Ole Miss claimed the Alabama state championship on Saturday with a 27-19 win at Auburn, keeping the Rebels very much alive in their quest for a Southeastern Conference championship. My thoughts on that game, the SEC as a whole, bowl projections, Mark Richt’s future, Ole Miss women’s hoops, the NBA and more follow here, thanks to Oxford-based RE/MAX agent Harry Alexander.
1. Ole Miss had one job Saturday at Auburn: Win.
Mission accomplished.
The Rebels made it more dramatic than necessary, probably, but they left the Plains with a 27-19 victory, one that improved Ole Miss to 4-1 in the SEC and left Hugh Freeze and Co. in control of their own Southeastern Conference championship destiny. Only two other SEC clubs _ LSU and Florida _ can say the same today, and that’s more than noteworthy as the calendar has turned to November.
Just 15 days ago, Ole Miss looked lost. The Rebels gave up 31 unanswered points in a loss at Memphis and returned home at a crossroads. Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack described the team meeting the following Sunday as a “Come to Jesus” meeting. Whatever was said obviously hit the right chord. Since that game, Ole Miss has looked like a different team.
“You learn that coaches and players can’t function like the normal world does,” Freeze said. “Everything that is being said about you out there, you can’t let that stuff affect you. We are building young men first and winning football games second. I’ve learned that our kids are doing a really good job at blocking all the noise out. I’ve learned a lot about myself, the coaching staff and the people that surround the program. We just have to play the next one. It’s one of the few professions where the kids get it just as bad as the coaches. We just have to brace all of it and let it motivate you to do better.”
My miscellaneous thoughts from my trip to the Plains:
A. Postgame, Laquon Treadwell was walking back his words earlier in the week about the personal importance of beating Auburn. I’ll take his word for it, I guess, but the cat I saw terrorizing Auburn’s defense Saturday looked awfully motivated. Health permitting, he’s going to have a long, prosperous NFL career. Treadwell is special.
B. The day is going to come, likely on Nov. 21 or Nov. 28, when Ole Miss is going to have to convert a big third- or fourth-and-1 in the red zone. They know it. The fans know it. Everyone knows it. If the Rebels could fix that problem just a little bit, their offense could be downright explosive down the stretch.
C. The Laremy Tunsil vs. Carl Lawson matchup was worth the trip. It’s rare when a guy can stagger Tunsil, but Lawson did it. As you might expect, Tunsil bounced back with a dominant second half. Like Treadwell, guys like Tunsil and Lawson are special.
D. Give Dan Werner credit. He’s stubbornly stuck to the running game and it’s starting to pay off. “I’ve said it for years and everyone knows it, but to be a really good football team, you have to run the football,” Werner said. “I mean, if you think you’re going to throw for 550 yards a game and win in this conference consistently, you haven’t been around enough football.”
E. Auburn’s new jumbotron is awesome. I want one.
F. I know enough about Auburn to know it’s going to be a long offseason for Gus Malzahn. The pressure will be on in 2016.
2. Up next: Arkansas. The Hogs are 4-4 after a 63-28 win over UT-Martin and headed into a brutal two-game swing to Ole Miss and then to LSU. Arkansas finishes at home against Mississippi State and then Missouri.
I know Ole Miss has bigger things to play for than revenge, but I’d imagine the Rebels will think a bit about that 30-0 loss in Fayetteville last November. It was cold and wet that afternoon in northwest Arkansas, and Ole Miss looked discombobulated from the opening warm-ups until the final buzzer. Arkansas, meanwhile, enjoyed a veritable romp in the slop, reveling in the Rebels’ misery.
This was supposed to be a breakout year for Arkansas, but to date, it hasn’t developed as such. Brandon Allen is a solid quarterback, Alex Collins is a strong running back and there are a decent collection of wide receivers and tight ends that give the Razorbacks balance on offense. Defensively, however, Arkansas isn’t the same team that terrorized Ole Miss 50 weeks ago. The Hogs don’t get to the quarterback with the fury they did a year ago, and they’re weak against the pass.
Arkansas is good enough to give Ole Miss fits, but if the Rebels play a fairly clean game and continue to fly around on the defensive side of the ball the way they did against Texas A&M and Auburn, Ole Miss should go into the open date with plenty to play for.
3. I shouldn’t do this, I know, but some of the conspiracy theories flying around about SEC officiating are just ridiculous. College officials aren’t as good as their NFL counterparts. They miss calls. They impact games (hello, Duke, what happened to you Saturday night was just wrong), but in my opinion, it’s incompetence and not conspiracy.
The fellows in stripes are guys in their 40s and 50s in many cases. I’m 45. I work out. I try to stay in decent shape. I’m probably fairly typical, physically, of the guys calling college football games. There’s simply no way those guys, people who have regular jobs in their real lives, are going to not miss calls on Saturdays. It’s part of the game.
But a conspiracy? Nah. If it were an anti-Ole Miss conspiracy, for example, Auburn wouldn’t have had a touchdown called back. The call on the field might have been incorrect, but was there a clear replay that showed Jeremy Johnson fumbled just before halftime? I haven’t seen the TV broadcast, but the replays shown on the jumbotron didn’t support overturning the call on the field.
Look, would the league probably prefer a two-loss Ole Miss not win the SEC championship? Sure. The league likes money, and it doesn’t take a creative imagination to conjure a scenario in which a two-loss SEC champ Ole Miss gets left out of the playoff in favor of TCU/Baylor, Ohio State/Michigan State/Iowa, Stanford/Notre Dame and unbeaten Clemson. Does that mean the league would risk its integrity and a scandal for the ages to fix games? Give me a break.
4. It’s November, the season is three-fourths done, and ranking this league gets more difficult every week. There’s a boatload of mediocre and a sloppy serving of awful in the SEC this year.
1. Alabama – I debated Nos. 1 and 2 for a couple of minutes and then realized it was pointless. They play each other Saturday night. We’ll see. Alabama’s quarterback play is shaky and the Tide’s best win _ at Georgia _ looks worse each week.
2. LSU – The Tigers are going to have to win a game with Brandon Harris at some point, probably Saturday. Maybe he can do it. We’ll see. LSU’s best win _ Florida _ looks a little better each week.
3. Florida – Jim McElwain is going to run away with SEC Coach of the Year honors. The Gators’ best win _ Ole Miss _ looks stronger each week.
4. Ole Miss – The Rebels have rallied since Memphis and control their own destiny. Their best win _ at Alabama _ looks great on the resume and they’re getting healthy at the right time.
5. Tennessee – Yep, the SEC stinks this year. The Vols are probably going to win out and go to a good bowl and have have another offseason of optimism, but they’re not very good.
6. Mississippi State – The Bulldogs should win at Missouri on Thursday and have nine days to get ready for Alabama. The presence of Dak Prescott makes them interesting.
7. Arkansas – The Hogs have a tough November in front of them, starting with Saturday at Ole Miss. They do have some balance, however, something the bottom half of the league can’t claim.
8. Texas A&M – The Aggies outscored South Carolina Saturday in College Station, and Kyler Murray apparently looked OK. However, the Aggies’ defense was bad. We’ll learn more, I guess, Saturday when Texas A&M faces…
9. Auburn – Carl Lawson’s return helps the Tigers, I suppose. Auburn has like 10 quarterbacks and a stable of talented running backs, but Lord, that’s an erratic team. To get to bowl eligibility, the Tigers must beat Idaho and either Texas A&M or …
10. Georgia – Is it time for Mark Richt to step aside? Georgia’s performance against Florida had to be disheartening for the Bulldogs’ fan base. It’s going to be a long month in Athens.
11. Missouri – The Tigers’ defense is good. That’s all I’ve got.
12. South Carolina – The Gamecocks appear to have a pulse. That’s all I’ve got.
13. Kentucky – Lexington was rocking Saturday. American Pharoah is going to be rocking all the time now. That’s all I’ve got.
14. Vanderbilt – That’s all I’ve got.
5. There are going to be some really shaky teams playing in bowl games this year. That’s OK. It’s the holidays. Pour yourself a beer, grab a snack and giggle at the bad football. Here are the weekly 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 – Tennessee
Autozone Liberty Bowl – Arkansas
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl – Texas A&M
Belk Bowl – Georgia
Birmingham Bowl – Auburn
Independence Bowl – Kentucky
6. If I had an Associated Press ballot, here’s my top 10 today:
1. Clemson
2. LSU
3. TCU
4. Ohio State
5. Baylor
6. Alabama
7. Florida
8. Michigan State
9. Notre Dame
10. Stanford
7. Ole Miss’ women’s basketball team opens its season on Nov. 13 against Mississippi Valley State. It will do so with heightened expectations. The Rebels were picked sixth in preseason voting, meaning they’re an NCAA tournament-caliber team. Matt Insell isn’t running from that either.
“We feel like we have a really good basketball team,” Insell said. “We’re very young, but we’re growing each and every day.”
As for the tournament, Insell said: “That’s what we’re shooting for. We feel like, as a group, that we have an NCAA tournament team in terms of talent. Can we come together as one and be that special team that can get back to the tournament and make a run once we get there? That’s yet to be seen. But in terms of talent, we have that.”
Insell’s Rebels are still very young, and he said the schedule “doesn’t set up real well for a young team.”
However, given the strength of the league and the likely RPIs, just surviving the schedule might be enough.
“You may not have to get to 8-8 or 9-7 to get in,” Insell said. “We’ll be real upset if we don’t. Our youth is not going to be an excuse.”
8. Back to college football for a minute (admit it; you’re shocked).
On Sunday, Virginia Tech announced longtime coach Frank Beamer will retire at the end of the season. I hope Mark Richt was paying attention. I like Richt a lot. He’s undoubtedly a genuinely good guy in a field full of egomaniacs. He’s had one hell of a 15-year run at Georgia. He’s 141-51 overall, 81-37 in the SEC, but it feels like it’s over. He’s been to a bowl game every season.
Still, this season should have been special for Georgia. The SEC East is abysmal, and a team that fired its coach 50 weeks ago is going to win it. The rest of the division is somewhere between average and pathetic, yet Georgia is probably destined for 7-5.
I hate to see Richt fired. It just feels wrong, yet it feels like that’s what’s coming. Greg McGarrity, contacted by the AJC on Sunday, said he’s focused on Kentucky, Georgia’s opponent Saturday. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Richt is only 55 years old. Maybe a fresh start somewhere is what he needs. He’s a Miami grad, and the Canes’ job is open. From all accounts, he’s a wonderful guy. He and his wife, Katharyn, are very active in the community. He deserves to be honored for his tenure at Georgia, not summarily dismissed later this month.
I know Richt has a great recruiting class lined up and a change is a risky proposition for Georgia at this point, but reading the proverbial tea leaves, it feels like Richt has gone too far down the wrong road to get back on track for titles. Maybe I’m wrong, but change feels imminent. I just hope there’s a way for it to be handled with class. Richt deserves that.
9. It’s ridiculously early in the NBA season, but through three games, anyone hoping for a hangover from the Golden State Warriors is sorely disappointed. Golden State, without coach Steve Kerr on the bench, has a 16-point home win over New Orleans, a 20-point win at Houston and a 14-point road win over the Pelicans Saturday night at Smoothie King Center. MVP Stephen Curry has picked up right where he left off. Curry scored 53 points Saturday in New Orleans, and his range has extended to the point where teams have to consider double-teaming just past the timeline. Of course, that strategy frees up Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and gets defenses scrambling against a team that moves the basketball as well as any in recent memory.
Other quick NBA thoughts:
A. Minnesota rookie Karl-Anthony Towns looks like a star in the making. The Timberwolves, playing for late coach Flip Saunders, might be a fun team to watch.
B. I love Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis so far. He’s young and raw, but that skill set is elite.
C. Detroit is 3-0 with wins over Atlanta, Utah and Chicago. Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond lead an interesting roster and the team has Stan Van Gundy’s personality beginning to show, especially on the defensive end.
D. The Clippers are off to a 3-0 start with a pair of wins over Sacramento and a home win over Dallas. Blake Griffin is averaging 32 points per game and his game looks more well-rounded than ever before. He’s a sleeper MVP pick.
E. I watched the Spurs and Celtics on Sunday. Gregg Popovich versus Brad Stevens was a gift from the basketball gods. Even in early November, with both teams finding themselves, it was beautiful basketball.
10. Here are some links of interest to me (and hopefully to you) for the week ahead. Have a great one.
The Golden State Warriors avenged last season’s loss to the San Quentin inmates.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...n-warriors-san-quentin-state-prison/74638558/
The Los Angeles Lakers may have lost more than a game Friday night against Sacramento.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...-giant-step-back-blowout-loss-kings/74932028/
Thabo Sefolosha finally told his story from last year’s arrest in New York.
http://www.gq.com/story/thabo-sefolosha-nypd-assault
Tampa pitcher Chris Archer has a much larger impact on the community than just strikes and wins.
http://www2.tbo.com/sports/rays/arc...in-community-goes-well-beyond-field-20151030/
A couple met in the comments section of a Big Ten fan blog, fell in love, married (and they look normal).
http://espn.go.com/college-football...t-comments-section-fall-love-just-got-married
A man from my hometown turned in 45 years worth of pennies.
http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/local/2015/10/27/cashing-lifes-savings/74709174/
Former Alabama coach Mike Shula has rebuilt himself in Charlotte.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article41560326.html
How many people really watched Yahoo’s live stream of Buffalo and Jacksonville last Sunday from London?
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/10/27/nfl-yahoo-live-stream-traffic-week-8-power-rankings
Damn. Life isn’t fair. Hug your kids. Thanks for being a great man, Les Miles.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/10/mountain_brook_teen_and_lsu_su.html
Last edited:
