Ladies and Gentlemen, what a time to be a REB!!! A lot has happened since our Egg Bowl victory on Thanksgiving, in what feels like a year ago! Recruiting, Portal additions, Bowl Game Prep, and the Grove Collective. We’ll discuss it all here and get you fired up to beat Penn State come Saturday. Let’s dive in!
To give some perspective on the success this team has experienced with one game remaining, remember that in August, Vegas placed the Rebels over/under win total for the season at 7.5. We thought our ceiling was probably 10-2, MAYBE 11-1, but given the difficulty of our schedule, 7-5 was also well within the realm of possibility. Yet here we stand at 10-2, our only losses occurring in Tuscaloosa and Athens, and we’re preparing to play Penn State in a NY6 Bowl game. If you had given me that option in August, I would’ve happily asked where to sign! So, you would assume that all Ole Miss fans have been able to talk about this December is the Penn State game, right? Well, that’s where the focus SHOULD be! However, due to the insanity that is the college football calendar, and a hot hand in the transfer portal, it has been nearly impossible NOT to look ahead to next season. With most of our team announcing their return for next season to go along with the additions we’ve made in the transfer portal, all of a sudden, we’ve gone from a really good team next year to having the potential to be something really special. Add into the mix that next year will be the first year of the 12-team playoff, and it’s hard not to imagine ourselves sitting there a year from now with a chance to make a run. We’ve got the main core from a 10-win team returning for a “Last Dance” type season, adding some STUDS via the portal, and you’re telling me all we need to do is make the top 12 to make the playoffs?! Hell yeah, we’ve been talking about next season! Through the development of a winning culture, innovative thinking, and a united participation in the Grove Collective, YOUR Ole Miss Rebels have pushed the chips towards the middle of the table and positioned themselves to be a LEGITIMATE 2024 National Championship contender! How could we not get excited about that?! We should be excited about that, but it’s frustrating that it had to occur in the midst of our postseason and take away the spotlight from what has been a phenomenal season and an opportunity to win 11 games for the first time in program history. So while the hype for next season is beyond exciting, I want to remind myself, as well as my fellow Rebs, that while it's been a GREAT season, it’s not over yet.
I hate that I feel the need to explain that this is a big game, but ever since COVID, it feels like bowl games have lost a little bit of their magic. As I filled out my bowl predictions this season, it was almost impossible to stay on top of who was transferring, who lost their coach, and who was opting out in order to prepare for the NFL draft. It sends the message that if you’re not in the playoffs, the games don’t really matter as much. Maybe that’s true for some, but if you ask me, 11–2 sounds a hell of a lot better than 10-3, and how we finish this season will have a lasting impact on how this team is remembered. Everybody talks about first impressions, what about FINAL impressions? Our last two bowl games have been losses against Texas Tech last season and Baylor in the Sugar Bowl two seasons ago. Thinking about both of those games makes me want to puke, yet someone will tell you that they didn’t matter. They DO matter, and my hope is that the leaders on this team have been emphasizing that during what has been a CRAZY December. You want to prove you’ve created a winning culture? You want to prove that you’re only a couple of transfers away from greatness? Why wait until August? Let’s start NOW! Let’s go into the off season with momentum! Let’s make a STATEMENT! If we get beat, we get beat, but please don't let it be because we didn't bring the intensity.
I won’t claim to know everything about Penn State this year, but here’s what I do know: The Nittany Lions went 10-2, beating every team they played thoroughly, except for the two that counted. Looking at Penn State’s schedule before the season, you could assume the Nittany Lions were going to handle the Illinois and Indiana's of the world and that it was going to come down to whether or not they could get over the Ohio State/Michigan hump, much like we are trying to get over the Alabama/Georgia hump. We both failed in those aspects this season, and that brings us to the Peach Bowl to square off. We also know that Penn State will be without their defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, as he has accepted the head coaching position at Duke, and the only opt-out on their end at this point is DE Chop Robinson, who is expected to be a first-round draft pick come April.
SCORE PREDICTION:
Jaxson Dart appears to have had a laser focus approach for this bowl game, and this will be as fresh as he has been in a long time! However, I believe this game is about the running game. Penn State has one of the best run defenses in the country. They pride themselves on it. Can Quinshon get 100+ yards? Defensively we’ll need to step up and create some chaos. Can we make Drew Allar uncomfortable or even cause him to make a mistake? Kiffin always says to pack your run game and your defense. That would be a wise decision in this matchup. The Rebels do just enough to give Lane the Gatorade bath and keep things rolling into next season.
OLE MISS 27
PENN STATE 20
PICK 5 (37-19) 66%
The Pick 5 finished the regular season at 66%, and we’re damn proud of those numbers! This week, we’ve decided to only pick the Championship games:
ROSE BOWL:
Alabama +2 VS. Michigan
This Alabama team feels like a team of destiny that has really found its stride in the second half of the season, especially in the SEC Championship game. I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see Michigan win this game, but if you put a gun to my head, I’m taking Saban.
SUGAR BOWL:
TEXAS VS. WASHINGTON +4
We may have overlooked Washington all season. I was sure that Oregon was going to beat them both times they played, and both times I was dead wrong. Not on some crazy last-second play or a bad call, either. Washington lined up TWICE against a really good Oregon team and just flat-out beat them. They've proved that they're a good football team, and if they don’t win this one, I’ll take the 4 points.
We appreciate all those that read THE REB and love THE REBS! Hotty Toddy, and Happy New Year!
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