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One of the best games of bowl season is the Peach Bowl and we will see Penn State football and Ole Miss football do battle in that game on Saturday. This is a marquee bowl game, and the Nittany Lions and Rebels are both trying to pick up win #11 on the season. Penn State is coming into this one ranked #10, and Ole Miss is ranked #11. It should be a good game.
Ole Miss football was anchored by quarterback Jaxson Dart this season, and he will need to have a big game against this vaunted Penn State football defense if the Rebels are going to win. Dart has had a good season, and the Ole Miss offense has found a good amount of success because of him. James Franklin knows that a challenge awaits.
“He put up really good numbers in the passing game in terms of yards per attempt, in terms of completion percentage, touchdown to interception ratio,” James Franklin said of Jaxson Dart, according to an article from Basic Blues Nation. “He’s also a guy that can beat you with his mind and decision-making, with his arm and accuracy, but then also with his feet. They’re a challenging offense. You take his athleticism. You take their tempo. They’re one of the better offenses that we’ve seen this year. So it’s going to be a challenge. Lane’s [Kiffin] always done a really good job, specifically on that side of the ball, so it will be a challenge.”
Another thing to pay attention to in this game is the fact that Penn State will not have their defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, for this contest. The Nittany Lions have had one of the best defenses in the country all season long, but their DC took the head coaching job at Duke, and he will not be there for the Peach Bowl.
It seems like Penn State losing Diaz would give Ole Miss an advantage in this game, but Lane Kiffin actually thinks that it could be the opposite.
“Well, the first thought, people would think, well, that’s in our favor with Manny leaving, but that presents challenges too,” Lane Kiffin said. “We don’t have any idea what they’re going to do. It’s like opening the season with no preseason games or being someone’s second game. That’s actually a really big challenge.”
Kiffin makes a good point. Ole Miss has film on Penn State from the entire season, but that was when Diaz was running the show. Now, who knows what the Nittany Lions will try to throw at them.
The Peach Bowl presents a unique matchup, and it should be a great game. The game will kickoff at noon ET on Saturday from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, an it will be airing on ESPN. Penn State is currently favored by 4.5 points.
