A lot of my perspective on this game comes from one place, one thought: "they're still Ole Miss." It's important to say that Ole Miss football is defined by seeing three games against Bama where they've won. There's been six losses to Ole Miss in my lifetime, but in my era of football I've seen three losses to the Rebels.
I've seen years like this year before where Ole Miss is ranked, their fan base is jacked, and people are looking at the game with worry.
So, a few things I have to point out the myth that's Ole Miss.
They are currently ranked [HASHTAG]#10[/HASHTAG] in the AP, [HASHTAG]#11[/HASHTAG] in the Coaches Poll. Why? The most common answer is going to be returning starters. OK, I can understand that. But who are these guys?
Was there a great deal of success seen when Ole Miss beat Ga Tech, a 7-6 Tech team, by eight in the Music City Bowl? Is that why they are ranked as highly as they are?
They did win five of their last seven with the big win being against LSU. After that game, the next six only had one team with a winning record with losses to Miss State and Missouri.
That's not a good ball club. Why is it now?
There is no such thing as home field advantage in Oxford.
Their largest attendance recorded at Vaught-Hemingway was their game against Bama back in 2009 (another year, ironically, they are highly ranked, their fans believing everything, and Bama fans fretting.) I'm fairly certain that number was just under 63 thousand.
If we look back over the BCS era, their home record is less than .500 in conference play. If you don't win your home games, you can't have a home field advantage.
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A couple of casual thoughts:
Ole Miss doesn't have much of a run game: not enough to speak of. The focus, as it is 90% of the time, will be shut down the run game.
In 2009, with Nutt and Snead, it was called the biggest weekend in Oxford's football history. Now, GameDay comes to town as well? This may be their biggest moment in modern football.
Ole Miss week also brings Neal McCready content. Consider yourself warned.
I don't see a lot of difference in what Bo brings to the field this year versus last year. He can be very accurate, Clint Tricktett type accurate, but he's still making bad decisions—11 TD's, 6 INT's, 7 Sacks.
I've seen years like this year before where Ole Miss is ranked, their fan base is jacked, and people are looking at the game with worry.
So, a few things I have to point out the myth that's Ole Miss.
They are currently ranked [HASHTAG]#10[/HASHTAG] in the AP, [HASHTAG]#11[/HASHTAG] in the Coaches Poll. Why? The most common answer is going to be returning starters. OK, I can understand that. But who are these guys?
Was there a great deal of success seen when Ole Miss beat Ga Tech, a 7-6 Tech team, by eight in the Music City Bowl? Is that why they are ranked as highly as they are?
They did win five of their last seven with the big win being against LSU. After that game, the next six only had one team with a winning record with losses to Miss State and Missouri.
That's not a good ball club. Why is it now?
There is no such thing as home field advantage in Oxford.
Their largest attendance recorded at Vaught-Hemingway was their game against Bama back in 2009 (another year, ironically, they are highly ranked, their fans believing everything, and Bama fans fretting.) I'm fairly certain that number was just under 63 thousand.
If we look back over the BCS era, their home record is less than .500 in conference play. If you don't win your home games, you can't have a home field advantage.
—————
A couple of casual thoughts:
Ole Miss doesn't have much of a run game: not enough to speak of. The focus, as it is 90% of the time, will be shut down the run game.
In 2009, with Nutt and Snead, it was called the biggest weekend in Oxford's football history. Now, GameDay comes to town as well? This may be their biggest moment in modern football.
Ole Miss week also brings Neal McCready content. Consider yourself warned.
I don't see a lot of difference in what Bo brings to the field this year versus last year. He can be very accurate, Clint Tricktett type accurate, but he's still making bad decisions—11 TD's, 6 INT's, 7 Sacks.
