Three key takeaways from a Rebel win vs. Austin Peay

Year of the Drummond?

The senior receiver kept his momentum rolling after putting up 9 catches for 177 yards against Louisville. Dontario Drummond’s speed proved too much for an Austin Peay defense that looked outclassed all night. His playmaking ability was on display for a fourth down play late in the first half. Drummond lined up as the U-back and slid across the formation on the snap as if he were looking to make a block. Corral held the ball out for the running back, but pulled it away in a play action fake before tossing it to a now open Drummond, who tightroped past a tackler down the sideline for a long touchdown. This play capped off another big night for Drummond, who surely has his sights set on all-SEC honors. 

Bend, but don’t break

The Governors spent much of the game spread out in formations with high-receiver sets in order to keep defensive bodies out of the box. Given that Ole Miss was in their base 3-2-6 defense for almost the entire game, this meant that there were usually just five players within the tackle box to stop the run. Austin Peay were able to create numbers mismatches by using an assortment of outside zone runs to pick their point of attack, and wall off the backside pursuit. The Governors also leaned heavily on the screen game (mostly bubbles and jailbreaks) to pick up small chunks of yardage on early down. While the Rebel defense has been able to hold points off the board for the past two weeks, they are going to need to evolve their fronts as the season continues if they want to stay on pace with higher SEC talent.

Corral for Heisman – more than just talk? 

Last season, Matt Corral was one of the most entertaining QBs in college and could produce big plays like no other. However, his tendency for turning the ball over stopped him from truly being an elite college quarterback. So far this season, Corral has bounced back and kept the big play potential alive, and has cut down on the costly mistakes. He has accounted for an impressive seven touchdowns in two games to go along with 752 total yards from scrimmage. The current Vegas favorite to win the award is Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who matches Corral with 7 touchdowns but fails to keep pace with the yard production, as he has just 571 yards from scrimmage. Yes, the season is far from over, but Corral looks like everybit of the game changer he was last season, but without the errors.