Ole Miss Injury Report Raises Concerns Before #2 Georgia

Ole Miss has their hands full this Saturday as they prepare to host the second ranked team in the country, Georgia. The rebels have won their past two games, including a 32-point beatdown that they handed Arkansas in Fayetteville. They are looking to carry this momentum into the key matchup ahead of them this weekend, though valuable players fighting through injury could make pulling off a win like this against a high-caliber team like Georgia extremely difficult.

Mississippi’s injury report has a whopping total of 26 players, a couple of which play massive roles in the success of this football team. The majority of players referenced in the report are either listed as questionable or probable, only three of the 26 are ruled out. The names that catch your attention most happen to be the Rebels top three wide receivers Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, and Cayden Lee. They also have running back Henry Parrish on the list under players who fall victim to injury.

Impact of injury

Tre Harris being listed as doubtful is a huge loss for Mississippi, the absence of a wide-out with the second-most receiving yards in the country automatically makes your offense less explosive.  Accompanying him on the report are Jordan Watkins and Cayden Lee. Watkins is fresh off of a monster eight-reception, 254-yard outing against the razorbacks. A performance that earned him the honor of Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week. Lee happens to be quarterback Dart’s second favorite target behind Tre Harris. He has a couple of 100-yard games under his belt this year. With both of these receivers questionable and their leading rusher Parrish facing injury, the odds are looking stacked against the rebels.

Controlling the pace

The ridiculous amount of injuries listed on the report has some questioning the report’s authenticity. Ole Miss has often received attention for possibly faking injuries in order to control the momentum of games. The SEC is starting to crack down on injury-related rules, head coach Lane Kiffin was asked about the recent release from the conference regarding fake injuries.

WATCH:

"I'm glad. We're a tempo offense. It happens to us. It happened last week. It may surprise you but I was very happy."

-Ole Miss head coach @Lane_Kiffin on the recent release from the SEC regarding fake injuries. pic.twitter.com/QHQhWE0KPd

— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) November 3, 2024

Listing this many players on the injury report seems like a response from Kiffin, acknowledging the comments regarding faking injuries, and listing a ton of players to return the favor. If this is the case and he crafted the massive report out of spite, this could mean that the rebels will have almost all of their receiving core against the bulldogs.

Waiting game

It will be interesting to see what line-up the rebels are able to play with this Saturday. The offense is going to feel the absence of their RB1 Parrish, now it’s just a matter of what weapons Jaxson Dart is going to have on the outside. In the instance that the rebels are down a wide receiver or two, who is going to be the one to step up to the plate in a primetime matchup? Opportunities like this in games of this magnitude are exactly what creates historical college football moments.

As of now, we have to wait until shortly before the game to find out which players will take the field. The SEC will release an updated report 90 minutes prior to kickoff, only then will we know which of Mississippi’s star skill players are going to lace up their cleats.

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