With big QB, Wildcats won't go away easily

PETER ROSS
DM Senior Staff Writer

The Ole Miss Rebels will face a major challenge Saturday when the Kentucky Wildcats bring their big quarterback and their pass-happy offense to Oxford for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The Wildcats, 2-2, 0-1 in SEC, enter the SEC showdown with one of the best passing games in the nation, led by Jared Lorenzen at quarterback. The 6-foot-4 quarterback is listed at 275 pounds, but it seems like he is a Diet Coke away from 300 pounds. Either way, the redshirt freshman out-weights every Ole Miss starter on defense.

In fact, reserve DT Kenny Jackson (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) is the only defensive player on the whole Rebel squad who out-weighs the enormous quarterback. But Lorenzen has talent to go with his size, entering the game as the nation's leader in passing yards (1,406) and completions (120). He is second in touchdown passes (10). So far this season, the left-handed Lorenzen has thrown for at least 300 yards and two touchdowns in every game.

"Obviously you start with their quarterback Jared Lorenzen, who has played anything but like a freshman," Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe said. "I don't think any of us have seen anything like him. I don't know exactly what Jared weighs, but he's big. He is fit and he can move.

"When you are 275-280 pounds, or whatever he is, and can still move, that creates problems for the defense. I think the most important thing about him is not the uniqueness of his body size, but that he is making good decisions and good throws and that makes him a good quarterback, not his size. It is just a part of who he is, just a different look."

Last week against the Florida Gators, Lorenzen completed passes to 11 different receivers in Kentucky head coach Hal Mumme's wide-open offense that averages 467 yards of total offense per game. Two of his favorite targets are Derek Smith and Derek Homer, as Smith has 23 receptions for 303 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Homer has 20 catches for 176 yards.

When Kentucky is not using the air, they have two running backs that can get the job done on the ground in Chad Scott and Artose Pinner. Scott has 186 yards and three touchdowns on just 33 carries, while Pinner has 36 rushing attempts for 179 yards.

The Kentucky defense is tied with Ole Miss for last in the SEC in total yards per game, as each team gives up 371 yards. Kentucky has had a rough time stopping the running game, surrendering 186 yards a contest.

That bodes well for the Ole Miss offense, which that usually relies on its ground attack.

All-American running back Deuce McAllister leads the team in rushing with 276 yards and five touchdowns on just 45 carries. Junior Joe Gunn, who is the SEC's leading returning rusher from a year ago with over 950 yards, is off to a slow start with just 79 yards on 30 carries,

Quarterback Romaro Miller has completed 41 of 72 passes for 523 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Senior Grant Heard has been his main target, leading the team in receptions and receiving yards with nine receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Cutcliffe believes that a way to stop the Kentucky offense is to keep the ball in the hands of the Rebel offense as long as possible.

"You like to keep the ball and keep them off the field on offense," Cutcliffe said. "I know that their defense is very aggressive and they try to keep that from happening.

"They pride themselves in that defensively, and when they get hot they get really hot. I would rather see Kentucky's offense stand on the sidelines watching us play. That will be difficult to try to get done, though."

Defensively, the Rebels are led in tackles by junior free safety Syniker Taylor who has 22 tackles, while senior linebacker Shawn Johnson and junior defensive tackle Anthony Sims total 21 and 20 stops respectively.

Senior defensive end Derrick Burgess is credited with 19 tackles and leads the team with two sacks, three quarterback hurries, and three forced fumbles.

Junior Kevin Thomas leads the team in interceptions with two, both coming in the last game against Vanderbilt.