Broken tackles defeat Rebels in Athens

It is often said in the sports world that "defense wins championships."

Assuming the statement is true, it explains a lot as to why the Ole Miss football team is 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the SEC, coming off a 45-17 defeat at the hands of the No. 15 Georgia Bulldogs.

The Rebels held their own in the first half against the 'Dawgs, and tied the game 17-17 midway through the third quarter, only for the defense to give up 28 unanswered points on the way to the team's fourth consecutive loss.

Playing "Between the hedges" in Athens, Ga., the Rebel defense gave up 472 yards of total offense to a Georgia team that was led by two tailbacks, Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno.

"We missed tackles and we were outmanned sometimes," head coach Ed Orgeron said. "Their running backs ran us over. I'm really disappointed in the play of our defense, especially in the run defense in the second half."

Brown and Moreno combined for 270 of the Bulldogs' 328 yards rushing, the most the team has gained under head coach Mark Richt, who is in his seventh season with the program.

"We got our tails kicked," Ole Miss defensive coordinator John Thompson said. "I wish I had another explanation. I wish it was that Georgia pulled something out of their hats that confused us. Anything but getting our tails kicked."

The Bulldogs outdid their season average of total offense, 364 yards per game, by over 100 yards.

Thompson said he believes more than a lot of the problem against Georgia, and all season for that matter, has to do with missed tackles.

"We tackled so poorly up close and in the open field," Thompson said. "They just ran over us when the game was on the line."

Through five games this season, the Rebels rank second to last in the SEC in scoring defense, giving up an average of 33 points per contest.

Ole Miss is dead last in the conference in both passing and rushing defense, giving up 255.6 yards passing and 219.8 yards rushing per game.

"I know we have some deficiencies. I know that," Orgeron said. "The only thing that's going to solve that is recruiting. We lost Patrick (Willis) and Rory (Johnson), and we have not filled those spots."

All season long, the Rebels have had trouble finding the right combination of players at the linebacker positions in part due to the loss of Jonathan Cornell, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury he sustained in week two against Missouri.

The team's leading tackler, strong side linebacker Ashlee Palmer, has been playing most of this season with discomfort in his ankle, and he missed much of the game against Georgia because of the problem.

"Ashlee (Palmer) had been hurt all week," Orgeron said. "He tried to play today, but he just could not play well."

Junior college transfers Tony Fein and Jamie Phillips, along with junior Brandon Thomas, have been forced into heavy playing time due to Ole Miss' lack of depth at the position, which was even more apparent against Georgia with Palmer sidelined.

It's no knock on the guys on the field, but Orgeron said his team is just lacking the SEC-caliber talent they need to be successful.

"We just don't have the type of SEC players at some positions that we need right now," Orgeron said. "We're down to a walk-on linebacker and a couple of third-team linebackers."

The Ole Miss secondary, which hasn't had much depth either this season, became even thinner against Georgia, as starters Jamarca Sandford and Dustin Mouzon both suffered injuries and missed parts of the game.

The injuries to Mouzon and Sandford forced the Rebels to play with Terrell Jackson and Johnny Brown, adding more inexperience to the Rebel defense.

As for why the Rebels had so much more of a problem with the Bulldog offense in the second half compared with the first, Thompson didn't really have an answer.

"I don't know if it is us wearing down, frustration, playing not to lose, not having enough confidence with the game on the line, or what, but we're not getting it done," Thompson said.

With Louisiana Tech looming in the shadows, the Rebels know they have to improve on the defensive side of the football in order to have some success.

"We're not very good on defense and we have to get it figured out," Thompson said. "Who, what, why and fix it."

Thompson added, "I can tell you this, I really believe we have some guys who are going to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and not take this."

The Rebels take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.