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There’s plenty to come out in the wash when No. 8 Ole Miss visits No. 13 Oklahoma for the first time in history on Saturday. 

It’s what pundits tab as a battle between fire and ice; something will have to give between Ole Miss’ top-five offense and Oklahoma’s No. 1 ranked defense. 

Oklahoma has reached 6-1 through structure and discipline. The Sooners are college football’s leader in EPA and success rate, thriving on depth and rotation.  

The steam on Oklahoma pushed the line a point in their favor since opening at 4.5, indicating confidence in Brent Venables’ structure being the dominant factor in tempo dictation. 

The Sooners lead the SEC with 28 sacks and rank within the top-20 overall in total pressures thanks to the relentless R. Mason Thomas, who has netted the third-most quarterback takedowns in the conference. Overall, the Sooners have 10 players who have recorded at least one sack.  

Venables’ structure is most effective in red zone; opponents have scored a touchdown on just 36 percent of trips inside the 20. This has translated to four of the Sooners’ seven opponents having scored seven points or fewer.

But this powder-keg Rebels attack is a test that Oklahoma has yet to face — it has yet to deal with an opponent that ranks inside the top 35 in offensive efficiency. Lane Kiffin’s balanced and unpredictable scheme is averaging about 500 yards and is churning out explosive plays in the nation’s top 15. 

Trinidad Chambliss’ dual-threat abilities are potent enough to stretch Oklahoma’s discipline; he leads the SEC with 9.6 yards per attempt. There’s a laundry list of players behind him, namely running back Kewan Lacy and a three-headed monster receiving corps, that I could dive into in expressing just how vertically aggressive the Rebels are. 

The Rebels’ pace can be too fast for their own good though. Kiffin’s offense scores quickly and thrives when the game becomes a 40-yard dash, but that style has exposed the defense when drives stall. We saw this last week when Ole Miss led 35-26 in the fourth quarter before a melt down that became a 43-35 loss. 

Ole Miss was incapable of forcing a single stop, and the Bulldogs scored on every possession until kneeling out the clock.

The Rebels defense has relinquished 4.5 yards per play or more in all but one game. 

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer offers a game management role by design. The Sooners, however, lead all opponents by nearly three yards per drive in starting field position. 

The Sooners win because the defense controls tempo and the offense cashes in on short fields. 

I want nothing to do with the total in this game given it could fall steeply in either direction of pace.

All this takes is Venables’ defense containing Chambliss inside the pocket and forcing the Rebels into long-field drives and the Sooners will squeeze the life out of this game. 

THE PLAY: Oklahoma -5.5 (-105, BetMGM)

Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.