Good reading on the Rebels For the first time under head coach Hugh Freeze, frustration has set in among the Ole Miss fan base. Yes, it’s to be expected after losing to rival Mississippi State, 17-10, in the Egg Bowl last week, but things are still headed in the right direction despite the dismal offensive performance in the Rebels’ most recent loss. There’re no words to describe the Egg Bowl defeat; well, at least nothing positive. Ole Miss had an opportunity to kick the Bulldogs while they were down and put a stranglehold on the state. Instead, they let Mississippi State even things out. Ole Miss was the better team. There’s no doubt about that. But all that matters is wins, and Mississippi State has its name on the winning side of four of the past five Egg Bowls. That can’t happen. For the first time under Freeze, the Rebels lost a game to a much inferior opponent. One of those types of losses doesn’t sound bad in the first two years, especially considering where Ole Miss was when Freeze took over. But it couldn’t be to Mississippi State. Not that team. Not a team that wanted to quit. Not a team that needed a win to gain bowl eligibility. No matter how you spin it, this loss was terrible. It was unacceptable. But it’s over. Nothing can be done now. Talking about it for the rest of the dead time until the bowl game comes along won’t do any good. Put it behind you, and move on. Concentrate on the positives – yes, there are plenty. Certainly, Ole Miss didn’t want to finish the year 7-5 after the way things happened, but who wouldn’t have taken 7-5 in Year Two when you saw the schedule Ole Miss had? It could’ve been better, but it could’ve been worse, too. And look at who is coming back next year. On defense, you had freshman defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche play his best three games of the year down the stretch. You add an offseason, bowl practices, spring practice, fall camp and getting defensive end C.J. Johnson to the mix, and there’s a lot to look forward to there. Not to mention the way D.T. Shackelford, who could be back for his sixth year with a medical redshirt, played lately. Look in the secondary, and you have all three safeties returning, every corner that was healthy all season returning and most importantly, you have freshman huskie Tony Conner getting all that extra time to improve his game as well. At linebacker, you have junior Serderius Bryant coming back, and if he makes as much progress as he did from last season to this season, watch out. Offensively, the offensive line loses some pieces, but honestly, it has much more potential to be better next season. Imagine an offensive line that has freshman Laremy Tunsil and freshman Austin Golson — who will both be a year older — as the tackles, sophomore Justin Bell making the move to center, junior Aaron Morris back from injury at left guard and the strong freshman Daronte Bouldin — who is redshirting this season. That’s not a drop off in my book. In fact, I see a ton of potential for a unit that gets better and better each week. At wideout, you lose the sure-handed Ja-Mes Logan, but you may get Donte Moncrief back for his senior season. Even if you don’t, freshman Laquon Treadwell and junior Vince Sanders is a pretty dang good top two receiver combination. And look for Quincy Adeboyejo to become a big player after having a year under his belt. You lose Jeff Scott at running back, but sophomores Jaylen Walton and I’Tavius Mathers proved they can handle the load if the blocking is there. Add in touches for freshmen Mark Dodson, Kailo Moore and Jordan Wilkins, and Freeze will have to get creative to get these guys the ball. Then, there’s quarterback. Junior Bo Wallace is getting a lot of hate right now, and he certainly deserves his share of criticism for last week’s loss. But come on now. We are talking about a guy who has been at the top of the Ole Miss record books with Eli Manning. Wallace took big strides in 2013, and I expect more in 2014. But still, after Wallace, Ole Miss is in great shape at quarterback. Freshmen DeVante Kincade and Ryan Buchanan have gotten praise from Freeze every time their names come up. They’ll bring good, legitimate competition to the quarterback spot, and because of that, Ole Miss will benefit. So yes, everyone’s frustrated, and they have a good reason to be. But Ole Miss is still trending upward. Recruiting is at an all-time high for this program, they’ve got plenty of talent on the current roster and a win in a bowl game will result in a higher win total than last season. That’s progress. It may not happen as soon as fans want it, and I get that. I really do. But Ole Miss needs a solid program. They need legitimacy. In order to do that, it takes time. It takes multiple recruiting classes filled with stud athletes. Things are still headed in that direction. One game didn’t change that. So as the days go by until Ole Miss gets its opportunity to get back on the field and get the sour taste of that dreadful defeat out of its mouth, concentrate on the positives. Like I said, there are plenty of them. For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @DavidLCollier and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 04:33:20 +0000
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