Monday, January 7, 2013

Great Expectations for Ole Miss

Ole Miss may need more Gatorade next year.
(by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics)
by Jake Adams

Ole Miss' 38-17 win over Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl launched expectations for 2013 far into the stratosphere. The Rebels already had plenty of momentum going into the weekend. With a near miss against LSU followed by a convincing win over Mississippi State, not to mention the tremendous excitement surround recruiting, most already considered the Rebels to be a team that was trending upward, but Saturday's manhandling of Pitt had a trampoline effect on what to expect from Ole Miss in 2013. They call it "the Bowl Bounce." Ole Miss' bounce more closely resembles one of McKayla Maroney's launches in the Olympic vault.

And why shouldn't it?

The Rebels return nearly every starter from a team that finished 7-6 and were just a slightly tougher defense away from 9-3. With its two most recent performances defensive coordinator Dave Wommack's defense looks like it's getting close to turning the table.

And Ole Miss' improvement is perfectly timed with a shifting paradigm in the SEC's western division.

LSU is in for a rebuilding year after losing half its defense to the draft, and it doesn't look like Les Miles will ever have it together on offense, no matter the talent. Arkansas and Auburn are also in rebuilding situations after down years.

While it's difficult to fathom the Rebels being better than BCS perennial Alabama or Johnny Manziel's Texas A&M, Ole Miss did give both those teams all they wanted and more this year. You never know. My very early prediction is for Ole Miss to finish 3rd in the West behind Alabama and A&M, which should be good enough for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl or the Cotton Bowl or perhaps even one of the Florida games.

That would be an incredible turnaround in just two years for Hugh Freeze. Is it unrealistic? Maybe, but we have eight months to talk more about it.

On the eve of the Compass Bowl, I wrote that Ole Miss fans viewed it as a launch point to something great, something remarkable, and that was the reason they filled up the City of Birmingham. Saturday afternoon we may have seen lift off.

Today's Ole Miss Headlines:
I know nothing about Wallace's shoulder other than it bothered him for most of the season. There were times he made throws where it looked like he couldn't get as much on the ball as he is normally capable, but there were other times he threw absolute lasers, like that first touchdown pass to Ja-Mes Logan on Saturday, which was rifled in between three defenders. Hopefully the surgery is minor and Wallace will heal quickly. Wallace's SEC experience is irreplaceable, and the quicker he returns for practice this spring the better. As I've said before, his first year sets Wallace up to become a legendary Ole Miss quarterback if he can stay healthy.

2. Robert Nkemdiche will only visit Ole Miss and LSU.

3. Ole Miss future is very, very bright.