No. 25 Florida - 38, No. 3 Ole Miss - 10. Ouch. The Rebels got their back side handed to them Saturday night in the Swamp. There is no other way to put it. Short and simply, this game sucked. As a fan, it's not going to stop sucking, not next week when Ole Miss (hopefully) beats New Mexico State. Not the week after when who knows what happens in the Liberty Bowl. Start praying for when Texas A&M comes to town. I don't think anyone will be able to get over this one until (and if) Ole Miss can beat the Aggies at home in three weeks. They are going to need every single day of those three weeks to try and fix the glaring problems that the Gators exposed. The uniforms didn't look good either, as Ole Miss came out in Navy helmets, white jersey, and Navy pants with the heinous "REBELS" word mark down the leg. Can we just go ahead and burn those, please? Florida came out in their Orange monochrome look, sure to be a go to in big games from here on out. So where to start?
@OleMissFB
How about with something good, kind of? Chad Kelly sort-of-kinda proved himself as "the guy" last night. In spite of a real butt whipping, Kelly was the only glimmer of hope last night on offense. We're talking sunlight through a crack in the pitch black basement glimmer, but a glimmer still. If it wasn't for his ability to evade the rush at times, and make some very difficult throws, Ole Miss may have never even sniffed a point on the scoreboard. The offensive line got absolutely victimized last night, and Kelly stood in and took blow after blow, and got up every time. It would have been very easy for him to just throw in the towel, but he kept competing, even with the game out of hand. He didn't leave the sideline for the locker room before the game was over, and he showed a lot of heart. Granted, he did not play great. That can't solely be placed on the offensive line struggles, but in no way, shape, or form did it help his cause. Now, give credit where credit is due. Florida had an outstanding game plan, and they executed it to perfection. Coach McElwain has done a phenomenal job turning the Gators program around and developing his quarterback, Will Grier, who looked like Tom Brady against the Rebels. The Gator defense has plenty of talent, and it was on full display as they completely discombobulated the Ole Miss offense.
Did I mention that it's rough up front? The offensive line is the most obvious and glaringly bad unit of this team. They can't protect Chad, and there is an obvious reason Ole Miss is so anemic running the football. This line is beaten down and bruised, shuffled around and inexperienced. Laremy Tunsil's ongoing suspension/investigation does not help one bit. But as beat up as they are, that is not an excuse to be as bad as the Rebels were Saturday night. With the recruiting that Hugh Freeze has been able to do in Oxford over the last couple of years, it is very hard to believe that the depth is just that bad at Ole Miss. Something else is wrong. Maybe it's the scheme, the coaching, the system, or even just bad luck, but something has got to be fixed. With the meat of the schedule approaching quickly, there isn't much time to fix it.
Do not even get me started on the issues with the red zone offense, and yes, this does somewhat fall on the offensive line as well (I promise I'm not just picking on the big guys up front.), but the play calling was suspect at best. For starters, I can not understand for the life of me why inside the ten yard line the Rebels can't seem to take a shot throwing the ball up to Laquon Treadwell when he's matched up in single coverage. I mean, he is only arguably the best, most physical, wide receiver in college football. Let him make a play. I can't think of any defensive back that could handle him one-on-one and be able to completely shut him down. Second, would it kill them to have a package where the quarterback lines up under center? How about some straight up, down hill, run blocking and carrying? I'm not getting paid the big bucks, but I don't see other teams having too much trouble doing it, and after Saturday's outing, could it really get worse? Just go under center, put Robert Nkemdiche or Big Lig at fullback, and let Wilkins follow behind and lower his head for a yard or two. But, like I said, I don't get paid the big bucks to make these sort of decisions, yet.
On the other side of the ball, I would love to believe that the defense is really good, just underperforming, and to an extent they are. But, maybe they are not as good as the hype, especially in the backfield? Yes, having Tony Conner out hurts, badly at times, but this was supposed to be the deepest/best defensive backfield to come through Oxford, right? For the third week in a row, the defense got dinked and dunked up and down the field five and six yards at a time. I don't know whether or not to credit that to coaching and scheme, or simply that the defensive backs just can't get there in time to defend it. Would it hurt to play a little press coverage? One would think not after the 5th hitch or out completion in a row. I'm not sure that there is or can be a quick fix, but getting Tony Conner back for A&M can't hurt.
The defensive line is everything it is supposed to be, and Robert Nkemdiche has yet to stop wreaking havoc, almost single handedly, but that alone is not enough. They are being rendered almost ineffective by the quick passing game of the opposing offense.
Josh McCoy/@OleMissPix
Josh McCoy/@OleMissPix
To sum it up, it's a long season and there is a lot of football to be played. With a win over Alabama in their pocket and Texas A&M, Arkansas, and LSU on the home schedule, the Rebels still control their own destiny as far as getting to Atlanta. Their College Football Playoff hopes took a big hit, but it would be hard to believe that a one loss SEC Champion could be left out of the four team field. So on paper, everything is still there and attainable for the Rebs. I say on paper because personally, I do not think if Ole Miss continues on the trend of the last two weeks that they will be able to run the table, not even close. It's going to be hard to beat anybody with a performance like we got in Gainesville, and realistically, right now every game looks tough. Memphis is quietly 5-0, and the trip up I-55 just got a lot more interesting. Texas A&M is currently 5-0 with one of the better quarterbacks in the conference throwing it around pretty well. Arkansas isn't sure what they are yet, but a senior quarterback and serviceable running game look be tough to stop if you have been watching the same Ole Miss team I have. LSU, while very one dimensional right now, is also 5-0 and has Leonard Fournette. That in itself is enough to worry even the best of defenses, and it is a good possibility that the Tigers are able to open up their passing game between now and November 21st. Auburn and Mississippi State seem to have just as many problems as Ole Miss, if not more, but those games now look to be interesting as well. There is a lot of improving to do for the Rebs, and the rest of the schedule isn't really helping any, but that does not mean it can't be done. It would be awesome to run the table from here on out, and possibly avenge this loss to the Gators in the SEC Championship Game, but after watching what happened to this team Saturday night, it's just hard to realistically believe the Rebels can get to December without another loss or two, even for the most optimistic of fans. To put it bluntly, the Florida game was downright embarrassing. So guys, let's get it together and fight our way back to the top. We can only go up from here, right?
Needless to say, I will still be in talkin' trash and cheerin' for the Rebs next week, and every week after that. If anybody wants to see a turnaround, I promise it's this guy, and I'll be the first to happily eat my words when it happens.
Didn't get to make the trip to the Swamp due to fraternity/sorority rush, so no tailgating pic this week. So I'll go ahead and take this opportunity to brag on my beautiful, Katy Perry theme dressed, girlfriend up top. She killed it this week, and I couldn't be more proud, so girls, go AOΠ. And while I'm at it, my brothers and I over at ATΩ hauled in a pretty good cruitin' class of our own. How bout them Taus?
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