As we enter into November, The Ole Miss Rebels are 8-1. The weather is getting colder, the days are getting shorter, the sense of urgency grows higher, and you can smell the football in the air ladies and gentlemen. I believe it was Issac Newton who famously said, in reference to the scientific laws of college football, “As temperatures fall, urgency rises.” I am not one to argue with science, and there is certainly a lot of urgency this weekend. Alabama travels this weekend for a night game in Death Valley that will decide who takes first place in the SEC West (for now). Tennessee travels to Georgia for what is the biggest SEC East game I can remember. What’s on the line? Essentially a ticket to the SEC Championship game, and what could be the difference in participating in the College Football Playoffs, and watching from home. The Ole Miss Rebels, meanwhile, coming off a huge win in College Station, will be icing down injuries with our feet kicked up waiting on the Tide. While I hope we are resting well, I hope our feet aren’t kicked up too high, because as Newton tells us, the urgency is just too high for that. There should be no need to explain the significance of our final three games or another way to think about it, our final 12 quarters!! For now it’s all eyes on Bama, yes that Bama. The Tide is coming to Vaught Hemingway Stadium in eight days for what could set up to be a fight for first place in the SEC West. What an opportunity we have on our horizon! I can hear the chimes of the CBS broadcast, the roars of the stadium, but most of all I can feel the urgency. I’m talking about taking a deep breath before kickoff and feeling the hairs stand up on the back of your neck because you understand the weight of the moment type of urgency. I mean, OHHH BABY!! If that doesn’t fire you up, I can’t help you, just quit reading now, because this is not the blog for you.
I mentioned last week how the Texas A&M game wasn’t going to be easy and that it was a MUST win. With 4 losses, the Aggies had nothing to lose playing at home with a true freshman quarterback, and the talent on that roster was on full display. I predicted the final score to be a 31-27 Rebel victory and I was dead wrong. It was a 31-28 Rebel victory. Don’t worry, I will be better next time, and will continue to hold myself accountable when I make mistakes.
This game was exciting, stressful, encouraging, frustrating, and fun all at the same time. What do I mean by that? Well, We ran for 390 yards (exciting), converted a fake punt on our own 15 yard line (stressful), gave up 480 total yards and couldn’t quite seem to put them away when we had the chances (frustrating), never turned the ball over (encouraging), and pulled out a win on the road (fun). When it’s all said and done, a win is a win, and I'm happy it’s over! We had a lot of guys play injured, guys that played huge snap counts, and with Bama on deck, this BYE week could not have come at a better time.
If you’re not sure who to cheer for this weekend in the Alabama-LSU game, let me help you out. As the iconic Harvey Updyke said, “ROLL DAMN TIDE!” The Rebels currently do not control their own destiny, however, if the Tide rolls on Saturday, we are right back in the driver seat. That is not to say that it will be an easy road to Atlanta, but you’ve got to beat Bama to have a chance anyway and we’ll need them to give LSU their second SEC loss this weekend. While I hope that Bama wins the game, I certainly don’t want it to come easy. Ideally LSU makes them fight physically and emotionally for every yard, first down, and score. I hope the Tide leaves utterly exhausted, beat down, but with a win. I do NOT root for injuries, however, if a couple were to occur, it sure wouldn’t hurt (no pun intended). No matter what happens this Saturday in Baton Rouge however, our goal doesn’t change. Control what we can control. Get healthy and come up with the game-plan that gives us the best chance on November 12th when the Tide comes to Oxford.
Since there is no game this week, there are no keys to victory, and there will be no score prediction. We will introduce for the first time a Segment of Appreciation brought to you by REBEL RAGS, the official sponsor of this blog! (DISCLAIMER: REBEL RAGS has no affiliation with this blog and is not the official sponsor of this segment, but they could be for an extremely fair fee, and so could YOU! Please contact for more details.)
Lane Kiffin is 19-4 in his last 23 games dating back to the Outback Bowl victory over Indiana in 2020. Last season we finished 10-3 and 2 of those 3 loses came when Matt Corral was injured (Auburn and Baylor.) We proceeded to lose our Offensive AND Defensive Coordinator, Matt Corral, Sam Williams, Snoop Conner, Jerrion Ealy, Dontario Drummond, Braylon Sanders, Chance Campbell, Mark Robinson, Jake Springer, and many more. In short, we lost nearly all of our production on both sides of the ball. I hope you didn’t brush over the part where I mentioned we lost our Offensive AND Defensive coordinators!! So as you would expect we have had an extremely disappointing 2022 season thus far right? WRONG, we reloaded with brand new coordinators, brand new players, and we’re 8-1 going into the BYE weekend! That is all thanks to the head ball coach Lane Kiffin. To say I am appreciative is an understatement. Everything is better when you're winning. Food taste better, music is more fun to dance to, and it leaves me with a smile that I can’t seem to wipe off. While rumors swirl every year about this time, I certainly don’t have time to entertain them. Let Jimmy Sexton do his job, let Keith Carter do his job, and let Lane Kiffin do his job. Every team in the country looking for a coach is circling his name as their top candidate for a reason. While that can be frustrating at times, it’s a lot better than having a guy nobody wants.
We lose some key pieces next year as every team always does. To name a few, we lose for sure are Nick Broeker, Johnathon Mingo, Malik Heath, Deantre Prince, AJ Finley, and Troy Brown. Our best players right now, however, Dart and Judkins, are only Sophomore and Freshmen respectively. The majority of this football team is still very young. Everyone will continue to get better, stronger, and more comfortable in the system. Add in a couple toys via the transfer portal and there’s no reason this team won’t be right back and even stronger next year, and for years to come. I say all this to say, it’s a damn good time to be an Ole Miss Rebel, enjoy it, and when you say your prayers at night, don’t forget to thank God for Lane Kiffin!
For now, grab you a cocktail and enjoy a good stress free weekend of College Football! Hotty Toddy!
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