Ole Miss-Austin Peay: Who has the edge?
Sep. 9—Quarterbacks
Austin Peay's Draylen Ellis is no slouch; he is the preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. He threw 14 touchdowns in six games during the Governors' fall/spring campaign and opened this fall with four touchdown passes against FCS No. 18 Chattanooga. Matt Corral is still Matt Corral, however. Edge: Ole Miss.
Running backs
Jerrion Ealy, Henry Parrish Jr. and Snoop Conner ran for more than 1,400 yards combined last season. Austin Peay's Ahmaad Tanner, who is a very good player, has 1,728 career yards. Edge: Ole Miss
Wide receivers and tight ends
Dontario Drummond stepped up in a big way for the Rebels against Louisville, hauling in nine passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. On a given night, Braylon Sanders and Jonathan Mingo could steal the show, too. Austin Peay is led by receiver Harley Baniko (137 yards, one touchdown), who does a fair share of running the ball as well. Edge: Ole Miss
Offensive line
Size isn't everything for an offensive line, but it does often paint a picture in terms of talent disparity. That appears to be the case with the Governors, whose center and right guard weigh 264 pounds and 254 pounds, respectively. For reference, Ole Miss' starters at those spots weigh 316 pounds and 315 pounds. Size does matter. Edge: Ole Miss
Defensive line
The Rebels only sacked Louisville's Malik Cunningham twice, but even when they weren't able to take him down, they made the dynamic dual threat work. That was due in part to the work of the Rebels in the trenches, who did a lot of their damage with just three down linemen. Edge: Ole Miss
Linebackers
The Rebels threw a little bit of a curveball against the Cardinals, starting seniors Mark Robinson and Chance Campbell as the lone linebackers to compliment a plethora of defensive backs. The move worked, as the Ole Miss defense kept Louisville off-balance for most of the game.
The Governors have a solid counterpunch in Jack McDonald (preseason all-Ohio Valley Conference). Edge: Ole Miss
Defensive backs
Austin Peay doesn't have a ton of big-time names, but one player to keep an eye on is nickelback Kordell Jackson. Jackson is a two-time FCS All-American and finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the top defensive player in the FCS. He has 11 interceptions, 20 pass breakups and 26.5 tackles for loss in his career.
Also of note for the Governors is starting strong safety Kam Ruffin, who began his career at Ole Miss.
The Rebels started six defensive backs against Louisville and rotated bodies in fairly frequently. Edge: Ole Miss
Special teams
Ole Miss kicker Caden Costa was a revelation in the opener, hitting three field goals and all four of his extra-point attempts en route to SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors. His longest kick was from 47 yards; it was the longest made kick by a Rebel since 2017. Edge: Ole Miss
