The 40-day wait is over. Ole Miss gets the chance to tie a giant red and blue bow on its first season under head coach Hugh Freeze with a win against the Pitt Panthers in today's BBVA Compass Bowl (noon, ESPN). On paper at least these two teams seem fairly evenly matched. Both are 6-6. Both have offenses able to move the ball down the field in chunks. And both showed the ability to play tough against some of the country's best football teams, Pitt narrowly losing to Notre Dame and Ole Miss just missing against Texas A&M and LSU. This should be a good contest. Here are the keys to a Rebel victory:
1. Run the Ball. Bo Wallace is at his best when Jeff Scott is doing well. If Pitt is able to shut the running game down it could be a long day for Wallace. However, if Scott gets a couple big runs early it will take the pressure off Wallace and really open the field up for Wallace to make plays with his arm to Moncrief & Co.
2. No turnovers (duh). If there's one thing Pitt does well it's hold on to the football. Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri has just two INTs on the year. Ole Miss needs to follow suit.
3. Pressure the Quarterback. Sunseri has over 3,000 yards passing this year. The Rebels can't afford to let him sit in the pocket or he'll pick the secondary apart with his two very good receivers. The Rebels need to get in Sunseri's face and get in it early.
4. Feed Moncrief.
