The Ole Miss Rebels defeat Vanderbilt, moving to 7-1, and the Pick 5 has its third sweep of the season. What a time to be a REB! The Vandy game was all fun and games, but now it’s back to real SEC football. I plan on spending some time talking about this year's team compared to last year and what we can expect from the Aggies. I’m not sure who we play next weekend, and I won’t know until I check the calendar after our game on Saturday. For now, the focus is all on A&M.
A lot has been said this week about the comparisons to this year's 7-1 team VS. last year's 7-1 team. The players from last year's team have all said this week, and they mean it, that these are two completely different teams. Last year, we were still trying to figure out who all these new faces were and how they fit in. Who were the leaders? How were they going to play together? We figured it out on the fly and were good enough to get by for a while, until adversity hit. We got smacked in the mouth by LSU, and after beating A&M on the road, we lost a heartbreaking game to Alabama on the last possession of the game. How did we respond to the adversity? We folded. It got the best of us. I wasn’t in the locker room, and I don’t know exactly what happened, but I know that things got hard, they didn’t go our way, and we responded poorly. If you watched the Arkansas game last year, it was hard to even explain. We still don’t know what exactly happened. Then we played lifeless in the Egg bowl and bowl game. My point is that I don’t think that is this team. We hit adversity early this year. We got injured, struggled to run the ball, and got beat by Alabama in a game we thought we should’ve won. Yet we’ve responded toatally different. There is also something to be said for hitting the friction early this year rather than late, which has seemed to be beneficial. Last year’s Jaxson Dart was a redshirt sophmore with minimul expierience. He was still getting to know his teamates and his way around Oxford. He was obviously talented, but he wasn’t quite the expieienced leader we needed when things went off the rails. I don’t blame him, but he just wasn’t ready. We brought in a couple of stud quarterbacks behind him in the offseason, and he’s responded better than we could’ve hoped. He’s made it clear through his actions and the way he carries himself that this is HIS team. Last year he felt like the transfer from Kaysville, Utah, where as now, it feels like he was born to play quarterback at Ole Miss. There seems to be real chemestry and depth in every postion room on this team. Jordan Wilkins talked in his press conference this week about the cohesivness. He talked about how when the offense has struggled, the defense picks them up, and vice versa. There’s a lot of guys on this team that remember how last year finished, and they spent all summer working to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. That’s the kind of stuff you don’t see on the stats sheet. When people tell me I should be worried this weekend, they’re right, I probably should, but have they even thought about these things? Do they realize we’re getting healthier in November? Do they realize where we’ve been, and how far we’ve come? I’m just not sure that they do. This team has a different make up. They’ve been battle tested, had their hearts ripped out, made the mistakes, and are stronger because of it. Now we have the opportunity to prove it again on the football field this weekend. The national media will try and avoid talking about us, but a win this week, and they'll have to start.
This brings me to my next point. Should we be worried this weekend? On paper, yes. This team is extremly talented. In Lane’s press conference on Monday, you would’ve thought he was talking about the 85’ Bears. He praised how much NFL talent was on this roster, and how they could EASILY be a top 5 team. Some of that is true, and some of that is a, not so subtle, jab at his foe Jimbo Fisher for his underachievments. Edgerrin Cooper may be one of the best linebackers in the country. Ainias Smith and Evan Stewart are as good of a receiver duo as it gets. Walter Nolan was the number 1 recruit in his class, and is a future NFL first rounder. There are studs all over this team, however, while I aknowledge the talent on the field, I also see the same thing I’ve seen from A&M since Jimbo Fisher got there. It’s a solid defense paired with an unexplosive offense, and is not an overly exciting product. To be fair, their starting quarterback Conner Weigman is out for the year, and that leaves duties in the hands of Max Johnson. While Weigman wasn’t perfect, he was certainly more explosive. Injuries are a part of football though, and Max Johnson is the starter. If you are looking for a Max Johnson believer, you won’t find one here. He holds on to the ball too long, has an average arm, and doesn’t move well in the pocket. That doesn’t match up too well against our defense who has been lethal to opposing quarterbacks and has seen massive improvements in the secondary. Will they be able to run the ball successfully against us? That, to me, is their only hope to give Johnson a chance. If we start accumulating sacks, and getting them in 3rd and long situations, it could be a long day. So am I worried? I guess…. But not really. We’ve got the better quarterback, coach, and we’re at home. I trust the coaching staff to keep the team focused on this week, and don’t anticipate any look ahead to next week.
SCORE PREDICTION:
Texas A&M 20
Ole Miss 31
PICK 5 (28-8) 77.77%
If you’re not tailing the Pick 5 by now, I can’t help you. The numbers speak for themselves. I keep telling you I’m seeing the board clearly right now, and it’s on you if you’re not cashing in. Last week we went 5-0 for the third time this year, and 4 out of 5 we didn’t even have to sweat out. Easy Winners! Here are the winners for this week.
1.) Notre Dame @ Clemson (+3)
I think I’m getting an undervalued Clemson team at home, and a slighlty overvalued Notre Dame team. Give me the Tigers and a field goal.
2.) Nebraska (-3) @ Michigan State
Michigan State has been awful, and I think this is a perfect opportunity for Matt Rhule and Nebraska to get their team moving in the right direction.
3.) Washington (-3) @ USC
USC continues to show us just how bad they are defensively, yet people are still scared to bet against Caleb Williams. Washington does whatever they want in this one, and does enough to slow down the Trojan offense.
4.) Penn State -8 @ Maryland
The rails have fallen off for Maryland, and Penn State is going to be playing angry as they try and get back in the postseason picture. Nittney Lions win and cover.
5.) Miami -5 @ NC State
I had a lot of teams I wanted to throw in this last slot. I landed on Miami because they’ve been good to me all year, and I trust them. Canes take care of business in Raleigh.
See you next week. Hotty Toddy and Go Rebels!
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