Thursday, November 28, 2013

Ole Miss Lays a Rotten Egg Bowl

We could rehash the game story, but let's not. You watched. We all watched. Bo Wallace had one of his worst nights as an Ole Miss quarterback, the Rebels couldn't run or do anything else, and as the offense coughed and sputtered the Rebels eventually let an even worse, anemic, underdog Mississippi State hang around too long.

I could see it unfolding as injured Bulldog quarterback Dak Prescott started warming up on the sideline late in the 4th quarter. To that point the game had gone almost precisely according to Dan Mullen's dreams, and he was about to apply the dagger.
Prescott scored the winning touchdown in overtime.

The Rebels played so badly they couldn't even take advantage of the gift missed field goal at the end of the 4th quarter that sent the game into extra time, and true to his overall performance on this night, Wallace fumbled away the game on what would have been a tying touchdown run to give Mississippi State the 17-10 final score.

Wallace, who had only six interceptions over the entire season before kickoff, threw three picks in the first half.  It was his worst night as an Ole Miss quarterback by far, but he wasn't alone in it.

It had to be Hugh Freeze's worst game experience as head coach at Ole Miss. The Rebels could do nothing right. The team finished with just 318 total yards.

But the worst part is that the Bulldog offense played even more badly (296 total yards), and Ole Miss still couldn't take advantage.

The lone Mississippi State touchdown in regulation was the result of an automatic 1st down caused by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Robert Nkemdiche.

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

It was just one of those nights. The kind you want to forget, and quickly.

But that's the problem with Egg Bowls. Nobody forgets.

We'll be reminded of this one all year, and for good reason. Before this game Ole Miss was feeling a bit uppity about its status within the state of Mississippi. The Rebels were winning in recruiting, had a better overall record and seemed to have more positive momentum headed into the off season as the Bulldogs floundered through their SEC schedule.

Not anymore.

Dan Mullen is back. Ole Miss missed a big opportunity to put Mullen down and keep him there with this loss. The Rebels could have set themselves apart from a 5-7 Mississippi State with two consecutive Egg Bowl losses. Hugh Freeze could have elevated his stature as the hot coach with the exciting offense. Mullen might have even found himself on the "hot seat" next year.

On this night the Ole Miss offense was anything but exciting, and Freeze looked the part of the frustrated mere mortal powerless to make his team go.

As for Mullen, he'll get an extension next week. Book it.

It's their State again, and the billboards will pop up soon enough to prove it.

Now Ole Miss (7-5, 3-5 SEC) seems destined for a Music City or Liberty Bowl, and will go either place with the bad taste of a rotten Egg Bowl loss lingering in their mouths.

Mississippi State (6-6, 3-5), is playing with house money, and will enjoy its bowl.

Where do we go from here?

Freeze will head right back out on the recruiting trail and try to find a few more players to get this team moving again. All is certainly not lost even though it may feel that way at this moment. The Rebels' best players this year are all freshmen. This team should and will continue to get better. Freeze just needs a few more like Conner, Tunsil, Treadwell and Nkemdiche. The nucleus is there. The Rebels need more pieces.

But it's a process and it will take time.

Until then there's Mississippi State. The Bulldogs won fair and square. Mullen lives, and now it's time to take our medicine.

Sunday we'll go to church and say, "Good game". Monday we'll go to work and do the same.

But Freeze better get to work on that recruiting trail. We can't take much more of this.