The No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels lost 52-28 to the No. 8 Florida Gators last Saturday in The Swamp.

Against Florida, the Rebels played worse than they had all season. Especially when considering that they defeated No. 11 LSU just the previous week.

The difference in performance was so staggering that it looked like two separate teams hit the field. What went wrong against Florida, and how can Ole Miss correct it?

Defense is the Issue

Ole Miss has played four games and gone 3-1 in that stretch. Against Louisville, the Rebels only won after a walk-off field goal from Lucas Carneiro to make the final score 41-38, and against LSU, they won 32-24.

Both wins can be credited to Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, who has been the heart and soul of the team while trying to put together a Heisman season.

The biggest thing standing in Chambliss' way hasn't been his opponents; even against Florida, Chambliss had more than 300 yards and three total touchdowns. It's been his own defense.

Against Louisville, which was ranked at the time but isn't anymore following an upset loss to Wake Forest, Ole Miss' defense allowed 38 points.

That game exposed a weakness in Ole Miss' passing defense as well as their struggles against mobile QBs. Louisville QB Lincoln Kienholz, who was making his first collegiate start after being a backup at Ohio State for three seasons, had 376 total yards and three touchdowns.

Although Kienholz played well, there was optimism for the run defense because of how the Rebels mostly limited Louisville running backs Isaac Brown and Keyjuan Brown. That optimism mostly continued through the tune-up game against Charlotte.

Then came the Magnolia Bowl, Ole Miss' most impressive game of the season. In the dramatic 32-24 win, Ole Miss looked like a top-five team.

Even in that game, the defensive performance was questionable; they allowed LSU to come back from a 24-7 deficit to tie the game at 24 before Trinidad Chambliss' go-ahead touchdown and the subsequent two-point conversion. Though, to the defense's credit, a red-zone tipped interception is what secured the victory for the Rebels.

So what went so wrong against Florida?

Ole Miss' defense was hopeless at stopping the run. Florida had more than 300 rushing
yards and six rushing touchdowns. Many of which were after contact.

Even though a lot of the blame will fall on Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding for the loss, and rightfully so since he calls plays for the defense, but if he's getting guys in the right spot and they can't finish plays, it's a player toughness issue.

Tackling will undoubtedly be one of the main focuses during the upcoming bye week for Golding and the Rebels. This defense has flashed potential, but this season could fall apart very quickly if they can't consistently reach the potential they've shown.

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