How Tony Conner's Injury Impacts Ole Miss' Playoff Chances

Ole Miss put its College Football Playoff credentials on display on Saturday night with a 43-37 road victory over defending SEC champion Alabama.

But even though the Rebels are riding high from a second straight win over the Crimson Tide, they didn't leave Bryant-Denny Stadium unscathed.

According to Parrish Alford of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze announced on Monday that star safety Tony Conner, who starts at the nickel or "huskie" position on defense, would miss "at least four weeks" after tearing the meniscus in his right knee against Alabama:

Freeze said Conner would undergo surgery on the knee on Tuesday. He elaborated on the team's health situation, per Daniel Paulling of the Clarion-Ledger:

"

We're beat up a bit. That's something we're concerned about is hopefully you have your best players to put your best efforts forward. You don't always have that in this game. It's one of the things I despise most about this game is young men put so much effort into playing and then you get hit with some bad news about injuries.

"

The former 5-star recruit landed on some All-American teams this preseason after an excellent 2014 campaign at safety. He finished second on the team with 69 tackles and had nine for loss, which was the most of any defensive back in the SEC.

Conner had his best game of the early 2015 season on Saturday night against Alabama, recording six tackles and a tackle for loss.

Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss will definitely miss the versatile Conner's leadership and all-around play in the secondary of its "Land Shark" defense.

However, the only good news that can come from such a tough injury to the defensive leader is that the timetable Freeze set is a favorable one for the Rebels' growing playoff chances.

After the big win over Alabama, the Ole Miss schedule gets easier for a stretch. This week, the Rebels face struggling Vanderbilt, followed by a road game against rebuilding Florida. Ole Miss will then wrap up the rest of its nonconference schedule with a home game against lowly Sun Belt foe New Mexico State and a road matchup with Group of Five major bowl bid contender Memphis.

"[Conner's] absence will be keenly felt, but if Freeze had to pick any four-week stretch of the season for Conner to miss, it might be the exact one he's about to," wrote Jerry Hinnen of CBSSports.com.

Glancing at the schedule and the offensive firepower of the next four opponents, Ole Miss' toughest defensive matchup without Conner might be the one against Memphis and quarterback Paxton Lynch.

Opponent	Record	PPG	Passing YPG	Rushing YPG
Vanderbilt	1-2	24.3 (102nd)	302.0 (29th)	140.0 (101st)
Florida	3-0	35.3 (44th)	238.0 (59th)	170.0 (81st)
New Mexico State	0-3	30.7 (68th)	288.7 (34th)	138.0 (105th)
Memphis	3-0	54.0 (5th)	319.3 (20th)	251.0 (14th)

Still, the Rebels should be favored in each contest, and they have the talent behind Conner to fill in the gaps until he can recover.

Sophomore A.J. Moore has been listed on Ole Miss' depth chart as Conner's backup at nickelback since the first game of the season. 

According to Neal McCready of Rivals, Moore joins Chief Brown and C.J. Hampton as players to watch in Conner's absence:

Moore has already played plenty of snaps for the Rebels this season. He recorded five tackles, a forced fumble and recovery on Saturday night.

Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack spoke highly of Moore's development during fall camp, calling him one to watch behind Conner at the all-important nickelback position.

"[Conner] has to cover, blitz, zone cover, run support, play in space, play in the box and he is exceptional at all phases," Wommack said in August, per Chuck Rounsaville of Scout.com. "Also, I like what A.J. Moore is doing now—he's playing faster and his athleticism is showing more."

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If Moore can bring that same athleticism and energy he's flashed on special teams and in reserve roles, Ole Miss should be just fine at nickelback—especially considering its next four opponents.

However, if Conner can't come back in time for the game after the trip to Memphis, a home game against fellow SEC West contender Texas A&M, the Rebels could be in some trouble.

The Aggies' high-powered offense will stretch the defense to its limit and look for explosive plays with its talented skill position players.

The next four games will be important in getting Moore acclimated with the first-team defense. If Conner comes back later than expected or rusty from the missed time, Moore can chip in without the Ole Miss defense missing a beat.

For now, Conner's injury is a jab and not a huge body blow to the Rebels' title hopes. This defense has enough talent and depth to roll with the punches for now.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports. Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. 

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.