The Ole Miss Rebels stayed hot Saturday night with the 54-17 win over Austin Peay in Vaught Hemingway Stadium.

Quarterback Matt Corral played well and was efficient last week against Louisville; however, he went off Saturday night. Corral finished 21-of-33 for 281 yards and 5 touchdowns. He shined like the Heisman Trophy contender that he is hyped to be.

Corral completed passes to 6 different receivers, as Dontario Drummond led the Rebels again with 6 catches for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jonathan Mingo added 2 touchdowns, too.

Ole Miss’ defense once again showed up in a big way; no, it wasn’t perfect, but this isn’t the same unit as last year. And last week wasn’t a fluke against Louisville. It’s apparent that Lane Kiffin and DJ Durkin put a lot of time and work into this defensive unit in the offseason. The last 2 games, the Rebels have been swarming to the football and arrive at it with bad intentions. The Rebels defense forced 2 Austin Peay turnovers.

Henry Parish Jr. led the Rebels with 8 carries and 72 yards rushing, whole Snoop Conner added Ole Miss’ only rushing touchdown.

So, what does it all mean for Ole Miss in SEC play? IF the Rebels defense plays like it has the last 2 weeks, Ole Miss will make some serious noise in the SEC West. Yes, the Rebels took Alabama to the wire last year, but they couldn’t stop the Tide’s offense. Will that change this year? We’re going to find out soon enough.

First, though, Ole Miss faces Tulane next week at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2 before its date with Alabama.