Penn State vs Ole Miss: 4 things to know ahead of Nittany Lions Peach Bowl matchup
Penn State’s bowl opponent was announced Sunday afternoon and it’s a program the Nittany Lions have never played before. They’ll take on the Ole Miss Rebels in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 30.
Here are four things you need to know about the Rebels.
The Lane Train
Penn State head coach James Franklin has gone out of his way to keep his opinion to himself in situations where his words could be used against him — like Sunday when he said he would keep his thoughts about the College Football Playoff field to himself. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin does the opposite.
Kiffin has been one of the most enigmatic coaches in football since he first became a head coach with the Oakland Raiders in 2007. He’s been in the NFL and he’s been all over the place in college, with stops as a head coach at Tennessee, USC, FAU and now Ole Miss — along with his time as the offensive coordinator at Alabama. Stories have followed Kiffin wherever he’s gone, including when he was left at the airport after being fired by USC. He is an excellent offensive mind who has excelled on that side of the ball wherever he’s gone, and should bring plenty to talk about over the next 3.5 weeks of lead-up to the game.
Dual-threat Dart
Ole Miss will be one of the best offenses Penn State plays this season and it’ll do so with a quarterback that is a dual-threat. Jaxson Dart, who transferred in from USC following the 2021 season, has done it as a runner this season — with 377 yards on 111 carries — but still primarily does his work as a passer. He’s been up and down as a passer this season with some of his best performances coming in the team’s biggest games. He threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns in the Rebels’ win over LSU earlier this year in a game that was a shootout.
He’s also struggled at times against better defenses, faltering somewhat against Alabama and doing so resoundingly against Georgia. This is going to be one of the best defenses he faces this year and how he plays could dictate the outcome of the game.
Judkins on the ground
Part of the reason Dart has some success on the ground is because opposing teams are afraid of what his running back can do. Quinshon Judkins has been very good in his two years as a starter for Ole Miss and has been a key part of the offense. He was more successful last season than this one — running for 1,567 yards in 2022 and only 1,052 in 2023 on only 37 fewer carries — but he’s still the focal point of the Mississippi offense.
Judkins has gone over 100 yards on five occasions this season and has 15 touchdowns on the year, earning his keep on the ground fairly consistently. One of the reasons for his success is because the team has three receivers with over 700 yards and successfully stretches the defenses horizontally with its formations and vertically with its passing game, but that doesn’t take away how good Judkins has been. He’s likely to be near the top of the players of note for Penn State in its scouting report heading into the game.
No opt outs expected
This is more of a minor note, but Kiffin mentioned during his Sunday joint press conference with James Franklin that he did not expect Ole Miss to have any opt outs. The Rebels’ head coach pointed to the expected draft range for his draft-eligible players and the idea that most players who opt out are more in consideration for the first round of the upcoming draft.
That should mean Ole Miss will be at full strength but is also a sign that the program’s best players are not the same caliber as Penn State’s best — at least not the more veteran ones. That being said, the Rebels won a shootout with LSU — a team led by Heisman candidate Jayden Daniels on offense — and are capable of putting up points with an explosive offense that has a propensity for hitting on big plays.
