Ole Miss was impressive Saturday night in Oxford, dominating Texas A&M en route to a 23-3 win and maintaining control over their postseason destiny. Laremy Tunsil returned in a big way, as did the Rebels’ running game. My thoughts on those topics, SEC rankings, bowl projections, NBA predictions, random thoughts and more follow here, thanks to Oxford-based RE/MAX real estate agent Harry Alexander. Check out Harry’s website, www.harryalexander.com and click on the properties and neighborhoods tab.
1. Ole Miss’ game against Texas A&M Saturday night felt pivotal for both teams all week. For the Rebels, a loss would have represented major disappointment if not full-scale disaster. It would have been difficult, if not downright impossible, to draw up a scenario in which Ole Miss won the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division with a loss to the Aggies.
A win, on the other hand, would keep those title hopes alive and regain some momentum for the stretch run.
Ole Miss not only won, it did so in convincing fashion, whipping the Aggies, 23-3. The Rebels are now 6-2 overall, 3-1 in the SEC and one of two SEC West teams (LSU) which need no outside help to earn a date to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta in early December.
“It was big,” Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell said. “It was a big confidence boost, a momentum shift for the team. Our defense played great. My hat’s off to them. They brought it every play. We struggled a little in the second half trying to run out the clock. We managed the game. We’ll work on that. We all came out and competed and played hard.”
“If we would’ve lost (Saturday), we never would have had the chance to go to the SEC Championship Game,” Ole Miss running back Jaylen Walton said. “This win was big. We’ve got four more big games and we plan on winning those as well.”
The Rebels held Texas A&M to just 192 yards of total offense while rolling up 471 yards of their own. It could’ve been _ and probably should’ve been _ a more decisive victory. A touchdown pass to Quincy Adeboyejo was negated by a questionable chop-block penalty and Chad Kelly was intercepted three times. Further, Ole Miss’ final offensive possession advanced inside the Texas A&M 1-yard-line before the Rebels ultimately ran out the clock.
“It was huge,” Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram said. “We prepared really hard this week. We were so locked in to having great practices every day, winning every play, winning every period, winning the day and focusing on this week. This game shows what kind of results that preparation can get us. It’s a huge step for us.
“We responded so well on Sunday. Sunday really just set the tone for the week. Tuesday was really great. Wednesday was good and Thursday was a great clean-up day and Friday was a good walk-through. It was a perfect week and we just have to keep that consistency there.”
2. It helped, in so many ways, that All-American offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil returned to the lineup Saturday after missing the first seven games of the season due to NCAA-related eligibility issues.
Tunsil stifled Texas A&M All-SEC defensive end Myles Garrett and helped ignite the Rebels’ running game.
“It started in practice. Everybody moved back to their original spots and they were more comfortable where they were playing,” Treadwell said. “The freshmen got in at the beginning of the season and they were able to move to the 2s with Javon. Everything went back to normal.”
“Once he got back, everyone pretty much calmed down, played and chilled,” Ole Miss running back Jaylon Walton said. “Everyone just played football. Instead of worrying about this person’s assignment, everyone could just take care of themselves and look at the outcome.”
“Laremy brought a lot of juice this week,” Engram said. “Seeing him back in action, getting a lot of playing time, especially with the magnitude of this week and seeing how much energy he brought to practice, you could tell he brought a lot more juice to our offense. It was great, really great to have him back.”
3. Ole Miss, which was held to 40 yards rushing in a 37-24 loss to Memphis eight days ago, picked up 230 yards on the ground against Texas A&M.
“It was definitely embarrassing,” Walton said, referring to the performance in Memphis. “It was devastating. We lost to Memphis and that’s kind of like the little brother of the Ole Miss-Memphis rivalry. With that loss, it kind of put us back in reality and made us focus harder and work harder. Every team is out to beat us and us taking them lightly lost us that game. We don’t plan on losing anymore.”
Walton said he “hinted” to offensive coordinator Dan Werner all week that he wanted more carries against the Aggies. Werner obliged him, giving Walton 22 carries. Walton turned those rushes into 97 yards on the ground, adding two catches for 20 yards as well.
“It’s a product of the confidence Coach Werner has in the run game. With him calling the plays and being real aggressive, it definitely made me feel real confident because I knew I would get the ball this game. I didn’t know how many times, but I knew I’d get my opportunities and I’d have to make them work.”
4. Ole Miss now simply has to get off the roller coaster. The Rebels travel to Auburn Saturday and then return home on Nov. 7 to face Arkansas before getting a much-needed open date prior to a Nov. 21 showdown with LSU and the Nov. 28 Egg Bowl game at Mississippi State.
The Tigers and Razorbacks needed four overtimes Saturday in Fayetteville before the Razorbacks escaped with a 54-46 win. It should be a devastating loss for Auburn, but the Rebels are kidding themselves if they at any point think the trip to the Plains will be easy. Auburn killed Ole Miss’ title hopes a year ago; they’ll be motivated to do the same thing on Halloween.
“We’ll play one at a time,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “I’m excited about our kids and our players (against Texas A&M). We’ll mess it up again, I’m sure. …Y’all will let them know when I do that. I hope you let them know when I get it right, too.
“…We’re going to go play Auburn at their place, in a difficult environment, on the road. We haven’t handled the road real well. I’d rather play at home. Maybe (Auburn coach) Gus (Malzahn) will be a good friend and let us play at home. I doubt it, but we’ve got to prove that we can go on the road and handle it.”
5. If I had an AP vote:
1. Ohio State
2. Baylor
3. Alabama
4. LSU
5. Clemson
6. TCU
7. Stanford
8. Michigan State
9. Iowa
10. Florida
* Ole Miss is No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top 25, which is the second-highest ranked two-loss team (Michigan is No. 15). How costly was the Memphis loss in terms of rankings? If Ole Miss were 7-1 right now, leaving the loss at Florida intact, the Rebels would likely be somewhere between No. 7 (the highest-ranked one-loss team, Alabama, is No. 7) and No. 14 (currently occupied by Oklahoma, which is 6-1).
6. As Halloween nears, it’s beginning to become obvious which teams don’t need to dress up on Saturday to be scary. Here are my weekly SEC rankings:
1. Alabama – The Tide is certainly fallible, but it keeps winning. By the way, welcome to the hype machine that is the two-week build-up to Alabama and…
2. LSU – The Tigers flirted with a trick of sorts for a while Saturday against Western Kentucky before pulling away for an easy win. Brandon Harris continues to play better, but the Tigers must win in Tuscaloosa to have any real hope of a national championship run.
3. Florida – The Gators enjoyed a week off and a whole day or two without any arrests. They should be nice and fresh for Saturday’s Cocktail Party against…
4. Georgia – I’m ready to sell on the Bulldogs, but I’ll leave them in this spot for one more week. If Georgia loses in Jacksonville, those annual Mark Richt questions are going to pop up again.
5. Ole Miss – I was tempted to put the Rebels at No. 4, but I want to see them go on the road and win a game they should win first.
6. Mississippi State – Dak Prescott is carrying the Bulldogs, who are in position to play spoiler in the month of November. Both Alabama and Ole Miss will have to bring their A-games to Starkville.
7. Tennessee – The Vols have four losses, but they’re about to run the table.
8. Texas A&M – The Aggies have just two losses and their schedule sets up for four straight wins starting Saturday, but damn, Kyle Allen was bad in Oxford.
9. Arkansas – The Hogs are the best 3-4 team in the country. That’s not exactly a sales pitch in recruiting, but no one should sleep on Arkansas. That’s a balanced offense, and that was a huge win over Auburn.
10. Auburn – Speaking of, the Tigers’ flight back from Fayetteville had to be awfully painful. Eight dropped passes cost Auburn dearly. Gus Malzahn has done a great job with Sean White, but he’ll have his hands full this week getting a team that spent the preseason talking about a national championship fired up for a trip to the Texas Bowl.
11. Kentucky – Welcome to the bottom tier of the SEC, where degrees of ineptitude can be debated.
12. Vanderbilt – Congrats to Derek Mason and Co. for Saturday’s win over Missouri. The Commodores have been hanging in games. One could see this coming.
13. South Carolina – The Gamecocks are awful, but right now, they’re not as inept as…
14. Missouri – How does a team with as good a defense as the one the Tigers have be so impotent on offense?
7. It’s still early, obviously, but the bowl picture is starting to take something resembling an actual shape. Here are my sure-to-be-wrong bowl projections:
Capital One Orange Bowl – Alabama
Allstate Sugar Bowl – LSU
Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl – Florida
Outback Bowl – Ole Miss
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – Mississippi State
Taxslayer Bowl – Georgia
Autozone Liberty Bowl – Tennessee
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl – Texas A&M
Belk Bowl – Auburn
Birmingham Bowl – Arkansas
Independence Bowl – Kentucky
8. The NBA season begins Tuesday night. Here are my sure-to-be-wrong predictions for the season.
Eastern Conference:
1. Cleveland
2. Washington
3. Toronto
4. Atlanta
5. Chicago
6. Miami
7. Boston
8. Milwaukee
Western Conference:
1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Oklahoma City
4. Memphis
5. L.A. Clippers
6. Houston
7. New Orleans
8. Utah
Eastern Conference Finals: Cleveland over Toronto
Western Conference Finals: Golden State over Oklahoma City
NBA Finals: Cleveland over Golden State
Rookie of the Year: Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver
Sixth Man of the Year: Isaiah Thomas, Boston
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, New Orleans
Coach of the Year: Dave Joerger, Memphis
Most Valuable Player: James Harden, Houston
9. The World Series begins Tuesday night as well, with the Kansas City Royals playing host to the New York Mets. For the Royals, it’s their second straight trip to the Fall Classic. Last October, the Royals ran into Madison Bumgarner and ended up losing in seven games. This year, the Royals have to deal with the red-hot Mets, fresh off a (oh, God, it’s still painful to think about) a dominating sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
The Mets’ pitching is really phenomenal. The rotation is deep and the closer, Jeurys Familia, is practically unhittable. Surely, Daniel Murphy will cool off from the torrid pace with which he destroyed the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cubs earlier this month.
The Royals, meanwhile, just grind out at-bat after at-bat and feature a deep, talented bullpen that frustrates opponents. It should be a terrific series. Someone let me know when it’s over.
My pick: Royals in 7.
10. Just some random thoughts here:
A. The New Orleans Saints are really bad at tanking. The route to one of the top picks in the draft is not going to Indianapolis and winning.
B. Speaking of the Colts, my man-crush on Andrew Luck is being tested these days. He was awful early against New Orleans.
C. The Los Angeles Dodgers fired Don Mattingly earlier in the week, begging the question: Did Dodgers GM Andrew Friedman err by not firing Mattingly a year ago and hiring his former manager in Tampa, Joe Maddon? Maddon will likely win National League Manager of the Year honors in the coming weeks after leading the Cubs to a 97-win season in his first year in Chicago.
D. Speaking of managers, what the Miami Marlins are doing to GM-turned-manager Dan Jennings is just wrong. Jennings was pushed into a hopeless situation mid-season and should be given his general manager’s position back. There’s a reason Jeffrey Loria can’t maintain a winning organization.
E. I’ve already started thinking about baseball free agency. I expect Zack Greinke to switch sides of the rivalry and sign with San Francisco. For some reason, I think David Price will take his place in Los Angeles. I’m fascinated to see what happens with Jason Heyward. Will the Cardinals ante up when another team gets above the $200 million mark?
F. While there’s speculation in Chicago that the Cubs will go after Heyward and there’s no doubt he makes tons of sense in their lineup and in their organizational approach, I think it’s unlikely Theo Epstein ultimately goes that direction. I think it’s more likely the Cubs go with a stopgap in center field (Denard Span?), signs a second-level free agent pitcher (John Lackey?) and makes a blockbuster deal for a frontline pitcher using Jorge Soler or Javier Baez as capital.
G. Russell Westbrook won’t win the MVP award, but he’s the leader in the clubhouse on Halloween. Westbrook’s Steven Adams costume was remarkably good.
H. A team from the AFC South is going to make the playoffs. A team from the NFC East will too. Location, location, location.
I. Rick Pitino’s refusal to go to ACC Media Days is cowardly. Sending three players to take the heat in his place is borderline criminal.
J. The Cincinnati Reds’ ownership has eyes. It can see the foundations in place in Chicago, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. It knows it’s time to rebuild, time to sell off every valuable asset. That means no more Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Todd Frazier and Aroldis Chapman. It’s the right move, Reds fans but trust me when I tell you this: The three-year rebuild will test your loyalty. Rebuilding sucks.
Here are some links of interest to me (and hopefully to you) for your reading pleasure. Have a great week.
I don’t know the guy, but I’ve followed the Kansas City Royals this season through the writing of Kansas City Star reporter Andy McCullough. His work is nothing short of phenomenal. Here’s his game story from the Royals’ pennant-clinching win over Toronto.
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article41289054.html
Speaking of fantastic journalists, I’m a huge fan of ESPN NBA senior writer Ramona Shelbourne’s work. Her coverage of the sad Lamar Odom saga has been tremendous.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13947630/brothel-worker-says-lamar-odom-was-pain
Gregg Popovich and Jerry Colangelo had to work through a decade-long dispute before the Spurs’ coach could become the next head coach of USA Basketball.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-gr...purs-legend-the-team-usa-coach-191052125.html
The Blue Jays’ season came to an end Friday night, but not before the franchise united a country.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...untry-like-no-other-team-can/article26946551/
Tom Goodwin’s son, Weslee, committed suicide in June 2014. For Goodwin, the New York Mets’ first base coach, the National League pennant has been extra emotional and special on multiple levels.
http://nypost.com/2015/10/24/tom-goodwin-lost-son-to-suicide-and-found-a-family-on-the-mets/
The SEC has a strong freshman class, and not everyone is wearing Kentucky blue.
http://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/ben-simmons-leads-strong-sec-freshmen-class-not-kentucky
One of the really good guys in the NBA, Minnesota Timberwolves coach/president Flip Saunders, died Sunday. He was 60.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...ident-flip-saunders-dies-at-60-182608133.html
Joakim Noah will apparently come off the bench for the Chicago Bulls this season, which is interesting in large part because the former Florida star had one of the most productive offseasons of his NBA career.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...alifornia-summer-could-make-bulls-a-contender
How will we know if the Billy Donovan hire is working in Oklahoma City? Watch Mitch McGary’s progress.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13934796/nba-why-mitch-mcgary-key-oklahoma-city-thunder-offense
The Golden State Warriors will receive their championship rings and begin defense of their title on Tuesday night. There’s a solid chance Steve Kerr won’t be on the bench.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...warriors-coach-unclear-regular-season-looming
The 10 healthiest jobs, in terms of life/work balance, are:
http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/money/a39026/companies-work-life-balance-glassdoor/
Air Force One is surprisingly old, but it won’t be replaced for a while.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a38977/air-force-one-getting-old/
There are whales alive today who were born before Moby Dick was written.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...n-before-moby-dick-was-written-660944/?no-ist
It’s a powerful piece of journalism and a sad story, but it resonated with me. It’s the story of the death of George Bell.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/1...ity.html?_r=3&referer=https://t.co/Rv2gxA4vgc
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