Michael Pratt is the first true measuring stick for this new Ole Miss defense

Giving up a touchdown on the first play and then holding Mercer to zero points the final 58 minutes of the game is a nice first feather in the cap for Pete Golding and his new-look Ole Miss defense.

Allowing 75 rushing yards on one play and only 18 more the rest of the game is a nice stat to flash up on the screen to celebrate the start of the Golding era, but an absolute statement that the Ole Miss defense is back would be unfair.

Roughing up a FCS opponent such as Mercer is one of those “evaluation” games that Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin discussed earlier this week and wishes he had this upcoming Saturday.

Instead, Ole Miss travels to New Orleans for its first road trip of the season and taking on a ranked-Tulane team led by quarterback Michael Pratt.

The No. 24 Green Wave offense held its own against a not-too-shabby South Alabama team with a 38-17 victory in week one. Pratt, despite being injured to a degree in the closing moments of the game, had one of the best performances among college quarterbacks last week.

Pratt completed 14 of 15 pass attempts with the lone incomplete pass coming off a dropped pass.

Outside of Pratt’s performance last week Kiffin is well aware of what the Tulane offense did against Southern California’s defense in the Cotton Bowl in January.

“The quarterback, basically, played as well as you can on air last week with one incompletion,” Kiffin said. “He’s very savvy, a veteran, sharp, accurate. A really good player.

“Got a big challenge this week, going to play a top-25 team, Cotton Bowl champs. They ask about a nine-game SEC schedule, so this is really a test of a nine-game SEC schedule because this is an SEC football team with that type of talent. They were able to beat the Heisman Trophy winner a few games ago. Going on the road, that’s always challenging, especially with a new team.”

This will be the second time the Ole Miss defense gets a crack at facing Pratt and the Tulane offense.

During the 2021 season Ole Miss beat the Green Wave 61-21 in the third game of the season. Pratt was held to 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns and was sacked twice.

That was two years ago and players can evolve and grow. This is something Kiffin sees when looking at Pratt and the challenge his defense has this weekend.

“Every year is different for every team, and two years ago certainly means nothing,” Kiffin said. “Two years ago they were 2-10. I thought they were going to have a really good season. They took Oklahoma, if you remember, right before us down to the last series, had the ball going down to beat Oklahoma. Much different team now that’s had a lot of success after last year’s 12 wins. Played at a really high level.”

Pratt’s weapons at receiver are also a potential problem for the Ole Miss secondary. Tulane had one receiver crack 100 yards last weekend in Jha’Quan Jackson and nearly had two as Lawrence Keys III finished with 94 receiving yards.

The targets on the other end of Pratt’s passes are something even the Ole Miss linebackers are keying in on this week in practice and game prep.

“They got a lot of good receivers,” Monty Montgomery said. “They got good running backs. They got a solid team. But, Pratt definitely has weapons and we’re going to stop the explosive plays from happening. As a defense, we’re going to take over.”

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