Ole Miss ran 86 offensive snaps at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. Fifty-nine of them were passes. Twenty-seven were runs.
That is the whole game in one line, and it is the most lopsided split of the season. Against Missouri a week earlier the Rebels were at 40 pass and 37 run — the most balanced afternoon they have had — and they won 31-3. In Austin they threw it on 69 percent of their snaps, trailed 24-3 at the half, scored 21 straight to tie it, and lost 34-27.
The PFF report from that game is in hand, and it does not read like a report from a team that got run out of a building. It reads like a team that lost a half and then graded out fine in the one that mattered. Here is what the snaps and the grades actually say.
The two tackles were the two best players on the offense
Terez Davis did not play. He was a game-time decision and he never got on the field, which meant Connor Howes slid from right tackle to left and Tommy Kinsler IV — healthy for the first time in a while — took right.
A makeshift tackle duo, on the road, in front of 104,000 people, with a quarterback who was going to drop back 59 times. That is the setup for a disaster.
Instead they graded first and second on the entire offense.
| Offensive line | Snaps | Pass blk | Run blk | Overall | PBLK | RBLK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Kinsler IV (RT) | 85 | 59 | 26 | 74.5 | 81.9 | 67.1 |
| Connor Howes (LT) | 85 | 59 | 26 | 70.9 | 84.6 | 60.0 |
| Patrick Kutas (RG) | 85 | 59 | 26 | 64.3 | 62.8 | 63.9 |
| Brycen Sanders (C) | 78 | 55 | 23 | 62.6 | 78.4 | 55.3 |
| Delano Townsend (LG) | 85 | 59 | 26 | 53.0 | 71.9 | 48.9 |
| Troy Everett (LG) | 7 | 4 | 3 | 54.8 | 75.8 | 54.4 |
Howes posted an 84.6 pass-blocking grade at a position he does not normally play. Kinsler, who took 30 snaps against Missouri and graded 53.2 in pass protection, took all 85 in Austin and graded 81.9. Four of the five linemen cleared 71 as pass blockers.
Now look at the right-hand column. The five linemen who played the full game averaged 75.9 as pass blockers and 59.0 as run blockers. That is a seventeen-point gap in the same five bodies on the same night, and it is the cleanest explanation anyone is going to get for why this offense threw it 59 times. Delano Townsend graded 48.9 run blocking. Brycen Sanders 55.3.
Ole Miss did not abandon the run because the coaching staff lost its nerve. Ole Miss abandoned the run because the run was not there, and the pass protection — the thing everyone assumed would collapse without Terez Davis — held up all night.
Kewan Lacy’s last sixteen snaps
| Backfield | Snaps | Run | Routes | Pass blk | Overall | Run grade | PBLK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kewan Lacy | 37 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 59.4 | 55.9 | 68.6 |
| Makhi Frazier | 32 | 6 | 18 | 6 | 67.9 | 71.6 | 57.4 |
| Joshua Dye | 16 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 54.7 | 59.0 | 11.8 |
Lacy’s sixteenth carry was his last. He was carted off in the third quarter, landing on the same left shoulder he hurt against LSU in September and has managed snap-by-snap ever since. Sixteen carries, 36 yards, a 55.9 rushing grade — the lowest of his season in a game he did not finish.
One number in that table is worth holding onto. Lacy pass blocked at 68.6. His season mark coming into October was 28.8, the worst of any Rebel back, and he was at 77.8 against Missouri. Two straight weeks above 68 is no longer a spike — that is the one hole in his game closing, and it closed in the month he may not get to finish.
Makhi Frazier graded better than him on fewer snaps, 67.9 to 59.4, with a 71.6 rushing grade that was the best of any back on the field. He is the lead replacement and the grades do not flinch at the idea.
Joshua Dye’s 11.8 pass-blocking grade on five snaps is the single worst number on either side of the ball. On a night with 59 dropbacks, that is a real problem and not a rounding error.
Deuce Alexander answered the week he had
| Receivers & tight ends | Snaps | Routes | Overall | Receiving | Run blk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deuce Alexander | 78 | 53 | 68.2 | 66.8 | 62.0 |
| Horatio Fields | 52 | 40 | 65.0 | 63.6 | 70.6 |
| Caleb Odom | 55 | 39 | 63.1 | 63.9 | 50.7 |
| Luke Hasz | 52 | 20 | 54.1 | 50.9 | 62.5 |
| Traylon Ray | 44 | 34 | 53.1 | 54.6 | 45.2 |
| Johntay Cook II | 21 | 14 | 43.3 | 47.0 | 40.8 |
| Caleb Cunningham | 16 | 10 | 53.5 | 53.8 | 60.4 |
| Michael Smith | 14 | 8 | 53.3 | 52.9 | 57.9 |
A week ago Deuce Alexander graded 51.0, last among every Rebel who took a snap, and this column said so. In Austin he played 78 snaps — the most of any skill player — ran 53 routes and graded third on the offense. That is the correct response to a bad week and it deserves to be written down with the same ink the criticism got.
Caleb Odom is the other correction. He committed four penalties against Missouri, four of the six Ole Miss was flagged for, and graded 11.1 as a pass blocker. On Saturday: zero penalties, a 69.4 pass-blocking grade, 55 snaps. The offense took five penalties as a unit and none of them were his.
The one that will frustrate people is Caleb Cunningham. He graded best on the offense against Missouri at 77.6 and caught his first career touchdown. In Austin he played 16 snaps. Sixteen, in a game with 59 dropbacks, for the receiver with the best season receiving grade on the roster. The argument this column has made twice is still the argument.
Blake Purchase played 44 snaps and was the best player on the field
| Defensive front | Snaps | Rushes | Pressures | Overall | Run def | Pass rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blake Purchase | 44 | 17 | 2 (1 sack) | 85.0 | 60.9 | 90.7 |
| Jamarious Brown | 23 | 12 | 1 | 76.2 | 72.5 | 68.6 |
| Jonathan Maldonado | 18 | 8 | 0 | 70.0 | 69.4 | 60.1 |
| Michai Boireau | 17 | 9 | 0 | 68.8 | 70.8 | 57.7 |
| Will Echoles | 59 | 25 | 0 | 67.0 | 70.4 | 57.0 |
| Kam Franklin | 57 | 23 | 2 (1 sack) | 64.6 | 70.7 | 59.7 |
| Suntarine Perkins | 30 | 13 | 0 | 63.3 | 65.9 | 53.4 |
| Jehiem Oatis | 30 | 12 | 0 | 63.0 | 65.6 | 55.9 |
| Landon Barnes | 16 | 6 | 0 | 54.7 | 55.8 | 57.0 |
| Jordan Renaud | 14 | 9 | 0 | 50.6 | 52.9 | 56.3 |
Blake Purchase played 44 of 76 defensive snaps — 58 percent — and graded 85.0. Nobody else on either side of the ball was within nine points of him. His 90.7 pass-rushing grade came on seventeen rush snaps, and one of them was the strip sack on the first drive of the second half that Kam Franklin recovered in the end zone. It was his second strip sack in three games, and both of them turned into touchdowns.
That is the whole comeback in one snap, and the man who made it was on the field for a little over half the game.
The number in that table that should bother you is Will Echoles. Fifty-nine snaps, 25 of them rushing the passer, and zero pressures. Against Missouri he had 52 snaps, 36 rushes, a sack and two batted passes. The team generated 13 pressures and two sacks on Saturday — almost exactly the 14 and two it managed against Missouri — but the distribution changed completely. Purchase and Franklin produced four of them. The interior produced one.
And Suntarine Perkins, whose grade has been the recurring complaint in this space for a month, graded 63.3. That is not a good number but it is 15 points better than the 48.3 he posted against Missouri, and it is eleventh on the defense rather than last. Thirty snaps, though — down from 33, and down from a player who used to live on the field. The usage question is still open even as the grade improves.
Twelve missed tackles, and eight of them were defensive backs
Here is the number that undoes the good news.
Ole Miss missed twelve tackles against Texas. Four against Missouri. Six against Vanderbilt. Fourteen, fourteen and fourteen in the three games before that.
The arc that looked resolved a week ago is not resolved. But the shape of it has changed, and the change is the story.
| Second level | Snaps | Cov snaps | Misses | Miss % | Overall | Tackling | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharif Denson | 71 | 34 | 3 | 27.3 | 57.8 | 40.3 | 58.3 |
| Jaylon Braxton | 70 | 36 | 1 | 20.0 | 64.3 | 64.2 | 64.5 |
| Antonio Kite | 67 | 32 | 1 | 14.3 | 69.2 | 82.6 | 65.5 |
| Joenel Aguero | 67 | 32 | 1 | 12.5 | 59.9 | 69.6 | 69.6 |
| Keaton Thomas | 63 | 21 | 0 | 0.0 | 56.7 | 82.2 | 59.0 |
| Jalyn Crawford | 61 | 33 | 1 | 20.0 | 66.7 | 57.0 | 64.4 |
| Luke Ferrelli | 52 | 17 | 3 | 37.5 | 60.0 | 35.5 | 67.0 |
| Tah’j Butler | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 57.3 | 79.7 | 43.3 |
| Nick Cull | 29 | 13 | 0 | 0.0 | 71.1 | 76.4 | 71.3 |
| Ladarian Clardy | 8 | 2 | 1 | 100.0 | 50.2 | 20.7 | 60.9 |
Eight of the twelve misses belonged to defensive backs. Three to linebackers. One to the entire defensive line.
For most of this season the missed tackles came from the box. Against Texas they came from the back end, which is what happens when a team throws it and your safeties are the last line on every completion. Texas completed 18 of 28 for 217 yards with 157 of them after the catch. That is the tell: 72 percent of the passing yardage Ole Miss allowed came after the ball was caught.
Two players owned half of it. Sharif Denson missed three and graded 40.3 as a tackler. Luke Ferrelli missed three and graded 35.5. Ferrelli is now the most reliable version of this story there is — he also generated three pressures on five rush snaps, which is a genuinely absurd rate, and this column has called that the Ferrelli bargain for a reason. You get the splash and you pay for it on the next snap.
Joenel Aguero missed one after missing none on 73 snaps against Missouri. Keaton Thomas played 63 snaps and missed nothing, with an 82.2 tackling grade. Nick Cull, on 29 snaps, missed nothing again and graded 71.1 — third on the defense, on 38 percent of the snaps, for the third straight week this column has pointed at him.
The two corners went in opposite directions
| Coverage | Targets | Catches | Catch % | Yards | INT | Rating allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalyn Crawford | 7 | 3 | 42.9 | 39 | 2 | 21.4 |
| Antonio Kite | 7 | 6 | 85.7 | 76 | 0 | 151.5 |
| Sharif Denson | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 24 | 0 | 89.6 |
| Jaylon Braxton | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 17 | 0 | 61.5 |
| Tah’j Butler | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 43 | 0 | 95.8 |
| Nick Cull | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 5 | 0 | 87.5 |
| Team | 28 | 18 | 64.3 | 217 | 2 | 70.1 |
Jalyn Crawford was targeted seven times, gave up three catches for 39 yards, and intercepted two passes. He is the first Ole Miss player with two interceptions in a game since 2023. The 21.4 passer rating he allowed is the best mark by a Rebel corner this season by a distance.
A week ago he was the soft spot. Sixty-nine snaps against Missouri, six of seven completed on him for 70 yards, a 108.3 rating allowed. This column flagged it. He answered it in Austin on the biggest stage of his season.
Antonio Kite had the opposite night on the same number of targets. Six of seven for 76 yards and a 151.5 rating allowed, the worst mark on the defense. He also graded 82.6 as a tackler, second-best in the secondary, which is the sort of split that tells you the problem was coverage and nothing else.
What carries to Auburn
Four things.
- The tackle situation is not an emergency. Howes at left tackle and Kinsler at right graded first and second on the offense in their first full game together. If Terez Davis is not ready on Saturday, that is now an answered question instead of an open one.
- The run blocking is the problem, not the backs. A 17-point gap between pass blocking and run blocking across the same five linemen is not a backfield issue, and it will not be fixed by whoever replaces Kewan Lacy.
- Blake Purchase should play more than 58 percent of the snaps. So should Nick Cull, at 38 percent, for the third week running. This is the same argument twice and both halves of it keep getting louder.
- The missed tackles moved rather than returned. Twelve is bad. But eight from the secondary against a team that threw for 217 with 157 after the catch is a different defect from fourteen a week from the front seven — and the two men who own half of it, Denson and Ferrelli, are specific enough to coach.
Ole Miss is 5-2 and 3-2 in the SEC. Auburn comes to Oxford on Saturday. The grades from Austin say this was not a team that got beaten up — it was a team that spotted a ranked opponent 24 points, played the second half even with them, and ran out of clock in the end zone.
Photo: Blake Purchase sacks Arch Manning, forcing a fumble, October 24, 2026, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images.
Snap counts and grades via Pro Football Focus. Ole Miss charted 20 players on offense and 23 on defense against Texas.