Why has Ole Miss had slow starts offensively this season?

OXFORD – For a team averaging 36 points per game, Ole Miss hasn’t had the fastest starts in 2026.The Rebels have scored 41 points in the first quarter through seven games this season, an average of 5.86 points per game. The Rebels were shut out in the first quarters against Louisville and Florida and managed a lone field goal against Texas last weekend en route to a 24-3 halftime deficit. Ole Miss rallied back to tie the game at 24-24 in the fourth quarter but ultimately fell 34-27.No. 12 Ole Miss (5-2, 3-2 SEC) hosts Auburn (4-3, 2-3) on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.Ole Miss, which has started the game on offense in all but one game, has scored on its opening drive just once this season – in Week 2 against Charlotte. The Rebels have punted or turned the ball over on downs in all of their other opening possessions. Ole Miss scored on its opening possession in nine of its 15 games last season.The Rebels have scored 92 points in the second quarter, 43 in the third and 76 in the fourth this season – averages of 13.14, 6.14 and 10.86, respectively. Ole Miss averaged 7.93 points per game in the first quarter, 12.13 in the second, 6.07 in the third and 10.8 in the fourth last season.Auburn has allowed 34 first-quarter points this season, an average of 4.86 points per first period.“As far as the slow start, absolutely. We evaluate that every week. Big piece of that normally goes into, do you defer? Do you take the ball? Obviously, we’re a product of our experiences. We try to learn and move forward,” Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding said. “Florida, went into it, deferred for several reasons, trying to get the crowd out of it and all those type of things. It didn’t work out for us. So, going into this environment (at Texas), we knew it was going to be loud. … Wanted to get six (points) in the game early, so that’s why we took the ball in this one.“But yeah, I mean the only time that we’ve scored really on that first drive is from a Charlotte standpoint. And so there’s some things that we definitely have to look at going forward and have to execute better, especially early in games. So, that’s being evaluated every week, but it’s not been one specific thing. … The execution and the timing early hasn’t been perfect. So, something we’re definitely evaluating.”