WEEK 6 - Hope Restored

WOW! What a day we had last Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi! From the morning coffee to the late-night cigar, it was perfect! The 78°, 5:00 kickoff gave us plenty of time to prepare in The Grove, and it was BUZZING! The week-long anticipation resulted in energy bouncing off the tents, while the nerves eerily lurked over our shoulders. There was an aura around The Grove that was visible from outer space. Time flew by while also standing still. It was both loud and silent. Like the man in the arena, one cocktail at a time, we were preparing for war. Red and blue sundresses as far as the eye can see. It was a beautiful thing. We traveled from all over to be here, not because we knew we'd win, but because we believed we would. It embodied what SEC football is all about and validated the saying, It Just Means More.

The ball was kicked, and we strapped in for another roller coaster of emotions. There were touchdowns everywhere, and neither offense showed any signs of slowing down. The Vaught was ELECTRIC, but we found ourselves in the middle of the fourth quarter, down two possessions, and showed no signs of slowing down their offense. Things were starting to look bleak. Then we scored a touchdown and HAD to make a stop. I, like many of you, turned to the only place I knew to turn. I closed my eyes and said, “God, please, if we can just get this one stop, I promise I won’t ask for anything else the rest of the season.” The good news is that we got the stop. The bad news is that I’m all out of requests from the man upstairs. The fourth quarter felt like an eternity and probably took years off of our lives, but the clock finally hit all zeros and we had the lead. A thousand pounds dropped from our shoulders as we hugged and high-fived the people around us. We did it! But it wasn’t just that we beat LSU. It was the way the game went. It was the amount of stress that accumulated for four hours. It was the way we finished last season. It was the way the Bama game went last week. It was all the doubt and disappointment compounded into a ball getting batted down in the end zone and being reminded of that winning feeling. We were reminded that we ARE winners, and we CAN have nice things! Lane NEEDED it. Our players NEEDED it. Our fan base NEEDED it, and we got it done. It’s not always easy being a Reb, but it’s moments like that that make it all worth it, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Now, with all that being said, the Arkansas Razorbacks are rolling into Oxford, and they are searching for their own moment. We know what they’ve done to our hopes and dreams in the past, and we can’t allow that to happen this weekend. Last year, this team absolutely embarrassed us, and I don’t even want to mention the game that shall not be spoken of. What I will say is that we haven’t forgotten and probably never will. This year, however, is a different story. This game isn’t about who Arkansas’ playmakers are or how they match up with us on defense. This game is about us. We’re back at home in the Vaught. Judkins is finally looking like himself. Dart is playing as well as anyone in the country. Tre Harris is healthy again. We asked our offensive line to step up, and we ran for 317 yards while not allowing a sack all day. The defense gave up a lot of points to a very talented offense, but when we had to have two stops late in the game, they got them. If we play Ole Miss football, it won’t matter what they do. Let’s use this momentum to keep our foot on the gas and run into the BYE week stress-free.

SCORE PREDICTION: You may have a good idea where I’m going with this. The line is -11.5, and I think Vegas would LOVE for you to believe in Arkansas to keep this one close. I do not. I think the offense does more of what we saw last weekend, and I don’t think that they have Jayden Daniels, Malik Neighbors, and Brian Thomas Jr. on their team. Rebs roll. Arkansas 20 Ole Miss 48 PICK 5: (15-6) 71.42% Just when you think the Pick 5 can’t get any hotter, WE SWEEP THE BOARD!!!! Like the Rebs, we’re not taking our foot off the gas. Let’s dive in! 1.) LSU -4 @ Missouri Love a bounce-back spot here for LSU. With only one conference loss and all of Louisiana on his ass, Brian Kelly needs a win here, and I think he gets it. They score a bunch of points again, and Mizzou can’t quite keep up. Geaux Tigahs. 2.) Notre Dame @ Louisville +6.5 Louisville is undefeated and has Notre Dame coming into the house that Papa John built. They haven’t been this fired up for a game since Lamar Jackson was wearing the red and black. Meanwhile, Notre Dame comes off back-to-back tough games vs. Ohio State and Duke and has USC on the horizon next week. Maybe the Irish win it, but I’ll take the points. Go Cards. 3.) Kentucky @ UGA -14.5 I hope my in-laws aren’t reading. I love that Kentucky looked great last week while the Dawgs appeared to struggle at Auburn. I think I get an inspired effort out of Kirby Smart’s bulldogs at home, and they run away with this one. Go Dawgs. 4.) Texas Tech -1.5 @ Baylor The Red Raiders never even made me sweat last weekend. I think they may have figured some things out, and I’m going back to the well. Don’t love that they're on the road, but I think they get the job done. Guns up! 5.) Washington St. @ UCLA -3.5 Both teams are coming off a BYE. Everyone is rested, and I like both teams. With extra time to prepare, I’m going to close my eyes and take Chip Kelly and the home team. Go Bruins! Let’s GO REBS!