The matchup to watch is Ole Miss's run defense against a quarterback who'll keep it himself. Georgia ran for 295 yards on 48 carries, 6.1 a pop, with 10 runs of 10 yards or more and 183 rushing yards by halftime. HottyToddy noted it was the same problem that showed up in the Rebels' losses to Florida and Texas. A defense that can't fit the run is a bad matchup for Mateer, who just led his team in rushing.
The schedules don't look much alike. Ole Miss's wins over Vanderbilt, Missouri and Auburn were all blowouts. Its 2 losses in the last 5 came against Texas and Georgia, and it lost both by more as the opponent got better. Oklahoma has been nothing but close, low-scoring games: 27-24 over Texas, 23-15 at Mississippi State, 23-7 at Florida. Its 2 losses in that stretch, to Kentucky and South Carolina, both came at home, so Memorial Stadium hasn't been much of an edge lately.
Early forecast for Norman: clear and in the low 60s, with wind around 18 mph. That forecast was pulled 5 days out, so it can change, but wind like that would make the deep ball harder for an Ole Miss offense that already couldn't block for Chambliss. Both teams are bowl-eligible-or-close and fighting for SEC position. Ole Miss has to show the Georgia game was a one-off, and Oklahoma can show that the Florida win wasn't.
