effectively as well,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said on the offense of Ole Miss. “[But] when your safeties are dropping down and you’re trying to load the box, now they’ve got one-on-one matchups that they can throw the football to.”
How LSU can Stop them
1. Take Ole Miss’s Offense off the Field
Ole Miss is going to move the ball up and down the field due to their up-tempo style of play. However, the one thing LSU must do is hold the Rebels to as many field goals as possible. There is a huge difference between six points and three points when it comes to close games.
LSU also must stop Ole Miss on third and fourth downs. Ole Miss is one of the best teams when it comes to third and fourth down conversions. If LSU limits third down conversions, they’ll be more likely to pull off the upset.  
Although Ole Miss has one of the best offenses in the country, they are also bound to have long-lasting funks. Against Kentucky, Ole Miss scored the first two touchdowns of the game. However, the Rebels did not score another touchdown again. The team only acquired eight more points in the entire game, all scored off of two field goals and a safety. The more LSU gets Ole Miss offense off the field, the better.
2. Create turnovers
The one weakness that Ole Miss has is that they’re one of the worst teams in the SEC in terms of turning the ball over. Because Jaxson Dart is turnover-prone, LSU must create pressure on Dart. The more pressure put on Dart, the more frantic he plays. If LSU can force Ole Miss to throw the ball under heavy pressure, it should be enough to create turnovers.
3. Bring down ball carrier on first impact
One of the major themes of this week for LSU has been the fundamentals of tackling. The Tigers will have to tackle and tackle well to stop this Rebel offense. Against Florida last week, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson ran for an 81-yard touchdown run where multiple Tiger defenders had Richardson in reach to make the tackle. None could tackle him down successfully. Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins leads the SEC in broken tackles and Zach Evans is also a very dangerous runner. If LSU can tackle well on first contact, it will enhance their chances of upsetting Ole Miss dramatically.