It’s Alabama week. Ole Miss disposed of Fresno State, 73-21, Saturday in Oxford, setting up an SEC West showdown at Alabama. Early thoughts on the matchup, early SEC rankings, early bowl projections, NFL observations, links and more follow here in 10 Weekend Thoughts, presented by Oxford-based RE/MAX agent Harry Alexander.
1. There are a lot of candidates for early MVP honors on this Ole Miss team. Quarterback Chad Kelly has been sensational, giving the Rebels a dynamic they simply haven’t had in previous seasons under Hugh Freeze. Kelly can throw the deep ball, and defensive coordinators simply can’t afford to forget about his arm.
“His deep balls are one of the better balls I’ve ever encountered from high school and since I’ve been here,” said Ole Miss wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo, who caught five passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns in the Rebels’ rout of Fresno State. “He just has really good touch on his deep balls.”
One could vote for safety Trae Elston, who now has two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the first two games of the season.
One could choose defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, who has been unblockable up front and has scored as a receiver and a running back in the first two games of 2015.
My vote, however, would go to Ole Miss offensive tackle Fahn Cooper, who has been asked to fill in for Laremy Tunsil (more on that in a bit) while the university, the NCAA, the SEC and lawyers sort out Tunsil’s eligibility. Cooper has been terrific in wins over UT-Martin and Fresno State, likely improving his draft stock in the process.
“I think (Ole Miss offensive line) Coach (Matt) Luke definitely helped prepare me more for this from the start of camp. I take it one day at a time. Every practice, I’m kind of playing it by ear. Am I going to play right? Am I going to play left? I really just try to take it from there, listen to Coach Luke and do what he tells me to do.
“I feel like definitely the chemistry and the work we put in in the offseason is definitely getting displayed. Guys who haven’t really worked that much together have had to work together and it’s like we haven’t missed a beat.
“When we get the tempo to go, the offense runs so smooth. That makes everybody’s job easier. For us, we run five runs in a row and get yards and we get to second and third downs and (defenders) aren’t really coming off the ball. That really helps us out. When we have success with the run in those tempo plays, it opens up the play-action for (Kelly) and I feel like it benefits everyone.”
2. It wasn’t flashy, but Laquon Treadwell looked much more like his old self on Saturday. Treadwell recorded five catches for 73 yards. Cody Core had six receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Damore’ea Stringfellow added three catches for 45 yards. Ole Miss’ big, physical receivers are a problem for opposing defenses. It’s as simple as that.
“I got in a rhythm,” Treadwell said. “They had me out there more. I was just making plays and making plays I’m used to making and being confident while I’m out there running routes.”
3. Other quick observations from Ole Miss 73, Fresno State 21:
A. Breeland Speaks is going to be a monster in this league. The redshirt freshman, playing his first full game (he was suspended for one half of the UT-Martin game for an offseason violation of team rules), had nine tackles against Fresno State. He’s disruptive and a force in the middle. Ole Miss will miss Robert Nkemdiche when he’s dominating the NFL next season (yeah, I’m assuming; bet against me if you’d like), but Speaks will be ready to minimize the drop-off.
B. Defensive end Fadol Brown had five tackles, including two stops behind the line of scrimmage. He’s catching my eye much more this season. That starting defensive line is just nasty, and there’s very little fall-off to the second unit.
C. I still have questions about Ole Miss’ running game. DeVante Kincade was the Rebels’ leading rusher Saturday, picking up 48 yards on four carries. Jordan Wilkins was next with 40 yards on seven attempts. Jaylen Walton had six rushes for 38 yards and Akeem Judd had four for 36. The numbers _ 215 yards on the ground Saturday _ tell me Ole Miss is much improved running the football this fall. I guess I’m still a bit skeptical.
D. Carlos Davis fumbled a punt return in the third quarter Saturday. That can’t happen in league play. It just can’t.
E. I’ll be curious to see Ole Miss’ punting and field goal units Saturday in Alabama. Will Gleeson punted just once Saturday, and Gary Wunderlich nailed his only attempt of the day, a 34-yarder early in the fourth quarter. Against teams like Alabama, those guys will almost certainly have more opportunities.
F. Where’s Evan Engram? Offensive coordinator Dan Werner said opposing defenses have keyed on him early, and the Rebels’ quarterbacks have taken what the opposition has given them. At some point soon, Engram is going to have a breakout game.
4. On to Alabama. Ole Miss shocked the Crimson Tide, 23-17, last season in Oxford, the highlight of the Rebels’ season. The sledding figures to be tougher in Tuscaloosa, especially if Tunsil isn’t available (again, more on that in a bit), but after Saturday’s win over Fresno State, the Rebels were a confident lot.
“I’m definitely excited for that game,” Cooper said. “Some of the most fun I have is in practice because we have a lot of great defensive linemen to play against. I know I can speak for the rest of the offensive linemen when I say I know we’re looking forward to playing against great competition, especially on the road in front of crazy fans. It’ll be fun. Everyone’s excited for it.”
“We’re ready,” Ole Miss linebacker C.J. Johnson said. “We’re going to be ready. We’re going to prepare (Sunday) when we come in and watch film and make the corrections. Starting (Sunday) is when we start preparing for them, and it’s going to be a knockdown in T-town. We can’t wait.”
I had a six-minute conversation with Treadwell late Saturday, and the topic turned to Alabama quickly. I thought his answers were fascinating and enlightening on this team’s mentality.
Was there any talk of Alabama last week? Treadwell said he heard none. That wasn’t the case a year ago, when Ole Miss had a tough time focusing on Memphis the week before the showdown with the Tide.
“We have our goal to be the national champ,” Treadwell said. “We take it one week at a time.”
Alabama’s defense is elite. What are the challenges they provide?
“I think as far as receivers, (the key is) winning your one-on-one matchups,” Treadwell said. “They have a lot of great corners. They’re fast, and they can run with you. You just have to make the plays that come to you. I think with the running game, we’ve got to get it started early. That’ll help us on the outside, spread them around, get our tempo going. If the running game is solid and we’re running the ball well, I think we’ll be fine.”
Is Ole Miss’ short-passing game the equivalent of a running attack? Treadwell said no.
“A lot of times we see the corners getting out of there and bailing, watching them on film,” Treadwell said. “We have a lot of play-action, throwing it behind the safety’s head. There’s just a lot of fast-paced, moving the ball sideline to sideline and we have a lot of great running backs.”
What would a win over Alabama mean?
“It’s just another game,” Treadwell said. “Focus on one game at a time. If we go over there and win, that’s a big confidence boost. We have team goals and we’re not trying to get caught up in the whole ‘If we win there, what will it do?’ We already have our mind set on winning anyway.”
Yeah, but that would launch you into the national title conversation pretty quickly, wouldn’t it?
“Real quick,” Treadwell said, before giving me a gem of a quote.
“That’s what happened last year,” he said. “Everyone didn’t think we had a chance, and we did it. This year, we’re going to stay humble about everything and take it one game at a time.”
I found that fascinating. Treadwell, clearly, expects to win. More importantly, from a team standpoint, he believes this group is better equipped to handle that success.
5. For the second straight week, Tunsil did not dress out and did not play. He was on the sidelines with his teammates, but this experience has to be torture for Tunsil, who is projected as a top-five NFL draft choice next May if he leaves early.
“Laremy’s there,” Treadwell said. “He’s contributing as much as he can. He’s always around and smiling. We just have to worry about what we can worry about and hopefully, we’ll get him back soon.”
I feel like it’s all we’ve talked about since this story began to develop two-plus weeks ago, and I’m no more certain today than I was then about how this situation will resolve itself. Ole Miss issued a statement on Saturday that essentially said very little. The process is continuing. Everyone swears they’re aggressively seeking resolution. Tunsil won’t play until there’s a conclusion. Tunsil has an attorney. Ole Miss supports Tunsil. So there’s that.
Personally, and this is strictly opinion, I don’t think Tunsil plays for at least two more weeks. Why? I think the NCAA has spent a lot of time, effort and resources investigating Tunsil’s recruiting over the past three years or so and have essentially come away empty-handed. Ole Miss, in the eyes of the rest of the college football world, wasn’t supposed to sign that 2013 class. Something had to be amiss, right? So the NCAA dug and dug and dug. At some point, the NCAA is going to have to abandon ship, but that’s not happening until and unless they get their pound of flesh.
Again, this is all just my opinion, but it almost feels like Tunsil is being targeted. Did he receive improper benefits over the past few months? That certainly seems to be the case, and the specificity of the rumor that is out there is difficult to ignore. However, at some point soon, the NCAA should make a ruling and eliminate the limbo. If it’s four games, announce four games. If it’s six, announce six. If he’s being ruled ineligible, announce that. If there’s an appeal, let’s hear specifics.
Who’s making the decisions, by the way? Where’s the transparency? Ole Miss’ statement Saturday implied everyone at the school is on the same page. I’ve heard something totally different from sources I trust.
Ole Miss could be, in my opinion, a national playoffs-caliber team with Tunsil at left tackle. Perhaps the Rebels will be that without him (I personally don’t think so, but that’s just one guy’s opinion). Regardless, the rest of that roster deserves to know what’s going to happen to Tunsil and when it’s going to happen. This situation didn’t pop up two weeks ago. Ole Miss acknowledged that in the statement Saturday. It’s mid-September. It’s time for a resolution.
6. Here’s my way-too-early SEC weekly rankings:
1. Alabama – As Jeffrey Wright so often says, it’s Alabama by default until someone proves otherwise. When in doubt, follow the talent.
2. Ole Miss – Call me crazy, but I’m following the talent. Saturday night should be a hell of a game. It’s a shame if Tunsil doesn’t play. This game deserves all of the main characters on the stage.
3. LSU – This is shaky, but the Tigers have Leonard Fournette and they won an SEC road game. Les Miles’ late play-calling Saturday at Mississippi State was head-scratching stuff.
4. Georgia – The Bulldogs’ quarterback play is atrocious, but they’ve got Nick Chubb and they also won an SEC road game.
5. Texas A&M – The Aggies are much-improved on defense and there are weapons on the offensive end.
6. Auburn – I picked the Tigers to win the SEC before the season. Two weeks in, I’m not feeling so good about that prediction. It’s time for one really big prayer circle on the Plains.
7. Missouri – Hey, we’re starting to reach now. The Tigers are winning, but the running game in Columbia is awful. Maty Mauk isn’t good enough to carry an offense alone.
8. Kentucky – For now, why not? The Wildcats went to South Carolina and won. Good for them.
9. Mississippi State – Dak Prescott is a winner. He just is. But there’s a talent drop-off in Starkville that’s unmistakable.
10. Tennessee – The Vols are better, but they’re not back. They’ll remember that collapse at home against Oklahoma for the rest of the season.
11. Florida – Jim McElwain is doing a nice job changing some expectations in Gainesville, but the Gators are going to take some lumps this year.
12. Arkansas – Sorry, Bret. You can’t lose at home to Toledo and be ranked higher than this. The Hogs’ vaunted running game has been subpar through two weeks and Brandon Allen isn’t good enough to carry a team to wins against the SEC, much less the MAC.
13. South Carolina – Steve Spurrier owes AJC columnist Mark Bradley an apology.
14. Vanderbilt – Insert Vandy joke here.
7. My first installment this year of way too early bowl predictions:
Capital One Orange Bowl (College Football Playoffs semifinals) – Alabama
Allstate Sugar Bowl – Ole Miss
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl – Georgia
Outback Bowl – Auburn
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – Texas A&M
Taxslayer Bowl – LSU
Autozone Liberty Bowl – Missouri
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl – Arkansas
Belk Bowl – Kentucky
Birmingham Bowl – Mississippi State
Independence Bowl – Tennessee
8. Ole Miss basketball had two official visitors on campus over the weekend. Lithuanian forward Justas Furmanavicius committed to Ole Miss Saturday morning. That story is linked here:
https://olemiss.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1802309
The Rebels also entertained Mountain Mission (Va.) School center Maciej Bender.
http://sports.yahoo.com/uga/basketball/recruiting/player-Maciej-Bender-177994
The consensus from speaking to people around the Ole Miss program and close to Bender’s recruiting is it will come down to the Rebels and West Virginia, and the Rebels might have a lead.
“He doesn’t know yet,” Furmanavicius said of Bender. “He likes it here a lot too.”
Ole Miss would love to land Suwanee, Ga., Rivals100 forward Romello White as well. White spent Saturday at Georgia Tech.
http://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/player-Romello-White-165789/print
In all, Ole Miss will sign at least four _ and likely five _ players in this class. The Rebels will focus on big men, but they want to land a point guard in this class as well.
9. Before you read any of my thoughts on the NFL, know this: I picked the Indianapolis Colts to win the Super Bowl. Those same Colts lost by 13 points at Buffalo Sunday, so, yeah. Further, I spent the first three hours of this NFL Sunday watching the Cubs on my iPad, the Cardinals on the TV on the treadmill and watching the Brewers-Pirates gamecast on my iPhone. So again, yeah.
Anyway, here are my few NFL observations from Week 1:
A. Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota was impressive in his debut, throwing four touchdown passes in a 42-14 win over Tampa Bay. Mariota’s counterpart, fellow rookie Jameis Winston, struggled in his NFL debut. Keep in mind Mariota is supported by a much better defense and a superior running game. It’s going to be a long year in Tampa.
B. Johnny Manziel was forced into action when Josh McCown suffered a first-quarter concussion Sunday. Manziel threw a touchdown pass and committed three turnovers in a 31-10 road loss to the New York Jets. The Jets converted two of those turnovers into second-half touchdowns.
C. Arizona beat New Orleans, 31-19, in large part because the Saints’ anemic defense can’t get off the field. New Orleans gets Tampa Bay in Week 2. The Saints would be advised to win.
D. The New York Giants cut James Jones, who caught two touchdown passes in Green Bay’s win over Chicago. How’d that happen? Oh, yeah, Aaron Rodgers is really good.
E. I picked the Kansas City Chiefs to win the AFC West, and one week in, I’m feeling good about things. The Chiefs’ Alex Smith was terrific in Sunday’s win over Houston, completing 22 of 33 passes for 243 yards.
F. The Redskins and Raiders are simply awful.
G. Denver’s defense is potentially dominant. That’s a good thing for the Broncos, because the days of Peyton Manning carrying an offense appear to be done.
10. When I was a kid growing up in Louisiana, I would play imaginary NBA games in my driveway. I was usually a shooting guard, and frequently, I pretended to be playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. I loved Maurice Cheeks and Julius Erving. Moses Malone was my center. He died Sunday at the age of 60. Damn, it hits you when the heroes of your childhood pass away.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/moses-malone-1955-2015/?ex_cid=story-twitter
Here are some other links of interest to me (and hopefully to you). Have a great week.
Former President George W. Bush reflected on 9-11 and that first pitch he threw before Game 3 of the World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees less than two months later. I thought his comments were insightful and profound. Fourteen years later, that horrible morning in New York and Washington D.C. and a field in Pennsylvania still resonates with all of us who lived through it.
http://grantland.com/features/the-pitch/
It’s a leftover SEC note, I suppose, but South Carolina lost its quarterback for the season Saturday night. Challenging times in Columbia, S.C., for Spurrier and Co.
http://gridironnow.com/gamecocks-lose-game-qb-and-play-calling-questioned/
Another Earnhardt made his Sprint Cup debut over the weekend.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nasca...ng-fourth-earnhardt-generation-003951036.html
How a secret brotherhood’s revolt nearly destroyed the National League.
http://deadspin.com/how-a-secret-br...source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
What will the Mets do about Matt Harvey? I look for them to trade him this offseason. Here’s a package: Jorge Soler, Gleyber Torres and Kyle Hendricks to New York, Matt Harvey to the Cubs. Who says no?
http://mweb.cbssports.com/mlb/write...whats-the-deal-on-harvey-cespedes-mets-future
Buster Douglas, you have company. Just how big was Roberta Vinci’s upset of Serena Williams in the U.S. Open semifinals?
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/...-the-biggest-in-modern-womens-tennis-history/
It’s been lost in the Reds’ disastrous season, but Joey Votto has had an historic season in Cincinnati.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2...innati-reds-best-hitter/?ex_cid=story-twitter
I felt for my friend, Austin Barbour, when I read this story. Austin is a great guy and a great friend of the Oxford Exxon podcast and RebelGrove.com.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/253461-key-super-pac-figure-blindsided-by-perry-dropping-out#.VfOeDgjmEqE.twitter
I’m thrilled with Kyle Schwarber with the Cubs, but I remember telling Chase Parham I really wish Chicago would take LSU pitcher Aaron Nola. I’m wrong a lot, but I was right about Nola. He’s becoming an ace in Philadelphia.
http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2015/09/aaron_nola_has_made_transition.html
Burned by subpar performances by Matt Garza and Kyle Lohse, the Milwaukee Brewers are likely to shy away from free agent pitcher acquisitions this summer. There goes an option for Jordan Zimmerman.
http://m.jsonline.com/brewers#/articles/327152321
The Toronto Blue Jays, so dominant for the past six-plus weeks, may have lost shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for the season to a cracked shoulder blade.
http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/bl...ork-yankees-after-collision-with-kevin-pillar
