Ole Miss defensive line shines in 52-13 win

The Ole Miss Rebels' defensive line had another big game on Saturday, something that has become the norm early in the season. This group is among the nation's elite and showed exactly why with a 52-13 win over Georgia Southern.

In total, the Rebels recorded three sacks and 13 tackles for loss and held the Eagles offense to just 13 points.

However, penalties would tarnish the success of the defense.

The Rebels committed 11 penalties for 133 yards, with JJ Pegues receiving two facemasks. Despite this, the Rebels dominated the Eagles' offensive line and allowed only 37 rushing yards all night.

On Saturday, the unit also scored its first touchdown of the season, ending a three-game losing streak. But the defensive line never lost focus and continued to thwart the running game and disrupt Eagles quarterback JC French in the passing game.

While the Rebels undoubtedly had a great night, penalties are a factor the team will have to deal with going forward, and it seems the team is determined to do just that.

Despite a rough day, it's important to eliminate penalties and improve, especially when SEC play begins next week.

“We talk about it at length,” head coach Lane Kiffin said after the game. “It's been brought up before, the penalties for indiscipline. I think when you put a really physical team together, sometimes it's going to be violent, and you're not going to be the least penalized team, especially on defense.”

“I understand that, I understand what we've created. We just have to be smarter, but we're not going to get the least defensive penalties. Not with those players, but we can't get the penalties that we can avoid by making decisions.”

The Rebels are back home on Saturday to face Kentucky to open SEC play.