Few would argue that Ole Miss’ explosive offense was the highlight of Saturday’s thrashing of Texas Tech—when you gain more than nine yards per play and light up the scoreboard, you’re going to be the main story.
Just as—if not more—encouraging, however, was the underrated performance of the defense. Sure, Tech racked up nearly 500 yards of offense and scored 27 points, but there were significant signs that the Rebel D has taken a step forward from last year’s ineptitude. Even with a ton of turnover at the offensive skill positions, the Red Raiders were expected to hang with Jordan Ta’amu and friends (the Vegas line initially favored Tech).