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| "I love you bro!" (Ole Miss Athletics/Joshua McCoy) |
Ole Miss' 38-17 BBVA Compass Bowl win over Pitt was never in question thanks to an overpowering and relentless Rebel defense that manhandled the Panther offensive line from start to finish. Every play looked like a possible jail break and a danger to the health of any gold helmet unfortunate enough to have the ball in his hands.
Pitt managed just 266 yards total and converted on only four 3rd downs. The Panthers were toothless against a tenacious Rebel D.
It was a Land Shark kind of day and the perfect encore for an Ole Miss defense that stymied Mississippi State in a season-best showing in November's Egg Bowl. In a season filled with defensive ups and downs many wondered if the Rebels would be able to repeat that same success against Pitt. There was no doubt but that the Rebels were significantly improved from being the SEC's worst defense in 2011. Unlike 2011, effort has not been a problem, but lapses and late-game let-downs kept Ole Miss from winning a few that got away.
Consistency and finishing were the missing ingredients.
Freeze said that despite the disappointing late-game collapses against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and LSU the Rebels kept working, tried to get better, and didn't give up. Judging by the last 8 quarters of Ole Miss defensive domination something finally clicked. It's undeniable that this group is dramatically better than the one that let Vanderbilt walk away, or the one that had Johnny Manziel bottled up all the way until late in the 4th quarter. Something changed. According to the coaches and players that something wasn't a scheme. It wasn't better knowledge of the playbook, experience or a sudden infusion of talent.
It was love. Love? That's right - L-O-V-E. Love.
To a man, the Ole Miss players credit their new-found philosophy of unselfish play as the reason for their transformation into a team that's just as tough at the end as the beginning.
“It’s about finishing the game and playing for the guy next to you instead of playing for yourself," linebacker Mike Marry said. "When you play for the person next to you then you play that much harder.”
Defensive leader Denzel Nkemdiche concurred.
"When we finally started clicking and becoming like brothers it went to another level," Nkemdiche said.
Love. Freeze preaches it and the players believe it. The Rebels are suddenly the Land Sharks again. Who are we to question?
If all this lovey dovey stuff sounds like something straight out of a Freeze pregame speech it's because it is.
"You're going to play out of love for each other!" Freeze implored his team in his now famous Egg Bowl pregame speech, inspiring them to play out of love for one another instead of hatred for their opponent.
Afterwards, the Rebels went out and loved the Bulldogs all over the field, winning 41-24.
Love worked, and since then it has really caught on.
Ole Miss loved each other so much and so well in the Compass Bowl that Pitt looked like a team that would love to be anywhere but Birmingham by the end of the 3rd quarter. They'd rather run on 3rd and 8 and punt than risk another bear hug from a Rebel pass rusher.
Love really is powerful, and it's an essential ingredient to the Freeze formula, right along with 365 days of recruiting, the spread offense and 60 minutes of passion.
"I know that we get judged on wins and losses," Freeze said after the Compass Bowl, "but at the end of the day, it’s about a journey together in life. There’s a lot of love in that locker room, and that will be here ten years down the road."
It may sound cliche or just plain cheesy but the proof is in the pudding of successive games where Ole Miss' defense dominated its opponent. While Dave Wommack's clever schemes and the teams increased experience certainly play their part the players believe there's more to it than alignment. Something deeper. Ole Miss is now a team totally transformed - by love.
Don't laugh. Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell and Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri aren't. For those two unfortunate souls, love hurt.
Ole Miss loses only one starter off this year's rapidly improving defense. Wommack's youth movement of freshmen and sophomores will pay off with an experienced team energized by its late-season success. A team that believes. A team that loves one another.
Marry, for one, can't wait.
"We are not where we want to be right now," Marry said, "but we are trying to get there and we are ready to put in more work so we can get better next year.”
Thousands upon thousands of Rebel fans drove home from Birmingham Saturday night dreaming of exactly that.
Bring on the love.