Ole Miss Running Game Can Make a Statement vs. LSU

To win championships, you have to run the ball and play defense.

Ole Miss has one part of that equation down. The Rebels currently boast the nation's eighth-best defense (290.6 yards allowed per game), are third-best in yards per play (4.15) and tied with Louisville for the most interceptions in the country (15), despite playing one fewer game.

The second part of that equation, however, has been more of a challenge.

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Ole Miss ranks 11th in the conference in rushing yards per game (151.3), 12th in rushing yards per attempt (3.8) and has a noticeable inability to make anything work between the tackles. 

Saturday is the day to get things right on the ground for the Rebels.

While LSU's offense has been the brunt of a bad joke this year, its run defense has been a major problem as well. The Tigers are giving up 162.5 yards per game on the ground, and in two losses to Mississippi State and Auburn, they gave up an average of 300 rushing yards per game.

Ole Miss has been great thus far, and this is the chance to show the world—on the road in Death Valley—that it's a complete football team by pounding the rock.

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Head coach Hugh Freeze knows that while LSU's defense has struggled in big games, it has evolved over the last two weeks and could present a challenge.

"Defensively, they’re changing some things around that you haven’t seen them do a lot of before," he said during Monday's press conference. "They’ve become very multiple the last two weeks, particularly last week. They’re doing more odd fronts."

Now's the time for Ole Miss' running game to make a statement.

The Tigers are still very young in the middle of that defense, with sophomore Christian LaCouture and freshman Davon Godchaux at defensive tackle, and sophomore Kendell Beckwith earning more time at middle linebacker.

Player	Pos.	Carries	Yds.	TDs
Jaylen Walton	RB	59	347	4
I'Tavius Mathers	RB	43	186	2
Jordan Wilkins	RB	29	138	0
Bo Wallace	QB	67	122	2
Mark Dodson	RB	27	107	2

Jaylen Walton and I'Tavius Mathers are the Rebels' two leading rushers this year but have done most of their damage off the edge on fly sweeps and zone reads.

As has been the case over the last two years, quarterback Bo Wallace has shouldered a lot of the load between the tackles, rushing 67 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Somebody other than Wallace has to step up between the tackles for the Rebels. Whether that's Jordan Wilkins, Mark Dodson or one of the speed guys taking on more responsibility, doing it against an LSU defense that is young and has been soft in the middle is the perfect time for Ole Miss to prove it's a complete team.

It still has Auburn and Mississippi State around the corner, both of which can stop the run and force teams to be one-dimensional.

Momentum for the Rebels on the ground would be huge down the home stretch, and it can be generated this week down on the Bayou.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.