SB Nation - Shay Hodge

SEC Power Poll All-SEC Results

Gamecock Man — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:16:43 -0000

The results for some of the SEC Power Poll All-SEC Results are rolling in. Check out Team Speed Kills for more information and check out the mentioned blogs for roll outs:

Quarterback: Tim Tebow (Alligator Army)
Running Backs: Mark Ingram, Dexter McCluster (Roll Bama Roll)
Wide Receivers: A.J. Green, Shay Hodge (Hey Jenny Slater)
Defensive Line: Terrence Cody, Antonio Coleman, Carlos Dunlap, Justin Houston / Cliff Matthews (War Blog Eagle)
Linebackers: Rolando McClain, Eric Norwood, Rennie Curran (Leftover Hot Dog)
Defensive Backs: Eric Berry, Joe Haden, Javier Arenas, Mark Barron (Gate 21)

SEC Power Poll All-SEC Team Ballot

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:56:05 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2009, file photo, Alabama running back Mark Ingram (22) runs past Mississippi defenders for a second quarter 36- yard touchdown run during an NCAA college football game in Oxford, Miss. Ingram won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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No frills or arguments here, just the ballot. It's pretty straightforward and will be compiled amongst the other blogs ballots to reach an SEC blogosphere All-SEC squad. Comment and criticize our selections, please.

QB - Ryan Mallett, Arkansas

HB - Mark Ingram, Alabama

HB - Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss

FB - Tim Tebow (lololololololol), Florida

WR - Shay Hodge, Ole Miss

WR - AJ Green, Georgia

TE - Colin Peek, Alabama

OL - Ciron Black, LSU

OL - Michael Johnson, Alabama

OL - Mike Pouncey, Florida

OL - James Carpenter, Alabama

OL - Maurkice Pouncey, Florida

DE - Carlos Dunlap, Florida

DE - Antonio Coleman, Auburn

DT - Terrence Cody, Alabama

DT - Jerrell Powe, Ole Miss (why the hell not?)

LB - Eric Norwood, South Carolina

LB - Rolando McClain, Alabama

LB - Brandon Spikes, Florida

S - Eric Berry, Tennessee

S - Chad Jones, LSU

CB - Joe Haden, Florida

CB - Patrick Peterson, LSU

K - Leigh Tiffin, Alabama

P - Drew Butler, Georgia

RET - Javier Arenas, Alabama

All-SEC Ballot: Draft

Gamecock Man — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:04:08 -0000

The SEC Power Poll is hosting an All-SEC poll. Here is a draft that reflects my first impressions--let me know what you think, and we may revise a bit if necessary.

Offense

QB: Ryan Mallett (Arkansas Razorbacks)

RB: Mark Ingram (Alabama Crimson Tide)

RB: Dexter McCluster (Ole Miss Rebels)

OG: Mike Johnson (Alabama Crimson Tide)

OG: Mike Pouncey (Florida Gators)

OT: Ciron Black (LSU Tigers)

OT: John Jerry (Ole Miss Rebels)

C: Maurkice Pouncey (Florida Gators)

TE: Aaron Hernandez (Florida Gators)

WR: A.J. Green (Georgia Bulldogs)

WR: Shay Hodge (Ole Miss Rebels)

Defense

DE: Cliff Matthews (South Carolina Gamecocks)

DE: Antonio Coleman (Auburn Tigers)

DT: Terrence Cody (Alabama Crimson Tide)

DT: Malcolm Sheppard (Arkansas Razorbacks)

LB: Eric Norwood (South Carolina Gamecocks)

LB: Rolando McClain (Alabama Crimson Tide)

LB: Rennie Curran (Georgia Bulldogs)

CB: Javier Arenas (Alabama Crimson Tide)

CB: Patrick Peterson (LSU Tigers)

S: Eric Berry (Tennessee Volunteers)

S: Joe Haden (Florida Gators)

Special Teams

PK: Blair Walsh (Georgia Bulldogs)

P: Drew Butler (Georgia Bulldogs)

RS: Javier Arenas (Alabama Crimson Tide)

You've got some explaining to do...

Many of these choices go without questions; nobody, for instance, will disagree with me about Mark Ingram, Rolando McClain, or Eric Berry. However, I do have a few bones to pick with conventional wisdom. Here's how I see such cases:

Ryan Mallett / Tim Tebow

As most people around here know, I'm a pretty big Tebow fan. The guy has had a great career, and although his sanctimonious, humble-but-really-not attitude can get to you sometimes, overall I don't have too many problems with him as a media phenomenon. It is what is. However, while I've been as guilty as anyone when it comes to giving Tebow confidence by inertia, I've come to believe it has to stop somewhere: Mallett was just better this year.

By the way, Ryan, if you're reading this, go to the NFL.

Dexter McCluster / Anthony Dixon

OK. I believe Anthony Dixon had a better year than McCluster at RB. However, I also believe that McCluster was one of the best and most valuable players in the SEC. I'm talking about on a par with Tebow, Ingram, you name it. So, I think we have to get him on the list somewhere. This is where I'm putting him. Unfortunately for him, McCluster was probably never used in the right way enough; this guy really was a minor Reggie-Bush-like talent.

Cliff Matthews / Carlos Dunlap

Dunlap is a jackass that showed his true colors when he signed with Florida instead of Sou...wait, when he drunkenly fell asleep at the wheel before the biggest SECCG ever. He failed his team. Despite his talent, that failure will always make him worse than Matthews in my mind.

Rennie Curran / Brandon Spikes

What can I say? I know it's surprising to see an UGA player on the defensive first team, but I think Curran is a great player. That might have something to do with his success against USC, but whatever. If this guy had a halfway decent DC, he'd be the talk of the nation. Spikes is a great player, but he's also a cog in a machine to some degree.

Well, that's a wrap on this draft. Let me know what you think.

A Head-Scratching Snub.

Acid Reign — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Butch Dill - AP

Auburn wide receiver Darvin Adams (89) frequently abused defensive backs! (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

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War Eagle, everybody. The post-season All-SEC teams are out now, and there aren't too many surprises. It looks like some reporters and sports information directors simply copied their preseason list over again. I guess they DID pay enough attention that Jevan Snead didn't get any votes.

I'd say the biggest surprise of the All-SEC voting was the complete absence of Auburn wide receiver Darvin Adams in the voting. The media voters select 5 wide receivers. Statistically, Darvin Adams was 5^th in receptions, 4^th in receiving yards per game, 3^rd in receiving yards, 2^nd in yards per catch, and tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns. In fact, there's not a single statistical category that Adams WASN'T in the top five. Somehow, Joe Adams of Arkansas made it in ahead of Adams, despite catching TWENTY fewer balls! Adams also finished behind Florida's Riley Cooper, despite having more catches, more yards per catch, and more touchdowns. A similar argument could be made against LSU's Brandon LaFell: fewer yards, and fewer yards per catch. Even compared to the starting All-SEC unit, Darvin Adams had a better yards per catch stat and more touchdowns than Shay Hodge of Ole Miss. When comparing Adams to Georgia's A. J. Green, Adams had more yards, more catches, a better yards per catch average, and more touchdowns. HOW does Adams not get AT LEAST honorable mention notice?

On the season, Darvin Adams finished with 48 catches for 855 yards and 10 touchdowns. War Eagle, Darvin Adams!

In another predictable but irritating snub, kicker Wes Byrum was left out of the all-star balloting. Byrum hit on 14 of 15 field goal attempts, and made all 49 of his extra point attempts. Byrum connected on 93.3 percent of his field goals. The selected All-SEC starter Leigh Tiffin was only good on 87.9 percent of his field goals, and missed THREE extra points. Second-team selection Blair Walsh only hit 90.5 percent of his field goals. What makes Byrum's snub easier to take is that he essentially lost because Auburn was scoring touchdowns in the red zone, rather than settling for 3. The Tigers converted 76% of their red-zone appearances into touchdowns, and got points 94% of the time overall.

There isn't an official offensive lineman stat page on the SEC website. But I'd take Auburn's Lee Ziemba over most of the 2^nd team offensive linemen, and a couple of the starters. Ziemba finished in the "honorable mention" category, surely a result of false starts. The sad fact is that Ziemba earned his reputation for jumping off in previous years. This year, he's actually been penalized less than you think! On false starts, Lee had 1 against La Tech, 1 against WVa, 1 against Furman, 1 against Georgia, and one against Alabama. That's a total of 5 false starts in a 12 game season, which is not many for a starting left tackle. Ziemba had no holding calls against him, all year. And the only other penalty was on his ineligible catch in the Georgia game. How many sacks did Ziemba give up? I don't remember but one, and it was when Ziemba was trying to get over on a corner blitz that was probably not even his responsibility. All in all, Lee Ziemba was the best lineman on a pretty tough Auburn unit.

Let's hear it for the left-out Tigers that led our team! War Eagle!

Other Musings from Championship Week, after the jump.

Once again, we see the need in the Football Bowl Subdivision for a post-season playoff. The argument against undefeated TCU and Boise State for playing in weak, non-BCS leagues is somewhat legit. Big East Champ Cincinnati plays in a BCS conference, went undefeated, and got left out. Rather than play for a national title, Cincy will be taking on a frustrated Gator group. Coach Brian Kelly appears to be headed for Notre Dame, and the Bearcats will be facing a fired up Gator group without their leader. It's a bitter end to a great Cincy season.

As to the Texas Longhorns, has there ever been a more disrespected number two team in the national title game? Oh, yes! I remember about 17 years ago the national press was moaning over a team that had a whole schedule full of single-digit wins, that would NEVER be able to challenge the top-ranked Hurricanes. I think we all remember how that 1993 Sugar Bowl turned out, with the Tide stomping Miami into goo. I'd suggest that the Tide not take Texas lightly. The book on the Longhorns is to contain McCoy and cover Shipley. However, the overlooked part of the 'horn team is their run defense. Alabama will have a tough time replicating their SEC Championship Game effort on offense, I think.

Fellow track'em writer War Eagle Atlanta posted an excellent question earlier this week: Will Auburn fans cheer for the Tide, or the Longhorns? If Alabama loses, I'll snicker and try to get glimpses of Nick Saban's face on the sideline. But there is no hairy way I really want the SEC to lose the BCS title game. We'll never hear the end of it, from the national media, if the SEC loses that game. Yes, I want Alabama to win. No, I absolutely will NOT be screaming "Roll Tide" at my TV that night. Hopefully, I'll be sitting quietly in my chair with a Klondike and a stinger, enjoying a good football game.

It's a difficult time to be a Florida Gator. One of the prices for success is that your assistant coaches become hot commodities. Florida's loss of Tim Tebow pales compared to the amount of talent and experience that has left the Florida coaching staff in the past two seasons. How Urban Meyer rebuilds his staff will be key. It could be a tough transition period ahead.

What a difference a year makes! This time last season, we were jeering the Auburn coaching search. This year, we're cheering a promising foundation, and lauding Jay Jacobs' pitch to the Outback Bowl. Well done, sir, well done!

Rebel Roundup - 12/8/09 - A bunch of Nutt to Kansas talk

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:05:27 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

I honestly can't say I'd miss him all that much if he were to go.

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All-SEC Team | SEC Sports dot com
Dexter McCluster, John Jerry, and Shay Hodge are first teamers, while Jerrell Powe and Dexter McCluster are second teamers. Yes, Dexter McCluster is both first team (APB) and second team (HB) in the nation's greatest football conference. All hail Dexter McCluster.

The Coaches' Poll Is Bat Country | SB Nation
In mocking the voters in the USA Today coaches poll, SBNation's Holly Anderson says:

But the clear "winner", if that's the right term, is Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, who has Georgia Tech and LSU in his top ten, no vote for Stanford or West Virginia, Utah at No. 16, Houston at No. 17, and Ole Miss at No. 19. Pssst, Mullen: Houston Nutt's got the yeehaw-crazy schtick all sewn up in your state. And there ain't room for two of him.

I'm just surprised the people at USA Today could interpret Dan Mullen's ballot, what with it being a list of schools given only in obscure geographic terms and all (ed: that sounds like a great post idea) (ed by Juco: why did you put an editor's note into your own post?).

Get to Know a Coaching Candidate | Rock Chalk Talk
Now into the fun football rumor of the week (a rumor which caused Google to send approximately a billion people to the Cup yesterday), the folks at SBNation's Kansas Jayhawk's site, Rock Chalk Talk, take a look at Houston Nutt's career in an attempt to determine if he's right for Kansas.

Houston Nutt? Kansas?!? | Team Speed Kills
Cock 'n' Fire is rightfully dumbfounded by this rumor:

Why on earth would Houston Nutt leave a semi-successful rebuilding job at Ole Miss to coach at a basketball school in the Big XII? I mean, aside from things like an undiagnosed mental illness...Maybe they don't have open-records laws in Kansas; I'm not sure.

Brandt's Info on the Situation
David Brandt reports that Shepard Smith says the rumor is totally bogus. I'll sleep better now. (Actually, I was sleeping fine anyway.)

The Ten from the last Ten - Honorable Mentions, 10, and 9

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:53:26 -0000

In a few weeks, 2009 will give way to 2010 and, with that, awesomely tacky New Years Eve glasses and a relatively successful decade of Rebel football will become things of the past. With this, we at the Cup feel it appropriate to recap these last ten years with who we feel are the ten greatest football Rebels of this time span.

After a hearty round of email debate, the top four were more or less decided upon unanimously. But there was significant contention amongst the remaining selections. You're welcome, if not encouraged, to contend with our selections as well.

Today we'll have the honorable mentions along with numbers 10 and 9. We'll have 8-5 tomorrow and 4-1 either Friday evening or Saturday morning, we hope.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (no particular order)

Terrence Metcalf - OT - Left in 2002 - Metcalf was, along with Romaro Miller, part of one of the best Ole Miss signing classes ever. Coming off of probation, Ole Miss was able to ink both Metcalf and Miller--a par of Mississippians on the Parade All-American list--stealing them away from an aggressively recruiting Alabama Crimson Tide program. Metcalf anchored the Rebel line for many years, earning a reputation as an aggressive, strong blocker. He protected Eli's blind side during his record-setting sophomore year before going on to a good career with the Chicago Bears.

Romaro Miller - QB - 2000 - Romaro Miller is, statistically speaking, the best Rebel quarterback not named Manning. Sure, Kent Austin, John Darnell, Stewart Patridge, and even Jevan Snead have done great things in a Rebel uniform, but none were as exciting to watch as Miller.

Johnathan Nichols - K - 2003 - I know you won the Lou Groza award, but we still can't forgive you.

Derrick Burgess - DE - 2001 - A former first team All-SEC defensive end, Derrick Burgess is now in the throes of a successful NFL career which has seen him make two trips to the Pro Bowl.

Greg Hardy - DE - Still on roster - If it weren't for injuries, gr3gxxz could easily be in this list's top five. He will undoubtedly go down as one of the most entertaining Ole Miss Rebels ever, both on and off the field.

Chris Spencer - C - 2005 - An all-around good guy and a solid blocker, Spencer was picked up in the first round by the Seattle Seahawks where he is still starting at the offensive center position.

Chris Collins - WR - 2003 - Eli Manning's go-to guy, Collins was the record holder for receiving yards in a season up until just a few weeks ago when Shay Hodge overtook him.

Now, onto the real deal.

NUMBER TEN

BenJarvus Green-Ellis - RB - 2008
While he will be a relatively unsung hero in the lore of Ole Miss Rebel football, his place as one of our programs greatest runners will not be overlooked by the Cup. Green-Ellis is only the second Rebel to ever post back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons. He was a workhorse back who favored lowering his shoulder and driving forward to juking or spinning in order to get an extra few yards. BJGE was named to the All-SEC first team by the Associated Press after his successful senior season. As it stands today, he is an oft-used reserve for the New England Patriots.

NUMBER NINE

Mike Wallace - WR - 2009 - As one of the fastest Ole Miss players ever, Mike Wallace was Jevan Snead's deep target during the last half of the 2008-9 season. Perhaps no Rebel has ever been able to stretch the field quite like Wallace, who is now arguably the best rookie wide receiver in the NFL as the third wideout for the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his final two years in Oxford, he was able to make the secondaries of Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, and Texas Tech look downright slow. He also performed well in kick return duties.

That's all for now.

A tip of the hat goes to Dr. Saturday for the inspiration and Thile via Twitter for the nudge.

Hodge Sets Record, Few Notice

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:52:17 -0000

More photos » by Kerry Smith - AP

Shay Hodge, the greatest Rebel receiver ever?

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Lost in the "oh woe are we we lost to those idiots" shuffle over the last few days comes this ever-so-important piece of Rebel football news: Shay Hodge became the very first Ole Miss Rebel to tally 1,000 yards receiving in one season.

That's correct. Only one Rebel has ever had 1,000 yards receiving, and Shay Hodge is it. His 2009 stats line as it stands now reads 63 receptions for 1,023 yards and 8 touchdowns. Over the course of the season, that comes out to 85.3 yards receiving per game at 16.2 yards per catch. That is noticeably better than than the stats line set by Chris Collins in 2003 (77 receptions for 949 yards and 7 touchdowns, 12.3 yards per catch and 73 yards per game), and he had Eli Manning throwing the ball to him.

At this rate, he'll finish with just over 1,100 yards after our Cotton Bowl matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys; but, considering the fact that we are playing a Big XII "defense," it could end up significantly higher. Assuming he pulls in a touchdown during the bowl, his career stats could look something like 175 receptions for 2600 yards and 23 touchdowns. Wow. I doubt we'll see many Ole Miss receivers come close to such numbers anytime soon.

"Greatest Rebel Wideout EVAR" is not too bad a title for a lightly recruited athlete out of Morton High School, now is it?

Congratulations, Shay. Here's to you, your career at Ole Miss, and your hopefully long career in the League.

Know Your Opponent: That College Up North

jeremyflint — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:56:53 -0000

Here is a late Q & A with the guys over at Red Cup Rebellion. The Egg Bowl kicks off tomorrow at 11:21am CT on SEC Sports Network. GTHOM!

1. Ole Miss started the season with a lot of hype and presictions of greatness. Has the season lived up to expectations? Why or why not?

If you had asked this question of me a month ago, I would have answered with a resounding "no." However, our offense has averaged over 450 yards per game since then, and our defense looks to be crushing opposing ballcarriers.

Before the season began, I predicted that the Rebels would go 10-2 with losses to Alabama and Arkansas, placing them second in the West. Assuming that we take care of business against MSU this Saturday, we will have fallen only one win short of that and still place second in the West.

As the fan of a team from Mississippi, it's foolish to be dissatisfied with nine regular season wins.

2. Dexter McCluster is obviously the centerpiece of the Rebel offense. If you were Carl Torbush, how would you try and limit his success in the game?

Honestly, I know this would be crazy, but I would move a fast safety into your linebacking corps and spy Dexter with him on every single play in which Dex is in the game. If you try to do what LSU did, getting Chad Jones to spy McCluster out of a traditional safety spot, Snead will simply pick on that safety's side of the field. The key is having someone with Dexter McCluster's speed whose only job is to take care of McCluster.

Still, Dexter's best quality is his ability to make something out of nothing. Plenty of times in the last few games, opposing defenses have had players in the right place only to see Dexter switch directions or simply outrun said defenders. He's lighting in a bottle, and there's no true way to stop him.

3. Aside from McCluster, what other weapons does Jevan Snead have available.

Well, I don't know if you have ever heard of Shay Hodge. He leads the SEC in receiving yards. Hodge is obviously Jevan's favorite target, and it has shown. Shay catches many many more balls than any other receiver, and Jevan appears to stare him down sometimes.

But we have some other receivers and backs worth noting.

Tailback/Fullback/H-Back Brandon Bolden has soft hands and can make something happen after he catches the ball out of the backfield. He's a devastating runner who can level players in the secondary.

Our only tight end of note in the passing game is Ferbia Allen, a freshman who may not have many catches but has made his touches matter. Against Tennessee, Allen had an incredible catch for a first down on a ball that was poorly thrown and required a lay-out grab.

The other receivers of note are Markeith Summers, a balanced receiver who has a little trouble bringing the ball in sometimes, Lionel Breaux, a speed receiver who also has trouble bringing the ball in, and Patrick Patterson who has no trouble holding onto the ball but can't get separation to save his life.

4. Give me the run-down of your best players on both sides of the ball.

I'm going to assume you meant along the lines since I've essentially already discussed all the skill players on offense.

On the offensive line, John Jerry was a decent right tackle. Then true freshman mammoth Bobby Massie was moved to the starting job at RT allowing Jerry to move to right guard. It turns out that while Jerry was only an adequate tackle, he's a fantastic guard. Baby J has been able to open countless holes for the running game, and Massie has also played well. The late-season line adjustment is just what the doctor ordered.

On the defensive line, our best pass-rushing defensive end is done for the season in Greg Hardy, but the line is still full of stars. In fact, the two best return (fingers crossed) next season. Juniors Kentrell Lockett (DE) and Jerrell Powe (NT) are phenoms who get after the quarterback as well as they bring down the ball carrier. It's a pleasure to watch them both play as they both specialize in disrupting the backfield and busting plays.

5. How do you see this game playing out and what will the final score be?

I don't think it's just the Rebel in me that's calling this a win for Ole Miss. MSU has nothing for which to play, and the Rebels are shooting for a Capital One Bowl berth with this win. Sure, it's a rivalry, but, much to the surprise of many fans, the better team has usually won for the past decade or so. Here, Ole Miss is the better team.

I imagine that we'll have trouble containing Anthony Dixon, but the defense has come up strong against some great backs, and I can't imagine Dixon having a day like he did against Kentucky. We'll be keying in on him, and neither Tyson Lee nor Chris Relf have the arm to beat our secondary.

On offense, I imagine we'll just continue to let McCluster run wild, but if State keys in on him too much, we'll use him as a distraction like we did against LSU. Your defense can't overcommit to McCluster, or you're toast.

Rebels win 31-17.

WR Markques Simas' Emergence Bodes Well for the Future

irish1611 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:20:15 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

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For the past two years and most of year three, we heard the rumors of redshirt sophomore WR Markques Simas' potential. Apparently, he was making the first team defense look silly on the scout team and once he dedicated himself both on and off the field, he would be something special. After Simas was ruled ineligible last year and suspended for the first two games of this season for an off-the-field incident, many Buff fans wondered if this would be another one of those players who was highly recruited that wouldn't pan out.

Simas, in his third year at Colorado, finally caught his first ball and touchdown against West Virginia. The next four games, the 6'2" 215 pound receiver never had more than three receptions in any single game. But then November rolled around...and something seemed to click between the receiver and his quarterback Tyler Hansen.

The last three weeks, Simas has been everything Buff fans dreamed for and more, turning in performances that bring back memories of top flight receivers of the past. Colorado fans have been clamoring for a bona fide number one receiver for a while now. Going back to 2004, Colorado's leading receiver has not gone over 600 yards and in two of those years, the Buffs leading receiver had 226 yards and 449 yards.

Just in the month of November, Markques Simas has 25 receptions and 355 yards. If he kept that production up over a full season, he would total 100 receptions, 1,412 yards and 8 touchdowns. Now that is a #1 receiver. It is clear Hansen and Simas have developed a nice report.

As you can see from the chart below (for optimal viewing, click the "wide view" button on the top right of the page), Simas ranks 10th in the nation for yards/game in the month of November among all receivers. He is surrounded by some pretty good company as well:

Top Receivers for the Month of November
#	Name	Team	Yr	Pos	G	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec./G	Yards/G
1	Danario Alexander	Missouri	SR	WR	3	34	587	17.26	5	11.3	195.7
2	Damaris Johnson	Tulsa	SO	WR	3	41	475	11.59	1	13.7	158.3
3	Antonio Brown	C Mich	JR	WR	2	24	299	12.46	2	12.0	149.5
4	Greg Salas	Hawai'i	JR	WR	3	34	435	12.79	3	11.3	145.0
5	Freddie Barnes	BGSU	SR	WR	3	30	428	14.27	5	10.0	142.7
6	Jordan Shipley	Texas	SR	WR	3	27	427	15.81	4	9.0	142.3
7	Golden Tate	Notre Dame	JR	WR	3	27	368	13.63	3	9.0	122.7
8	Emmanuel Sanders	SMU	SR	WR	3	21	364	17.33	4	7.0	121.3
9	Shay Hodge	Miss	SR	WR	3	19	363	19.11	3	6.3	121.0
10	Markques Simas	Colorado	SO	WR	3	25	355	14.2	2	8.3	118.3

It would be disrespectful not to mention the stellar play of WR Scotty McKnight. He catches a bad wrap because he is not a game breaker but McKnight has been solid and has led the Buffs in receiving yards for the past three seasons, something that should not be forgotten. McKnight has put up some amazing numbers in his three year career at Colorado. He has caught at least one pass in 34 straight games, a Colorado record, meaning he has caught a pass in every game he has played in. He ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 779 receiving yards in 2009, which is 44th in the nation.

Combine McKnight and Simas with Michigan transfer Toney Clemons and next year, this looks like a potential unit of strength. Also, don't forget 2009 signees Jarrod Darden, Terdema Ussery, Will Jefferson and Andre Simmons should be up to speed and challenging for playing time next year. It is not known whether WR/CB Anthony Wright will remain on the offensive side next year but if he does, that is another athlete that could make a difference.

Rebel Roundup - 11/23/09 - Ghost slept until 10:30 Edition

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:02:40 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Shortly after the taking of this photograph, an iffy review call involving Shay Hodge, a reception, a team which is "better" than Ole Miss, and a potential swing first down or touchdown occurred. It went against our Rebels' fortunes, again. Sorry Shay, but you're probably used to this by now.

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Today's Rebel Roundup is Brought to you by Lipton's
I'm sitting here in my brother's Oxford town house, nursing a sore throat with a delicious cup of hot green tea, and generally wishing the festivities of the weekend that was would have never come to a close. Also, I aInT gOtTa Go To WoRk so that's pretty awesome as well. While I'm still in Mississippi and Louisiana over the next few days, I'm going to make sure to get as much Southern Pecan, fried catfish, and biscuits and gravy in my belly as possible. Wish me luck.

Ten Games Revisited: No. 4 | Team Speed Kills
In this series, the fellas at Team Speed Kills take a look at what they got right and wrong in when they looked at a November game back in August.

2009 Bowl Projections | The Rivalry, Esq.
The Rivalry, Esq., SBNation's Big Ten (slower) equivalent of the SEC's Team Speed Kills, projects the Rebels to meet the Nittany Lions of Penn State in Orlando come January 1. Joe Pa, bring it.

Rebel pass rushers turn up the pressure | The Clarion-Ledger
We've got lots of hot Brandt action for you this morning. This piece focuses on Emmanuel Stephens emergence and the solid play of the DL en masse.

UM’s Neely gains league honor | The Clarion-Ledger
And this one just gives some props to Left Guard Ried Neely for being named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

'Six halfback pass' | The Clarion-Ledger
And this one is a fun read on the go-ahead touchdown score involving the tricky pass from Dex to Shay.

"I could see down the field and there was Shay," McCluster said. "He was so wide open. Anybody could have thrown that one."

Congrats, Dex. You earned that one.

Rebels Drop Title Game To No. 5 Villanova | OleMissSports.com
Chris Warren scored 24 points, but No. 5 Villanova used a big second half to hand Ole Miss a 79-67 loss in the championship game of the 2009 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Lost in the fray of the frustration we Rebel basketball fans feel from the game last night is the fact that we played the number five team in the nation. I know it's a bit defeatist of an approach, but we still performed very well in those circumstances, despite the loss. Yes, the frustration is compounded by the fact that we did maintain leads and we did even have the game knotted up at half, but all things considered, I'm proud of Kennedy's squad so far.