SB Nation - Marshay Green

Tigers Hold On Against the Rebels!

Acid Reign — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:33:37 -0000

(Head Coach Gene Chizik never shows emotion!)

War Eagle, everybody! It's the first happy football weekend for the Tigers, out of the last four! It's time now for the Acid Reign Report, on Auburn's miraculous 33-20 win over the University of Mississippi Rebels. Auburn faced a mismatch on paper in nearly every phase of this game coming in, but managed to emerge victorious by double digits! Both teams made plenty of mistakes, but Ole Miss made more. Auburn got a few fortuitous bounces, and took good advantage. Both teams had penalties, and for the first time in weeks, it was fairly even on both teams.

The Auburn defense was facing a tall order against the talented Rebel offense, and were gashed to the tune of 394 total yards. Dexter McCluster, who Auburn absolutely HAD to stop, finished with 207 total yards. McCluster paid for it in blood, though. Auburn defenders lowered the boom when they could, pounding the diminutive Rebel speedster. McCluster had to leave briefly in the second half, but came back valiantly late. Auburn made a serious effort with stunts and a few blitzes, and delivered enough hits to shake Rebel quarterback Jevan Snead off his game. Some of it was schemed but mostly, the Auburn defensive line and linebackers rose up, and beat on a young Ole Miss offensive line. Snead was limited to 16 completions on 35 attempts, with two picks by Walter McFadden, 175 yards, and one touchdown. That's a 2.1 net yards per pass average. Coverage by the secondary improved enormously, but the guys dropped nearly a half dozen possible interceptions. On the most difficult interception attempt, Walter McFadden made the play. On a ball that nearly hit the turf, and bounced off the straining hands of the Rebel receiver, McFadden snagged the carom one-handed, heels just over the boundary, and sprinted to a pick-six-touchdown! (How's that for a comma-splice?) Auburn gave up yards in chunks, including a 79 yard McCluster run. In the end, Auburn was able to turn the Rebels back every time in the 4^th quarter, holding Ole Miss scoreless to preserve the victory.

Special teams continued to run hot and cold. Clinton Durst hit great punt after great punt, till a shaky 33 yarder late. Chris Todd nailed the pooch punt of the year, coffin-cornering it out of bounds at the Rebel 1 yard line. Phillip Pierre-Louis didn't fumble a punt, but he let one go that was downed at the one, and danced like a man possessed on two others, netting only one yard with plenty of room. I fully expect that he will treat us to a Michael Jackson moonwalk, against Furman. Seriously, PPL, break it forward, please? Kick returns were decent, but kickoff net CONTINUES to be horrible. With the first return given up for a touchdown on the season, the kickoff team managed only a 33.8 yard net, even with Morgan Hull averaging kicking it to the 8 yard line. Wes Byrum continued his excellent ways, hitting on 4 extra points and a field goal. Byrum outkicked Ole Miss kicker Joshua Shene, who came into the game perfect on the year. Shene pushed a 44 yard field goal wide, and kicked an extra point into the line, which Auburn's Demond Washington scooped up and raced in for two points.

Auburn needed to stretch the field on offense. Everyone in the stadium held their breath on repeated tosses downfield, often into double coverage. Todd let it go downfield a bunch, and ended up with a great net yards per pass average, 9.6. Darvin Adams got open and made 4 clutch catches, and Terrell Zachary made a couple of GREAT ones! Tommy Trott had a terrible drop, and a magnificent TD on a ball slung up for the corner by Kodi Burns, off his back foot, being pressured. The Rebels were looking for Mario Fannin and Terrell Zachary on the reverse, but were hurt twice by freshman Travante Stallworth on that play. Ben Tate continued his outstanding play running the ball, powering for 148 rushing yards and a 53-yard back-breaking touchdown. The Tiger offense out-gained Ole Miss, 400 yards to 394. The Ole Miss defense's previous high given up for the season was 354, against Alabama.

Unit Grades, after the jump!

Defensive Line: B+. It was hardly a perfect game up front, especially given that the team gave up 394 yards. Still, there was some good pressure at times on Ole Miss, and eight tackles for loss. Auburn has been able to rotate six or seven up front all year, and it's going to help us going into Amen Corner.

Linebackers: B-. It was feast or famine in the linebacker corps. Sometimes we filled holes and blasted the runner, and sometimes we got pinned inside and burned. The swing pass to backs was KILLING the linebackers early, but adjustments were made well. A number of McCluster runs bounced off linebackers and gained a ton more yardage. Eltoro Freeman was again a force up front. He's very young , and when he gets out of position, it's ugly. It's the second week in a row that the young star has given up a 60+ yard TD run. Still, Freeman led the team in tackles, and was an inspiration. When he actually knows the defense well, he'll be really scary! The stat guys totally missed it, but Adam Herring got a few snaps, and made a huge tip on a pass when Ole Miss was in the red zone.

Secondary: B. This was a night and day improvement by this unit. Coverage was too soft early on, but as Snead started feeling pressure, the corners were able to crash the outs and hitches aggressively. When Zach Etheridge went out early, I was REALLY worried about the safeties. We lost a bit in tackling ability without Zach, but I think Mike Slade brought more speed to the equation. Ole Miss wasn't able to get it done downfield, even with that situation. T'Sharvan Bell and Demond Washington acquitted themselves well, and Neiko Thorpe made some plays. If this group continues to improve, they'll do well against Georgia and Bama.

Punting: B+. Durst hit some monster shots, but might have out-kicked his coverage some. The last kick, when we need to play for field position, was pretty poor. Durst averaged 42 yards on his six punts, but Marshay Green returned 3 of them, for 43 yards. The 29 yard Green return in the third quarter (the longest given up on the season) could have been costly, but Ole Miss fumbled it back on the Auburn 24. A net of 34.7 is a bit down, for us. I can't say enough about Chris Todd's pooch punt that went out of bounds at the one. That was a thing of beauty!

Punt Returns: D. No turnovers is an improvement. The dance moves, with room and blocking, were not. Phillip Pierre-Louis is a rookie at this gig, and I'm not suggesting we replace him. He just needs more coaching. When he learns to step fearlessly into the catch, and heads a few straight up field at a 45 degree angle or less, it will scare coverage teams to death. He's got some great (dreaded buzzword!) potential!

Kick Returns: B. This was a surprisingly solid effort. Ole Miss popped 'em up to about the 12 yard line, and Auburn returners Demond Washington and Phillip Pierre-Louis made 'em pay on field position, averaging 27 yards per return. That set us up on 3 returns outside the 35 yard line. That's pretty sweet, if we can keep that up!

Kickoffs: D-. Well, we tried kicking them deep this week, but Morgan Hull was not consistent. He managed two into the end zone, but 4 others were short. Auburn had a TREMENDOUS hit on the first return, causing a fumble that Auburn could not corral. Despite the negative on that play, Ole Miss averaged 30 yards per return, with one broken for a touchdown to pull Ole Miss within 11. Auburn did improve from a 26.0 yard net a week ago, to 33.8. I'll give a pass, this week.

Placekicking A+. Maybe I should count off on the 36-yard Byrum field goal that SHAVED juuuuusst inside the upright, but it counts 3 points, just the same. Byrum was perfect again. Foot Lauderdale has hit all 34 of his extra points, and is 13 of 14 on field goals. The only miss was from outside 40 yards. Magnificent, Sir Byrum, absolutely magnificent!

Offensive Line: B- This was a so-so performance, at best,but a winner nonetheless! Ole Miss has a great line, and depth. Auburn helped out on the scheme, giving the line help with several max-protect packages on the deep balls. Our tackles had maybe the worst day of the year trying to handle Greg Hardy and Kentrell Lockett off the edge. In this game, on 3^rd and +7, it was probably better to just run a draw. It would have saved Chris Todd some hits! Still, the Ole Miss ends had only 8 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. We lost the guard/center gap a couple of times, letting Jerrell Powe roar inside for tackles in the backfield. On a D-line that had Jerrell Powe, Lawson Scott, Kentrell Lockett, and Greg Hardy, Ole Miss only produced 9 tackles. No holding penalties for the line, and only one false start on Mike Berry. And of course, one delay of game on an early snap, courtesy of indecision by Roger's Redding's Buffoons.

Receivers: B. After the catch drought the past three weeks, one HAS to love 7 catches for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns from the starters. Travante Stallworth ran two key reverses for first downs, and Kodi Burns was actually used as a receiver on a nice motion in, reverse out catch for 8 tough yards. There were some bruising blocks downfield, too. Some of the best plays downfield weren't catches, but rather swat-downs by Terrell Zachary on deep balls he wasn't going to be able to catch. Todd chunked it deep for Zachary multiple times, and Zachary did a good job of protecting his QB on those. Tommy Trott had a BAD drop on one pass, but made up for it with a NICE over the shoulder catch on a Burns loft in the end zone.

Running Backs: B. There was some hit and miss on blitz pickup, but enough success to allow Todd to set up to go deep multiple times. There was some good screen offense early, from Mario Fannin and Eric Smith. Ben Tate does some awesome running in traffic. His 148 yards on the day gave him 1067 yards in nine games. He's on pace to finish the regular season with 1422 yards, which would be the third best rushing season in Auburn history, behind only Bo Jackson and Rudi Johnson. Ben's rapidly approaching some rarefied air, around these parts!

Quarterback: C+. Super improvement from the past couple of weeks, but there was some shaky play as well. First off, the Wildcat was pretty much totally useless, except for Kodi's beautiful heave for a TD. Neither Burns throw was proper form AT ALL, but the one we needed got there for six. Rushing out of the Wildcat was snuffed, as nine or ten Ole Miss defenders attacked the line when they recognized Burns in the shotgun. Todd made some big throws, but it was scary. There were two deep throws where Terrell Zachary really made him look good, and a coverage bust that allowed Darvin Adams free for a TD. Todd made an absolutely awful decision late, giving up a 20 yard sack-fumble when we were trying to run the clock down. Luckily, two negative plays, a hold and a sack forced Ole Miss to punt for a touchback. Is Todd's arm OK? At times, he overthrows, at times he bounces it. Against a scary front and linebacking corps, Todd did OK, except for the fumble.

Auburn came up with a great win today! I didn't hold out much hope after the LSU effort, but these Tigers don't quit! We needed to go downfield on offense, play hard against Dexter McCluster, and rattle Jevan Snead. Auburn accomplished all three things, and came up with a win a little bigger than I predicted back in July. No, Ole Miss fans, we didn't score 34 like I thought we would, but we'll take 33!

The win over Ole Miss makes Auburn bowl-eligible at 6-3, and gives the team a great lift going into Homecoming against Furman. If Auburn can continue the improving play in Athens, an 8 win season is still within reach, and if we win that one, we'll host Alabama with a rising swell of confidence! Black Friday might be the end of the Tide's unbeaten run, if we continue to play well and the breaks fall like they did today!

War Eagle, everybody! WAR EAGLE! Ain't it grand? Nothing like winning!

Rebel Roundup - 10/13/09

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:55:41 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Ugh...

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PICK EM
I know this is usually it's own post, but we're running behind already this week. Get your picks in. I just updated the matchups and there are some tough ones to call for this week. As per the well established status quo, I continue to lead the RCR Pick 'Em and do not plan on relinquishing that lead this week.

Tiger Bait: A Florida Fan's 24 Hours in Baton Rouge | SB Nation
Ole Miss related? No. Funny? Yes. Written by a guy who drunkenly babbled on stage in front of a delighted Whiskey Wednesday? Yes. Spencer Hall, a.k.a. Orson Swindle writes about his experiences as a Florida fan in Baton Rouge.

20/20 Hindsight: Alabama vs Ole Miss - Roll 'Bama Roll
This post from Roll Bama Roll's byline in the SBNation feed thingy reads "In the wake of the victory over Ole Miss, Alabama is suddenly the MNC pick du jour." Actually, you were the MNC pick du the last couple of weeks per the blogosphere.

Saturday Lessons: October 10 | Team Speed Kills
What did we learn from this past weekend? Well, along with an apparent Jevan Snead mind-collapse, a lot.

Monday's with Houston | Brandt
The rumors that Snead would be benched in favor of Stanley for the UAB game are largely dispelled by the coach's press conference. Also, talk of Marshay Green's temporary replacement and the play of the offensive line were a big part of the presser, so check it out.

POST GAME - Alabama

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:18:37 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

You wanna bright spot? How about a Rebel secondary which kept Julio Jones from scoring.

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Alright, I'm no Whiskey Wednesday, and he's already gotten his post game up but I'm still going for this as per WW's post which steered clear of football and focused on Ole Miss fandom in general.

It was fantastic, don't get me wrong. It just doesn't talk about the game.

I realize this is late--as well as things like the Rebel Roundup, RotW, and UAB HATE WEEK--but I hope you all are cool enough to understand that between our inclination towards partying far too hard and my travel schedule that we were still really going to have a tough time bloggin'.

Oh, and I killed Juco's computer yesterday. That also has something to do with the dearth of action around here. Juco, I'm not sorry. Your computer sucks anyway.

Alright, so, enough with the apologies and excuses. It's time for football.

I feel that, in order to give me the strength I'll need to finish this, I will approach this by making a series of observations in descending order from "bright spot" to "damn you Snead."

The brightest spot of them all was our defense as a whole. Not only did the defensive line play well, as per the status quo over the past two seasons, but the linebackers worked their asses off and the secondary played inspired ball. Hardy wasn't the force he was against the Tide two seasons ago in Oxford, but his presence was certainly felt. Powe made some great plays, Tillman was his typically consistent self, and Lockett made some serious bids on the ball.

I was not unpleased with Allen Walker and Jonathan Cornell which is somehow more than I can say thus far this year. There was only one big run given up (the game's lone touchdown) which was the result of our 'backers being in the right places at the right times. Seriously, these guys played tough. Patrick Trahan and DT Shackleford have still not forgotten how to tackle which is a plus-ish.

The secondary though. Wow. Marshay Green, who is approximately 4'3", made Julio Jones look average. Cassius Vaughn went up against him as well and did the same. The fades to the endzones were the right playcalls by Saban and company. With a guy like Jones and his 90 foot arms with eight-fingered hands, why not run that play in the red zone? Still after three (right?) attempts at that play, Julio came up with nothing. Nada. Zilch. Johnny Brown was our team leader in tackles and Kendrick Lewis was constantly in a ton of plays. For a unit which was supposed to be one of the weakest in the SEC, they have really turned we at the Cup into believers. They play every single play with their motor revved up as high as it can go.

Unfortunately, sometimes amplified play like that can lead to bad news. Sorry Rebel fans, Marshay cracked a rib and lacerated a kidney and is out indefinitely. He could be back in a week or a month, it's just one of those things.

Keep this in mind: up until Saturday, Alabama was averaging 40.5 points a game. Think about that and tell me you aren't very, very proud of our D. The Landsharks held the--per the Cup's opinion--best team in the nation to 18 points below their average. Alabama ran 78 plays. Seventy. Eight. With their extremely physical style of football, it really is a testament to our defensive strength to have made it out alive, let alone hold the Tide to one successful trip into the endzone. It really is a damned shame that their hard work was all for naught come 0:00.

And, this comes as a shocker to nobody, it's Snead's fault! BOO JEVAN SNEAD! Okay, maybe not, but still Snead; no excuses, play like a champion. You made the former and didn't do the latter. I know there are rumors surrounding your lady-situation 'n' shit but dude, man up. No explanation necessary. The offensive line played well (To the gentleman standing two rows behind me--you know who you are, you have fat cheeks, bucked teeth, and talk like a sailor with epilepsy--not every single play that doesn't work out is the fault of Bradley Sowell. And his name is pronounced "SOW-ell," not "SOAL".) when considering the caliber of defense they were facing. The running backs didn't have much room to work with regardless though, so really we needed big gains in the passing game.

We didn't get them.

True, some of the poor plays were the result of badassery on the part of the Crimson Tide, and others were the result of bizarre play calling. But, if my memory serves me well (iffy, I know), we had several good plays called which were for nothing due to piss-poor execution, most of which from Jevan Snead. I can vividly recall three therrible passes into the flat which, for those of you who aren't terribly football savvy, is a generally easy throw to make. I also recall a play where Dexter McCluster was wide the hell open on a crossing route with a good fifteen yards of green space in front of him, only to have Jevan throw it high and behind.

Speaking of high and behind? That first pick Jevan threw was such, allowing it to cruise right into the hands of Justin Woodall.

He, as he tends to do, turned it on in the 4th quarter, making some great throws and even reeling off some impressive runs (Snead did, in fact, lead the team in rushing... eesh) but it was way too little and way too late.

As an aside: why don't we run Jevan more? The guy can run quite well. We really need to utilize that more, especially if we plan on having pocket trouble for the rest of the season.

Anyway, if it seems I'm being rough on Snead, it's because I am. Our defense put our team in a position to, at the absolute least, be very competitive against the best team in the entire nation. Our offense couldn't capitalize, and a very disproportionate amount of the inability to capitalize resulted from something Jevan Snead did or did not do.

But, I'm with Whiskey on this. I'm over my anger and frustration. I still had a kickass time Friday night, despite losing my favorite Ole Miss cap in the back of some girl's car on the way home from the Rib Cage (if you find it, holla at cha blogga). I'll be back in Oxford town in time for the LSU game. I hope to see all of you there.

Q&A With Red Cup Rebellion

kleph — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:01:02 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Positively Farveian. Not shown, greying three-day growth of stubble.

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Late yesterday we were able to capture Juco All-American from fellow SB Nation blog covering all things Ole Miss, Red Cup Rebellion, and subject him to interrogation to learn what Houston Nutt has been doing in all those closed practices this week. Turns out these were predominated by debate on what to wear to the square after the game. Still, we withheld grain alcohol from him long enough to get a few answers about the game itself which we now present for your edification.

Roll 'Bama Roll: For whatever reason, Jevan Snead has not performed up to expectations this season. Can you find a legitimate reason for that, i.e. something which could be corrected moving forward, or is this simply a case where Snead just isn't as good of a player as he was hyped to be in the preseason?

Juco All American: Well, first of all, our pass protection has struggled. But even when it’s not bad and Jevan isn’t pressured, he plays like he is. Due to early season struggles on the offensive line, he just assumes there’s heavy pressure on every play. This has led to throws across his body, coming off of his back foot, even while there’s good protection.

But an even larger problem appears to be that Jevan stares down his receivers. We haven’t seen a quarterback who is capable of checking down effectively or picking up blitzes. He plays like he’s a first year starter.

Lastly, there’s Jevan’s "gunslinger" attitude. He models himself after Bretty Favre, and that’s probably a reason for the interceptions. Why we didn’t see as many interceptions last year with the same mentality is anyone’s guess. My guess is that Mike Wallace’s speed made up for a lot of Jevan’s miscues. You can force the ball when it’s a fade route to Wallace.

RBR: The Ole Miss offensive line looked fat, slow, and out of shape against South Carolina, turning in a pretty abysmal effort. Nine days later, however, they did a great job of shutting down a fairly potent Vanderbilt pass rush. Exactly what gives here? Which performance is really more indicative of the true quality of the offensive line?

JAA: Wow. Fat, slow and out of shape. You’re absolutely right. Our offensive line was huffing and puffing on the sidelines even though they were never playing in the game.

I think that the two new starters on the offensive line grew up a good bit in the week between South Carolina and Vanderbilt. I think they realized that it wasn’t going to be a cake walk, and their teammates probably helped them realize that.

Also, we gameplanned around our inefficiencies on the left side of the line by rolling Jevan right or giving LT Bradley Sowell some extra blocking help with a tight end, fullback or halfback. I’m not sure how effective a blocking halfback will be against your blitzing linebackers and defensive ends, but it worked against Vandy, and you have to get one win at a time.

RBR: Coming into the year, Ole Miss was generally thought to have one of the worst defensive backfields in the SEC. Despite this, the Ole Miss secondary has looked very good early. So, is the Ole Miss secondary truly a good unit, or have they just created a mirage by stopping a few largely ineffective passing attacks?

JAA: The secondary is easily the most improved unit on the team. Last season, Kodi Burns and Chris Smelley (who you might now know as a catcher for your baseball team) each threw for over 300 yards against us. Yeah. It was that bad.

This year, we have seen our secondary that appeared somewhat raw last season transform into a group with good technique and discipline. I really think most of this falls on the coaching staff. They worked with our worst unit and made it good. It’s certainly not great, but with our pass rush, it may not need to be.

I think the biggest shocker to me has been the out-of-the-blue emergence of senior CB Cassius Vaughn. Vaughn started for us last year, but there was a noticeable talent gap between he and Marshay Green (our other starter). This season, I would venture to say that Vaughn has passed Green in performance, at least when the ball is in the air. Several times this season, Rebel fans have seen Vaughn break up a huge pass that looked to be caught. We’re all excited to see if we have any answer for Julio Jones. I know he hasn’t produced this season, but I also know what he’s capable of doing. It’s scary.

RBR: Until he leaves for the NFL, I imagine every 'Bama fan will have nightmares about Greg Hardy. We all know that he's a terror off the edge, but he really hasn't been able to stay healthy the past couple of years, and it still doesn't seem like he is 100% right now. Exactly how healthy is Hardy now, and how have the injuries limited his effectiveness?

JAA: Hardy may not be 100%, but he looks close. Against Vanderbilt, he made the opposing right tackle look stupid play after play. Hardy only came away with one sack, but there were several times that Greg dictated what was going to happen on the play.

He’s a physical freak whose nickname is "The Beast." Hardy also appears to have an axe to grind with everyone who called his work ethic into question. This season, he writes the words "Doubt Me" in his eye black. Yeah. Even as fans on our own team, we’re terrified.

He’s probably the best defensive end to ever play at Ole Miss. Sure, I’m sure that 150 pound Whitey Mc1940 was good, but Hardy is just unreasonable. He’s built like a run stuffer, but he has the skills of a pass rusher. Look out.

RBR: We talked about on the RBR Radio Hour last night how this could be the biggest win at home for Ole Miss in ages, so I'll ask directly here: With Alabama, undefeated and #3 in the country, coming into Oxford, in a historical sense, exactly how big of a win would this be for Ole Miss? And, if this does come to pass, give us an idea of the type of hangover you will have afterward.

JAA: If we win this game, we’re honestly in the driver’s seat for the SEC West for the first time in ages. At this point, I feel like we’ll lose more than 2 games, but if we could beat Alabama, I think it’s because our offense will have emerged to what we hoped it would be before the season.

If that’s the case, we could seriously end the regular season at 11-1. While Auburn and LSU look slightly scarier than they did before the season, both pale in comparison to Alabama. While this is faulty logic, I just feel like if we beat Alabama, we would certainly beat Auburn and LSU. The other teams don’t scare me at all.

11-1 would likely put us somewhere in the top 7. An SEC Championship game versus Florida, who we somehow managed to beat last year, would be on the horizon. Remember, Ole Miss has never even been to Atlanta.

Anyway, the root of the question was the hangover part.

I’m going to be drinking a large amount of Maker’s whether we win or lose. If we lose, it’s to drown my sorrows. If we win, it’s in celebration that the countless hours I spend blogging about the Rebels aren’t for naught. Either way, the hangover’s a bitch.

Week Six Preview: #3 Alabama at #16 Ole Miss

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

"Quit throwing so many picks!"

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The Alabama v. Ole Miss series isn't one filled with hatred quite like the Auburn or Tennessee series, nor is it generally a series that has a high degree of relevance on the national level. Nevertheless, over the course of the past four years, no series anywhere in the country has produced as many gut-wrenching, nail-biting contests as what we've seen when the Tide took on Johnny Reb.

The past four games in this series have been decided by a grand total of thirteen points, and that statistic alone does not even begin to adequately describe how close things have been. The 2005 game ended on a time-expiring kick, while the 2006 game ended in overtime. The 2007 game was decided on a controversial penalty with seven seconds remaining, and last year's game also went into the final minute. And most shockingly of all, somehow, someway, all of those contests have fallen in our favor. How we've had the good fortune from the Football Gods to pull all of those games out, I'll never know.

After Ole Miss rallied late last year, this game has been marked for months as one of the games of the year. Of course, though, Johnny Reb effectively wet the bed in its only real test thus far in the 2009 season, and that has knocked a lot of the luster off this game. Ole Miss was clearly overrated as a top five team, and had no real business being ranked that high. That said, however, the Rebels are still a quality team and a very dangerous opponent. This game is likely to be yet another close one that goes down to the wire, so let's take a closer look at the match-ups:

Alabama Offense v. Ole Miss Defense

Even with a slow start in the passing game and some questionable early play-calling against a good Kentucky defense, Alabama nevertheless managed to rack up 38 points and 352 total yards in Lexington. The Alabama offensive juggernaut has seemed to slow with each and every game the past three weekends -- largely because the quality of the defense faced has increased each week -- and things won't get any easier this week when we go to Oxford.

The strength of the Ole Miss defense is clearly at the point of attack. The defensive end rotation of Greg Hardy, Kentrell Lockett, and Marcus Tillman is easily the best we'll see all year long, and while Hardy has not been able to get completely healthy -- and thus he's really no longer an every down player -- he's still a dangerous weapon when he is in the game. The ends are also solid on running downs, and mixed with the size of the interior players, it forms a very difficult run defense up front when these guys show up to play. Interior tackles Ted Laurent and Lawson Scott are both over 300 pounds, and the monster 340 pound Jerrell Powe is quickly starting to show why he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. You can make all the reading jokes you want, but literacy isn't really a core competency for playing nose tackle, and Powe can at times dominate interior offensive linemen like he's a man among boys.

At linebacker Ole Miss has had more than their fair share of struggles since Patrick Willis went to the NFL, but they've got a solid group there now. The unit is led by Patrick Trahan, the senior linebacker that Houston Nutt signed out of the JUCO ranks in his first class in Oxford. Trahan started his collegiate career as a safety -- he was a former track athlete in high school -- but he kept getting bigger and bigger so he was moved to linebacker. The end result now is a 6'3, 225+ pound 'backer with great athleticism, and he's tough on opposing offenses. He's big enough to play the run, but also versatile enough to play the pass and rush the passer. He's a legitimate three-phase linebacker. Jonathon Cornell and Allen Walker start alongside Trahan, and while they aren't quite the caliber of Trahan, both are upperclassmen who are more than adequate.

The real surprise of the Ole Miss defense to date, however, has been the defensive backfield. Ole Miss was almost universally expected to struggle in the secondary this year, but surprisingly enough they have allowed very little success through the air. That said, however, we really don't know anything about this group because they have yet to face a decent passing attack, so it could be all a paper tiger for all we know, and if nothing else the Alabama passing game will be easily the best this unit has faced all year. What we can safely say is that so far this year Cassius Vaughn and Marshay Green have been solid at cornerback, Johnny Brown and Kendrick Lewis have been more active than usual at safety, and the back-ups have generally been pretty adequate. But, again, we really have no clue as to whether or not this Ole Miss defensive backfield is a contender or a pretender.

Looking at how we match up against Ole Miss, you really have to worry about our running game. We ran the ball well against Kentucky on the meaningful attempts -- i.e. factoring out the garbage time, clock-killing carries late -- but Arkansas still shut us down, and frankly this is easily the best defensive line we've seen all year. Ole Miss shut down our running game last year better than any other team on the schedule -- we had 31 carries for only 107 yards, averaging a meager 3.1 yards per carry -- and it's going to be very difficult to run on these guys again this year. These guys can flat out whip you in the trenches, and we're going to have to show up ready to play at a very high level if we look to move the football on the ground in Oxford.

Hopefully we will be able to take advantage of Ole Miss in a couple of areas. Their defensive line features a solid, deep rotation, but the linebacker corps is very thin. The starting three are good players, and back-up Lamar Brumfield is a solid, versatile player who can play all three positions. After that, though, all you really have is true freshman D.T. Shackelford -- an Alabama native who the Tide passed over last, so extra motivation there -- and while he has been a bit of a freshman sensation, he is also slowed by a high ankle sprain, and he likely won't play a lot against the Tide. So, it's a thin unit already, and both Trahan and Walker also play extensively on special teams, so hopefully we can wear them down and take advantage of their lack of depth. Likewise, the Ole Miss secondary is also a very small unit -- all starters are 5'11 and under, and three starters are 190 and under -- so hopefully we can really take advantage of the size match-ups with the likes of Julio Jones, Mike McCoy, Earl Alexander, and Michael Bowman.

Now, along those lines, I do like how our passing attack matches up against the Ole Miss secondary, but of course success there is predicated upon us being able to protect Greg McElroy against a very good pass rush. If we can give McElroy time, we should be able to move the football through the air. On the other hand, though, if Ole Miss can legitimately rush the passer, this is not going to be pretty. Either way, this isn't going to be an easy assignment for the Tide's offensive line. Ole Miss is tough off the edge, and Nutt will likely be aggressive in blitz packages, so the offensive line has its work cut out for them.

All in all, this one is a tough match-up for the Tide. Hopefully we can have some success running the football and block Ole Miss off the edge, but that's a lot easier said than done. Ole Miss will be tough to run on, and if they can get to McElroy, we're likely to find ourselves in Oxford with an offense that cannot run or throw effectively. It's going to be one heck of a fight, and we're going to have to play very well to move the football against this defense.

Alabama Defense v. Ole Miss Offense

The good news for Alabama is that this match-up favors the Tide a bit more. The Ole Miss offense is no slouch, to be sure, but it is a unit that has struggled early. Jevan Snead hasn't played anywhere near well enough to justify the preseason hype, the loss of Mike Wallace has hurt more than its gotten credit for, and there has been nothing close to a comparable replacement for Michael Oher.

Really, the struggles of this offense have started up front with the offensive line. The run blocking has been good at times, but has also been terrible at times, too. Smashes at the point of attack that spring good gains have been mixed with whiffs that result in tackles for loss. Pass protection, though, has really been the Achilles Heel of this group. Left tackle Bradley Sowell was beaten to a pulp against South Carolina, and right tackle John Jerry hasn't looked very good either. The interior linemen haven't played much better, either. Houston Nutt and company have rotated in a lot of linemen looking for the right mix, but they haven't found anything yet, and making matters worse this bunch simply looks out of shape. When John Jerry was literally begging to come out of the South Carolina game, all that came to mind for me was Mike Dubose, 2000, and the infamous "Pankcake Posse."

With the struggles up front, the rest of the offense just hasn't been able to compensate. Jevan Snead has been decent at times, but he has generally struggled to complete a high percentage of his passes and he has turned the football over a lot -- only a completion percentage of 51% and five interceptions. With Mike Wallace gone, the Rebels really do not have the big vertical threat in the passing game, and while the likes of Shay Hodge, Markeith Summers, Lionel Breaux, and Patrick Patterson form a solid wide receiver corps, they haven't been able to make up for the loss of Wallace. Likewise, Dexter McCluster is a threat, but he has really been more of a cog than a game-changer thus far in conference play.

The true strength of the Ole Miss offense to date has really been in the backfield with the tailbacks. Brandon Bolden has played as well as any back in the SEC to date, and at 5'11 and 220 pounds he is an absolute load. Back-ups Cordera Eason and Enrique Davis were both highly-touted recruits coming out of high school, and with their raw talent they form one of the most potent backfields in the country. Combined with Dexter McCluster's ability out of the Wildcat, this is a very dangerous group if their offensive line can give them any help up front.

Defensively for the Tide, I'll be brief on the overview because most RBR readers are more than well aware of who we are as a defensive unit, but I will address that the biggest issue we face here is exactly what we will do to replace Dont'a Hightower. Based on the practice reports, it's clear that Cory Reamer will be back at strongside linebacker this week, and we're going to have to be bigger inside to take on an Ole Miss team that will clearly look to be physical at the point of attack and establish the run. Chris Jordan is going to get a lot of playing time this week, and look for both Nico Johnson and Tana Patrick on the field -- even though playing will cost Patrick him a redshirt year.

As a whole, we are going to have a good bit different look defensively this week. Again, Ole Miss is the physical, run-based attack that we've come to expect out of Houston Nutt, and we are simply going to have to play smashmouth football against these guys. Simply put, if our defensive line doesn't show up with more energy and intensity than they did last week in Lexington, it's going to be a long afternoon. This isn't a spread passing attack where we'll constantly be in the nickel; you're going to see a lot of base 3-4 this week with safeties coming into the box to stop the run. The Rebs are far from pass happy.

And with that in mind, Injuries may make an impact on Ole Miss' power running attack. Fullback Andy Hartmann, a senior, is one hell of a lead-blocking load at 5'11 and almost 250 pounds, and he may be the best lead blocker in the conference. However, Hartmann sprained a knee a couple of weeks ago and has missed time. He missed practice on Tuesday, and while he is going to play on Saturday, we don't know how effective he can be and we do not know how much he will be able to play. Likewise, tight end Gerald Harris missed the South Carolina game with a hamstring injury, and while he did return against Vanderbilt, he's probably not 100%. Their back-ups, Dan Hoffman and Ferbia Allen, are a good 20-30 pounds lighter than the first-teamers, so if Hartmann and Harris are at less than 100%, that is going to make it more difficult for Ole Miss to run the football.

Furthermore, we need to use our depth in the defensive front seven to our advantage. Even with injuries to Hightower and Damien Square, plus the suspension of Jerrell Harris, we are still very deep in the front seven, and if the South Carolina game is any accurate indicator, the Ole Miss offensive line isn't in very good physical shape. We need to rotate players all afternoon and wear these guys down. Few things can better insure a 'Bama victory than to have John Jerry once again begging to come out of the game in the second half.

All in all, we're just going to have to line up against Ole Miss and be able to stop the run. That has to be priority #1 going into this game, period. Jevan Snead is overrated, but he can still be a threat, and with Nutt at the helm you have to be adequately prepared for every trick in the book. Nevertheless, those concerns are secondary to stopping the run. Given Snead's turnover issues to date -- which is to say nothing of Ole Miss' struggles in pass protection and the struggles of the receiving corps -- Nutt and company will likely play a bit conservatively here and try to establish the running game. If Ole Miss does that, they can move the football effectively and that will allow them to selectively use Snead and the trickeration to their advantage. On the other hand, though, if we can stop the run, particularly on early downs, we get Ole Miss in a lot of obvious passing situations, which limits the use of the Wildcat and other trick formations, and which also gives our defensive line numerous opportunities to take advantage of their struggles in pass protection and tee off on a quarterback who will be forced to take a lot of seven-step drops while waiting for routes to develop downfield.

Putting It All Together

On the whole, this one looks to be much like the last four contests in this series... a very hard, physical game that goes right down to the wire. Yes Alabama has looked very good to date, and yes Ole Miss wet the bed in their only true test to date. And, yes, Ole Miss was overrated coming into the year, no arguments here. Nevertheless, this is still a pretty good Ole Miss team, and they are a dangerous opponent that is more than capable of pulling off the upset.

Furthermore, the West is still absolutely wide open right now -- three teams are still undefeated, and Ole Miss still controls their own destiny -- and that fact mixed with Nutt's love of playing the underdog role, not to mention the recent acrimony that is surely present in the Ole Miss roster thanks to how this game has turned out the past four years, you can bet your life that Ole Miss will show up to play football on Saturday like men possessed. For all of the talk of Ole Miss wetting the bed, if Johnny Reb can pull off the upset on Saturday, they will quickly vault back into the top 10 and they will once again establish themselves as the front-runners in the SEC West if Florida can beat LSU, as expected. And, of course, rest assured they are well aware of those facts. Make no mistake about it, there is a lot on the line here for Ole Miss, and they will play accordingly. Do not expect Colonel Reb to lay an egg Saturday afternoon.

I do think we are the better team here. We have a tad more top-end talent, and a good bit better quality depth throughout the roster. Nevertheless, again, this is a dangerous Ole Miss team that actually matches up with us pretty well thanks to the strength of their defensive front seven and their ability to rush the passer with a base four-man rush. If you think victory is a near certainty in this game, you really need to drink something other than the crimson Kool-Aid. This should be a close game, and if we play like we did last week in Lexington, we're probably in a lot of trouble. We are a better team here who is justifiably a slight favorite, but nevertheless we are going to have to play really well to go into Oxford and get this victory, and at the very least victory is unlikely to come without one hell of a fight.

Hope for the best.

Saturday News and Notes: More Musings on Ole Miss-USC and Other News from Around the SEC

Gamecock Man — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:29:17 -0000

More photos » by Mary Ann Chastain - AP

3 months ago: South Carolina's Patrick DiMarco (47) runs for a first down as Mississippi's Jonathan Carnell (51) pursues during the first half of the NCAA college football game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina defeated Mississippi 16-10. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Browse more photos »

Dr. Saturday sums up my thoughts on our red-zone issues pretty well. It's not only frustrating that we're not getting it done inside the 20; it's perplexing. We have a mobile quarterback, several huge receivers that should be able to catch the jump ball, and two bruising backs in Brian Maddox and Patrick DiMarco that can both run, catch, and get yards after contact. We would appear to be well-equipped to score TDs on the goal line, yet we aren't doing it. Part of the problem, of course, is that we're killing ourselves with penalties. Not only did we have yet another Tori Gurley TD called back on a penalty Thursday night; we also lost goal line opportunities when penalties pushed us back behind the 10. We also, though, just aren't gunning as aggressively for the end zone as we might be. Spurrier and his crew have this offense working like a machine between the 20s; they need to figure out how to maximize their ability inside the 20, too. If we can start converting more often, this team could transition into a legitimate threat to win the conference.
I said it after the game and I'll say it again: Spencer Lanning deserves a lot of credit for his performance against Ole Miss. The tackle he made on Marshay Green showed a lot of heart and changed the game. And while none of them were long kicks, he continued to get it done kicking field goals. He also had a couple of impressive punts. Great performance.
Also on the topic of special teams, I thought we did a good job with kickoffs against Ole Miss. It wasn't pretty, and I'm not happy that we're content to use gimmick kickoffs to make sure we stop returns around the 30, but, at the same time, anything is better than what we saw against Georgia and Florida Atlantic.
As you probably know, Travian Robertson is out for the year. Robertson was playing well and it's really a shame we lost him. However, with Ladi Ajiboye back, Nathan Pepper likely as close to full speed as he'll ever be by the Kentucky game, and Melvin Ingram playing well, I think we can weather losing Robertson for the time being. If we lost any of those three players, though, we're going to be in big, big trouble.
Some rival fans have represented Stephen Garcia's performance in a bad light. I disagree. True, Garcia wilted a bit late in the game. However, he was obviously playing hurt, and likely just ran out of steam. Until that point, he had played a pretty good game, all the while taking a serious beating from Ole Miss's defensive ends. He deserves credit for playing well as long as he did. Moreover, he deserves credit for not throwing any interceptions. While we need to improve in the red zone to truly take the next step as an offense, we can likely continue to at least be competitive if Garcia and the offense protect the ball, score a reasonable number of points, and let the defense do the real work. Last year, Garcia and Smelley threw so many interceptions that the defense never had the chance to do what they did against Ole Miss. That's not the case this year.
Speaking of interceptions, our secondary needs to learn to catch the ball. They played a great game, but this could have been an epic defensive performance if we could have pulled in the three or four easy interceptions Jevan Snead served up.
I've long thought Houston Nutt is an overrated coach, and this game certainly didn't change my opinion of him. Having 12 men on the field on the last play aside, I'm most perplexed by how little he got the ball in Dexter McCluster's hands. McCluster is obviously that offense's best player, and it showed when McCluster started getting carries late in the game. Where was he through the first three quarters? And why wasn't he getting the ball more on the final drive? Nutt is, and has always been, a great motivator and decent coach that is capable of playing the spoiler role pretty well. However, he's never had much success while in the spotlight, likely because he just can't hack it with the big boys. Ole Miss fans got to see the best of Nutt last year; this year, they may get to see the other side of things.
Alabama and Arkansas are going at it late in the third quarter, and the Tide has shut down what appeared to be a great Arkansas offense. I'm dreading playing the Tide in a few weeks. That's what a top five team really looks like.
Speaking of defense, our "brethren" from the upstate are currently battling TCU right now in Death Valley. The score is 14-10 TCU, but the Tigers are driving. I'm not really sure what to make of this Clemson team, other than that C. J. Spiller is one of the best all-purpose athletes in the country. I'll sure be glad when he's gone next year.

Rebel Roundup - 9/1/09

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:07:26 -0000

Alabama football player Brandon Deaderick shot | The Tuscaloosa News
Last night, Alabama defensive end Brandon Deaderick was shot at Rivermont Apartments in Tuscaloosa. He is in good condition and the wound is, thankfully, not at all life-threatening, but I imagine he is still shaken up pretty badly. Opponent or not, I hate to hear about such a senseless, violent act happening to someone whose only crime was sticking up to a robber. Get well soon, Brandon.

Rebel Captains Named
I don't know how I didn't post this yesterday, but here they are:
Defense - Kendrick Lewis, Patrick Trahan, Marcus Tillman, and Marshay Green
Offense - Daverin Geralds, John Jerry, and Dexter McCluster

Nutt/Snead press conference transcript | RebelSports.net
If you sift through the typical coachspeak, you'll get some tidbits out of this one. Namely, Jesse Grandy will see playing time, Logan Clair is likely to redshirt, Nutt feels Snead is doing everything very well, and a few of our freshman receivers will receive redshirts.

Memphis State hopes you’re happy now, cripples | The Godfrey Show
I'm certain this will go over well with the eMemphis Fans. Godfrey does have a very good point though: Memphis wants a pat on the back for finally making the Liberty Bowl compliant with guidelines set forth by the Americans with Disablilities Act... 19 years after the damn law was passed.

Rebel Roundup - 8/27/09 - Multimedia Edition

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:31:16 -0000

Ten Days
That is all that separates us from the Memphis game. The blog calm before the blog storm is officially over. Expect several bits of new content damn near every single day over the next few months.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium FieldTurf Progress photos | Rivals.com
I really like the look of the new field turf. The blue endzones are solid and the gigantic script "Ole Miss" at the 50 yard line is exactly what we should have done when they installed the last piece of turf.

Rank and File: Ole Miss Preview | ESPN - YouTube
Herbie, Mark May, Todd McShay and others throw in their thoughts on our chances for this upcoming football season. Aside from the overdone, unoriginal, and baseless "how will they handle expectations" nonsense, the pundits give Jevan Snead, Houston Nutt, Greg Hardy, and Marshay Green their due props.

Brandt's Practice Report The Clarion-Ledger
With video! As far as I can gather, nothing extremely special or tragic occurred at yesterday's practice which, per the unusual, should be welcomed by Rebel fans.

Heat Returns to Oxford; Bolden Injured | Inside The Grove
More of the same, but from Inside the Grove. Oh, and about Bolden's injury: he came up lame after a drill. He overworked his hamstring a bit and should be back on the field this evening. Please do not worry. Please. I'm sick of the "zomg is Brandon Boulder hurt" texts already.

LandSharks Foam Shark Fin | Rebel Rags
You had to know these were coming. BUY NOW!

What Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Should Look Like
From avid Cup reader and expert Photoshopper The Mahatma comes what this Rebel fan opines to be a pretty damn good idea as to what our stadium should look like upon expansion. Make no mistake, with the recent talks of expansion coinciding with record-breaking ticket sales, something along these lines will likely happen.

Rebel Roundup - 8/5/09

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:36:32 -0000

Green Making the Grade at Ole Miss | Bastrop Daily Enterprise
Marshay Green's home newspaper recently sat down with him for an interview. Clicky the linky to read. I particularly enjoy the part where Marshay reveals his astonishment at not being an all-SEC selection before proposing to remedy the "mistake" on the voters' parts by earning all-America honors this season. Whatever motivates you, Marshay.

Florida's Only Shot at Remach with Ole Miss...SEC Championship | The Daily Texan
Texas' school newspaper, an obviously blatant ripoff of our *ahem* beloved Daily Mississippian, recently saw one of her sports columnists run this somewhat trite series of observations. Yeah, it's nothing you didn't already know, but it's about Ole Miss and, for some reason, a part of a Big XII school newspaper, making it somewhat of a journalistic Coelacanth--you thought it didn't exist until you saw it.

Patrick Willis Takes up MMA | ProFootballTalk.com
Holy shit. As if he needed to, Patrick Willis has been engaging himself in Mixed Martial Arts training in order to make himself more of a badass. If NFC runningbacks weren't already abso-fuckin'-loutely afraid of Willis, they will be now.

Holtz mulling a run for Congress | CNNSI.com
Yeth, you heard correctly. Congrethman Lou Holth could become a reality. I theriouthly doubth ith will, but the pothibility is there, and thath all that matterth for amateur bloggeurth who love making overdone lithp joketh.

Obamiconth, along with lithp jokes, are overdone.

Stack-Ups: Did Anybody Ever Tell You That You Look Like a Shorter, Clumsier Julio Jones?

Ivory Tower — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:00:49 -0000

Winning the SEC West requires a mixture of coaching, discipline, and luck. And to some extent, you just need to be better than everyone else in the Division. Or the really good team needs to be on probation at the moment. It's June, and that means here at RCR, we are just throwing words at the internet and seeing what sticks. Stack-Ups are what's sticking today.

Last week, we compared the SEC West's quarterbacks. And Gonzo was there in full force; so that was the bomb.

Today, we're all about that position that kinda sounds like "quarterback" when Larry Munson says it: cornerbacks (and safeties). DEFENSIVE BACKS!

ALABAMA

It is amazing - and indicative that the Tide is still quite talented - that when talking about Alabama, the punditry is not automatically talking about Javier Arenas. He is far more important to the Tide as a return man than as a cornerback, but for a guy that had 44 solo tackles (14 more than the more-heralded defender D.J. Moore at Vanderbilt) he ain't half bad at the day job. Justin Woodall brings back four interceptions. And Kareem Jackson is listed as a returning starter, as well at the other cornerback slot. Of course, these are the same guys that gave up 336 yards through the air to Utah, so only so much can be said for bringing back last year's guys. As a unit, these fellows return 9 interceptions, which is certainly a satisfactory number, if not electrifying. It's a group that has frustrating written all over it for Tide fans because, with all the experience returned, they are still going to give up big performances by the more challenging aerial attacks.

ARKANSAS

If everybody scored secondaries the way I score golf rounds, the 2008 Hog defensive backs would have a real argument that they were among the best in the SEC; nay the whole country. Instead, they finished tenth in the SEC and got lit the heck up by people like Mike Hartline, Tyson Lee, and whoever plays quarterback for UL-Monroe and Tulsa. (Full disclosure, the Rebels, don't forget, finished last in the SEC in pass defense, but we'll get to that in due time) This unit is full of guys whose middle name must be "If he can step up this season ..." and hopes of JUCO transfer production. Those JUCO's are named Anthony Leon and Rudell Crim (am I the only one who wishes Anthony Leon would transpose his name so that the Arkansas' secondary could be anchored by the very Arkansas-sounding tandem of "Leon and Rudell?"). It's not a top-flight squad, and adding insult to injury is that the guy about whom they ought to be most excited, Elton Ford, has been out since a neck injury in last year's game against Hootin' Dale.

AUBURN

Defensive backs, in keeping with a pretty respectable tradition on the plains, look to be the highlight of, perhaps, the whole team. The team leading tacklers last season, Mike McNeil and Zac Ethridge, are both still in school with eligibility (so, "returning" in one sense), but both missed time this spring with injuries (so, "returning" has something of a flexible timetable). Oh, and Jarraud Powers' replacement, senior Aairon Savage, is recovering from a knee injury. This is all to say that if the staff at Plains General Hospital can do for Auburn's safeties and cornerbacks what they haven't been able to do for Gregory House, the returning talent for what was a good Auburn defense ought to see an upgrade from "stable" to "wicked awesome."

LSU

Honorary Rebel Chris Low swears these guys will be better this year. And one thing, they don't lack is depth. Another thing they don't lack is coaching. Everybody seems to be a John Chavis fan; count me among the everybodies. Chavis moved their leading tackler from last year, Harry Coleman, from safety to linebacker. They're happy with Chad Jones at free safety and Patrick Peterson at cornerback. And, supposedly, Cornerback-to-Safety convert Ron Brooks is the class of this deep field. What's the storyline you keep hearing, though? Oh, yes, it's that, for all the hype, no one in this group was really a game-changer last year. Blue-faced professions of talent only go so far. The production on the field is yet to be seen.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Ole Miss fans wish many happy returns to Derek Pegues, who parlayed a disappointing senior season into a disappointing draft day. But now he's gone, and nobody on this staff will be for State what Pegues as for the Maroon in 2007. Between their projected starters (Zach Smith and Charles Mitchell at Safety; Marcus Washington and Damien Anderson at Corner), there are just about 7 or 8 starts. I should also note that Jerrell Powe has infinitely more interceptions (1) than their projected starting secondary. I'm sure that, in reality, State's secondary will be serviceable (as it usually is) and, statistically, it might actually look semi-impressive (at some point teams will stop throwing the ball against them).

OLE MISS

In Oxford, for the first time in what seems like a long time, people aren't just talking about violations when they say "secondary." The defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl, Marshay Green, looked good in spring practice. The Rebels have, I might say similarly to Alabama, solid experience at the position (if that experience was not all good). This unit was dead last in the conference in pass defense in 2008, and their solid performance in the Cotton Bowl may just have been the Dr. Jekyll to a more more prevalent Mr. Hyde. However, we can look to Kendrick Lewis, the second-leading tackler among Safeties in the SEC last year, to provide leadership along with Marshay. I expect moderate improvement.

WRAP-UP:

Every SEC West team ought to be a little tentative about calling its defensive backs "The Best in the West." Where some teams lack talent, they have experience. Where others lack experience, they have talent. And some teams might not have a whole lot of either. The punditry, though, seem pretty well agreed that LSU has too much depth, speed, and the leadership of old men not to turn things around and be a special unit. Who am I to disagree?

1. LSU

2. Auburn

3. Alabama

4. Ole Miss

5. Mississippi State

6. Arkansas