Fall practice officially kicked off last Saturday afternoon, which means the countdown to the season opener at Memphis is less than a month away. For those of you unaware, I am a huge college football fan.
Kinda funny, I didn’t care about football (college or pro) in the least bit before coming to school at Ole Miss. During my first year here, we went to the first home football game and I was forever hooked as a Rebel fan. There’s just something about the excitement of college football, being there, experiencing it live… I get such a rush from it each year.
The past few years, however, haven’t been so great for my team. Ole Miss went 10-3 my first year at school under the leadership of quarterback Eli Manning. Manning’s departure left backup QB Michael Spurlock as the “man for the job” but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get the job done, resulting in only four wins that season.
The 2005 season brought about several changes, including a new head coach, Ed Orgeron. Coach “O” was the defensive line coach at USC before taking the job at Ole Miss.
It was no secret that former Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe had let the team slip in terms of recruiting in his final years before being fired. Luckily, Coach “O” was named the National Recruiter of the Year in 2004 - just the type of person needed to bring in new talent.
Despite a pretty beefy defense, the QB fiasco continued in 2005 and the Rebs went 3-8, the worst record since 1987. 2006 proved to be a better year for Ole Miss, more in terms of recruiting than wins on the field.
Orgeron turned in a top 15 recruiting class, including 5-star JUCO QB Brent Schaeffer. Schaeffer was supposed to be the key to Ole Miss’ offensive problems, but he turned out to be more of a flop than anything else. Reasons for this include getting to campus late (aka not having enough time to learn the offense) and being out of shape upon arrival. Ole Miss went 4-8 in 2006.
So how do things shape up for Ole Miss in 2007? First, the bad. Ole Miss lost linebacker Patrick Willis after graduation (selected 11th in the NFL draft by the 49ers). Willis was the anchor of the defense, so it will be interesting to see how things fair on that side of the ball without his leadership.
Offensively, the Rebs look to be in much better shape, especially on the offensive line. Experience and depth were two big problems for the team last year, as Ole Miss played 17 true freshmen, ranking 2nd in the nation for most freshmen played. These guys all have a year of experience under their belt. Last year’s offensive gem also returns, senior first team ALL-SEC running back BenJarvis Green-Ellis, who rushed for 1,000 yards last year, becoming only the 3rd player in Ole Miss history to accomplish such a feat.
The issue of quarterback still remains, as Schaeffer enters his senior season in a tight race for the starting job against senior Seth Adams. Early reports have Adams in the lead for the starting job come September 1, but anything is possible at this point.
2008 looks to be the year of the quarterback, with recent transfer Jevan Snead set to take over the position (he must sit out this year due to NCAA transfer rules).
One look at the 2007 schedule and it’s clear that Ole Miss has their work cut out for them. The SEC has long been held as the toughest conference in the nation. This year’s schedule has Ole Miss facing some of the best in the nation, including defending national champions Florida who will trip to Oxford on September 22.
My early predictions have Ole Miss winning against Memphis, Vandy, Louisiana Tech, Northwestern State and Mississippi State. As was the case last year (losing four very close games, including overtime losses to LSU and Alabama on the road), an upset of one or two big schools isn’t out of the question . An upset win of one or two of these teams would put Ole Miss at 6+ wins, making them bowl eligible, for the first time since 2003.
As the season opener draws closer, I will be making more posts about the upcoming season. I have also created a new category specifically for Ole Miss football. Hotty Toddy and Go Rebs!
