Mississippi's young defense a work in progress

By: Associated Press

Posted: Tue 5:51 PM, Sep 04, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi defensive end C.J. Johnson knows last weekend's 49-27 season-opening victory over Central Arkansas wasn't a masterpiece.

Still, he's not complaining

It was a welcome development for an Ole Miss program that came into the season on a seven-game losing streak. Now with a notch under the win column - and a little confidence - first-year coach Hugh Freeze and his players are trying to improve quickly.

The Rebels (1-0) host UTEP (0-1) on Saturday at before an early-season test against Texas on Sept. 15.

The bulk of the improvement needs to come from the Ole Miss defense, which struggled in the first half as Central Arkansas built a 20-14 lead. The Bears - who play at the Football Championship Subdivision level - moved the ball with surprising ease.

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