SB Nation - Mississippi Rebels

Tyrone Nix to Florida?

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:38:56 -0000

With Charlie Strong now the head man at Louisville, Florida has a huge vacancy to fill at defensive coordinator.

Long-time Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was named yesterday as the new head coach for the Louisville Cardinals. Today, signs are pointing to Urban Meyer and the Gators hiring Ole Miss Rebel defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix to take Strong's place.

From Chris Low:

It looks like Urban Meyer’s top choice to replace Charlie Strong as defensive coordinator is Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix, who’s already met with Meyer about the job. Nix has done an excellent job with the Rebels’ defense the past two seasons and could also be in the mix at Georgia.

Let's hope not. For all the grief short-memoried Rebel fans are willing to give Nix about our defensive performance in the Egg Bowl, Tyrone Nix has made our defense the strength of our team, something which hasn't been seen in Oxford in well over a decade. The Rebels were in the top half of the conference in every major defensive category aside from interceptions and opponents' 4th down conversions. The Rebels were even top-three in sacks (#2, one sack fewer than Florida's 35), opponents 3rd down conversions (30.7 percent, behind Florida's 30.2 and Alabama's 29.4), and red zone defense (72.5 percent opponents scoring rate, a bit lower than Alabama's 65.2).

Nix's defenses are aggressive, innovative with blitzes, and rely heavily on sound fundamentals. Even with a perpetually injured Greg Hardy, problematic linebacker corps, and razor thin secondary, the Rebel defense gave nearly every one of our opposing offenses fits.

Tyrone Nix, please stay. Houston Nutt, tell Pete Boone you're looking at the Cincy job and use whatever money you squeeze out of him to give Nix a raise. Pete Boone, for shit's sake have a contingency plan of some sorts. Urban Meyer is a ruthless bastard and will do what it takes to get what it wants. Hopefully we can nut up and take care of our own this time.

The Cup's Heisman Winner

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:27:32 -0000

We've made it no secret as to who won the Cup's Heisman Trophy. Ndamokung Suh, whose first name literally translates into English out of [OBSCURE AFRICAN LANGUAGE] as "House of Spears," will (not at all) take home another piece of hardware today, as our votes tallied up in his favor. A breakdown of the points each one of us allotted to which players is after the jump.

To the slow (RAZORED and Gonzohog), the numbers in the first chart aren't where they were placed, but rather how many points they were allotted. First place votes earn five points, fifth place votes earn one, and if you can't figure the rest of this out--or if you really needed this explanation to begin with--I want you to immediately cease reading this website and direct your attention elsewhere, never to return.

Agree? Disagree (this question can also be phrased as "are you an Alabama fan")?

Red Cup Rebellion - 12/9/09

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:13:10 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Thanks, NCAA!

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So Nice of Y'all to Drop By!
Thanks to the Houston Nutt to Kansas rumor being the hottest one yet of the yearly coaching carosel, we've had just all sorts of visitors visit our little internet nook! If you're new, be sure to read the disclaimer on the left and please pick up your litter on the way out.

Ravens Coach Shows Movie About Michael Oher To Inspire Michael Oher | The Onion
The Onion, America's finest news source, reports that:

In an attempt to energize starting left tackle Michael Oher for last Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh screened a copy of the inspirational sports movie The Blind Side.

I really shouldn't have linked this; If you don't already read the Onion then you're not using the internet properly, and we'd rather not have you hogging bandwidth around here.

OSU Ticket Allotment Sold | Tulsa World
Well, the Cowboys will be there. Will the Rebel fan base pull a bunch of typical "woe is me, we are Ole Miss" bullshit (yeah, I'm being a bit of a hypocrite; get over it), and decide against attending the first ever Cotton Bowl in Jerryworld, or will we too represent ourselves well by filling up our allotment?

Home and Away in SEC Bowls | ESPN dot com
We're home which means we can wear our red or blue jerseys. I'm guessing Nutt will leave that choice up to the seniors who will most likely choose red. RED ALERT! RED/BLUE IN YOU! REBEL XPRESSSS!

Strong to Louisville all but done | ESPN dot com
There will be a press conference this morning announcing Florida Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong as the new head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. This is obviously a good move for a program which wants to be atop the Big East once again.

NCAA Scrutiny Seen on Tennessee | The New York Times
And the biggest SEC story of the day comes with the announced investigation of Tennessee's 'crootin practices.

A significant part of the investigation is focused on the use of recruiting hostesses who have become folk heroes on Tennessee Internet message boards for their ability to help lure top recruits ... Marcus Lattimore, a running back who made an unofficial visit to Tennessee but said he would not enroll there, said multiple Tennessee hostesses attended a game at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C., in September. He said they brought signs, including one that read, "Come to Tennessee." ... "You don't want to go to a college where they ain't pretty," Lattimore said.

For the record, every SEC school does this to an extent. There are large breasted, flirty girls who escort the players around campus during their official visits at every SEC school. They also party with these players and do whatever they can to show them a good time--if you catch my drift. This, in and of itself, isn't really the problem. The NCAA is investigating Tennessee because it seems that these girls are visiting these guys at their high schools. That's a bit much, but it's likely effective. GOTTACATCHEMALL OR-GE-RON!
(HT: A reader we'll call "DJ")

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.)

Sprints Is Happy With the Job It Has Right Now // 12.08.09

cocknfire — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:59:14 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

You say goodbye ...

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HOUSTON NUTT / JOB RUMOR MILL

Red Cup Rebellion looks at how the Houston Nutt story got started
They're right about a couple of things. First of all, having followed a story like this (Spurrier to Alabama) through both legitimate news organizations and message boards, I can tell you that the latter are a lot like the piranha display at the zoo during feeding time. Whenever you throw them a scrap, they devour it in seconds and begin saying things like "Picture John Parker Wilson running the Fun 'n' Gun," which no human being should ever picture for any reason.

Also spot on:

I say this because Jimmy Sexton is arguably the most powerfully manipulative coaches agent. He represents not only Houston Nutt, but also Nick Saban, Gene Chizik, Tommy Tuberville, Bill Parcells, Larry Coker, Lane Kiffin, and Steve Spurrier -- amongst many others. He plays athletic directors like drums, knocking money out of them with an astute and ethically debatable swagger.

Sexton has a repuation for sparking interest in his clients amongst various competiting entities in order to earn what I'll call "insurance raises" for his clients.

That's exactly what he appears to have done with Spurrier -- more than once -- and would make sense with Houston Nutt right now.

Nutt's response: Silence
This is odd.

Ole Miss spokesman Langston Rogers tried to contact Nutt, but did not get a response, because Nutt was on a recruiting trip. Nutt did not return phone and text messages from The Commercial Appeal.

Jimmy Sexton, Nutt's Memphis-based agent, said he had not talked to Kansas officials. But Sexton did not know if Nutt had talked to Kansas.

Odd because: Why can't the school get in touch with Nutt and where is his "recruiting trip"?

And, is Sexton lying, or what does it say about RCR's theory if he isn't?

Pete Boone: 'Nothing to it'
Whether this should be a comfort to Ole Miss fans who want Nutt to stay is unclear.

Not that Boone has confirmed that with his head coach
But Shepard Smith has, so it's cool.

Low on how the talks might have taken place
Mostly speculation, but with some interesting points.

Nutt was out recruiting Monday, but somebody close to him said that any discussions about the Kansas job would have come through an intermediary, most likely Kansas basketball coach Bill Self. Nutt and Self are both Oklahoma State alums and have remained close.

Over the years, Nutt's name has been a popular one when jobs come open. He's only been at Ole Miss for two years, but was a player in the Auburn head coaching search last year -- albeit rather quietly -- before the Tigers eventually hired Gene Chizik.

Could Charlie Strong take other Florida assistants with him to Louisville?
Would Florida fans care after Saturday's debacle?

Wilson to LSU
The Tennessee WR coach's move was not exactly a shocker.

New Orleans native Frank Wilson has been hired by Les Miles to replace Larry Porter on the Tigers coaching staff. ...

It’s possible Wilson could start his new job immediately if a change is made with wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy between now and Monday, when LSU begins bowl prep.

Phone and text messages asking McCarthy if he has been fired were not answered.

I'm sure we shouldn't read anything into that.

Boy Wonder can't be happy with that
Staff members leaving might hurt Tennessee's recruiting, which we all know is the only thing that really matters to Lane Kiffin.

OTHER NEWS

AP All-SEC Team
No major surprises on the media list. The unanimous ones: Mark Ingram, Terrence Cody, Rolando McClain, Eric Norwood and Eric Berry.

Warren Norman is freshman of the year
So the season wasn't a total loss for Vanderbilt.

Crist wants Jacksonville Jaguars to draft Tim Tebow
The governor of Florida on the growing Tebow-to-Jacksonville speculation:

"Should they [draft Tebow]? I've actually talked to the ownership about that. I think it would be great," Crist said.

This being politics and Crist being in a GOP primary for U.S. Senate against former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio ...

Rubio "shares his belief that Tim Tebow has a bright future in the NFL and beyond. Tim Tebow is a superb athlete, a pure leader and an inspiring role model. Any team would be fortunate to have him on the field and any community would benefit from everything he does off the field," the statement reads.

Obviously, my day job keeps me from commenting on this too extensively. I would just note that Crist also said FSU should keep Bobby Bowden.

Week Fourteen BlogPoll Ballot Draft

T Kyle King — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:52:12 -0000

The time has come to cast my final regular-season BlogPoll ballot---or, at least, I think it has; I’m assuming we’re not submitting new top 25s after next weekend’s Army-Navy game---and here is what I came up with after starting with a blank piece of paper:

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Cincinnati	2
3	Texas
4	Boise State	1
5	TCU	1
6	Florida	4
7	Oregon
8	Ohio State
9	Georgia Tech	1
10	Iowa	1
11	West Virginia	9
12	LSU	1
13	Arizona
14	Oregon State	2
15	Southern Cal
16	Virginia Tech	5
17	Stanford
18	Miami (Florida)	4
19	Pittsburgh	7
20	California	1
21	Oklahoma State	2
22	Brigham Young	1
23	Nebraska	1
24	Penn State	7
25	Wisconsin	1
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Houston (#18), Central Michigan (#25).

The Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0) are No. 1. Duh! Of the dozen Division I-A opponents beaten by Nick Saban’s squad, nine finished with winning records, including the sixth-ranked Florida Gators, the twelfth-ranked LSU Tigers, and the 16th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tide’s only close calls came in rivalry games against teams who will be playing on New Year’s Eve or later.

In spite of their close call against the Pittsburgh Panthers in a game played in the snow featuring two botched extra point attempts, the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0) captured the No. 2 spot on my ballot by virtue of seven regular-season wins over teams that finished above .500, among them the 11th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, the 14th-ranked Oregon St. Beavers, and 19th-ranked Pitt. Also, Cincy gets credit for having a logo reminiscent of Chick-fil-A's.

While I understand and respect C&F’s argument, I awarded the No. 3 ranking to the Texas Longhorns (13-0) because Mack Brown’s outfit went undefeated against a slate that included no Division I-AA schedule fodder and only four teams that posted losing ledgers. Wins over the No. 21 Oklahoma St. Cowboys and the No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers provided heft to the Big 12 standard-bearer’s resume.

I ranked the Boise St. Broncos (13-0) ahead of the TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) for a variety of reasons. Both took advantage of a Division I-AA victim and each faced five Division I-A teams with winning records, but Boise State has an additional win and Texas Christian has two close shaves (at Air Force and at Clemson) as opposed to the Broncos’ one (at Tulsa). Boise State’s second- and third-best wins (over Nevada and Fresno State) are comparable to the Frogs’ (over Utah and Clemson), but the Broncos’ marquee victory over the seven-ranked Oregon Ducks far outshines TCU’s best pelt, that of the 22nd-ranked BYU Cougars.

The Sunshine State Saurians (12-1) slipped to sixth after their less than competitive neutral site outing against ‘Bama, as befits the nation’s lone once-beaten team, and Oregon (10-2) led the parade of two-loss teams because the Ducks fell to two quality teams on the road and made up for those setbacks with wins over three teams ranked in my top 20 (Arizona, Oregon State, and Cal).

The Ohio St. Buckeyes (10-2) earned a No. 8 ranking on the strength of wins over the tenth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, the 24th-ranked Penn St. Nittany Lions, and the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-2) rode their ~~fourth-place finish in the SEC East~~ ACC championship to the No. 9 ranking, although the Ramblin’ Wreck’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs at home serves as a drag on a resume that includes five close calls in the Golden Tornado’s ten Division I-A wins. Only two of the Engineers’ victims finished with fewer than five losses, but one of those triumphs came over No. 16 VPI.

Iowa (10-2) carded quality victories over a trio of top 25 teams (Arizona, Penn State, and Wisconsin, all by double-digit margins) to overcome respectable losses to Ohio State and Northwestern, both of whom will be playing on New Year’s Day. (For whatever it might be worth, I would point out that the five BCS bowls pit No. 9 v. No. 10, No. 7 v. No. 8, No. 4 v. No. 5, No. 2 v. No. 6, and No. 1 v. No. 3 on my ballot. This ought to be a pretty good bowl season.)

West Virginia narrowly edged out Louisiana State in my estimation. Both teams boasted similar resumes: both finished 9-3; both won three games by a touchdown or less; both lost one game by a touchdown or less. However, as ashamed as I am to admit it, the Mountain Men’s win over Pitt counts for more this season than the Bayou Bengals’ win over Georgia. I know, it hurts me to admit that, too; visions of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino will haunt my dreams tonight.

A glut of 8-4 clubs out of the Pac-10 proved difficult to untangle, but I declared the Arizona Wildcats first among equals by awarding Mike Stoops’s troops the No. 13 ranking. Three of Arizona’s four losses came on the road, two of them were nailbiters, and only one of them was the handiwork of a team with fewer than eight wins. The Wildcats carded victories over No. 14 Oregon State, the 15th-ranked USC Trojans, and the 17th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, with Central Michigan thrown in for good measure.

The Beavers landed right behind Arizona, partly because of wins over Cal and Stanford but mostly because of a quartet of quality losses. Oregon State’s four setbacks all came against opponents sporting eight or more wins, and, of the four, only the one against the No. 2 team in the country wasn’t a close call.

I will grant that it appears somewhat strange that I placed Stanford at No. 17, two spots behind Southern California (a club the Cardinal beat handily in Los Angeles) and three spots ahead of the California Golden Bears (a squad that defeated Jim Harbaugh’s outfit at the Farm), but Stanford had no legitimate third-best victory after the Cardinal’s wins over Oregon and USC to overcome the trio of triumphs notched by the Men of Troy over Ohio State, Oregon State, and Cal. Likewise, the Bears of Berkeley had trouble overcoming the fact that all four of their losses came by margins of 17 points or more. Oddly enough, Southern California, Stanford, and California each lost to a 5-7 team on the road, but the Trojans’ loss to the Washington Huskies and the Cardinal’s loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at least had the virtue of being close.

Sandwiched amid those West Coast outfits were No. 16 Virginia Tech (9-3), which beat top 25 teams Miami and Nebraska while sustaining three respectable defeats (including two to top ten squads); the 18th-ranked Miami Hurricanes (9-3), who are able to boast of a marquee win over Georgia Tech; and 19th-ranked Pittsburgh (9-3), which sneaked ahead of California by virtue of a more forgivable set of losses. The Panthers’ three setbacks all came by close margins, with two of those coming in down-to-the-wire clashes with top eleven opponents Cincinnati and West Virginia. Pitt’s loss to N.C. State was comparable to Cal’s loss to Washington---both came on the road against 5-7 squads---but the Wolfpack won by seven and the Huskies won by 32.

The inclusion of Oklahoma State (9-3) attested to the fact that next year’s BlogPoll should rank only 20 teams instead of 25---which the Associated Press poll did prior to 1989, by the way---but somebody had to be No. 21, so the Pokes were as qualified as anyone. Why was Les Miles’s old team ranked nine spots behind Les Miles’s current team when both have identical records and both count a win over the ‘Dawgs among their most impressive conquests? Simple: LSU lost to three teams with a combined 33-5 record by a combined 62-41 margin, while OSU lost to three teams with a combined 30-8 record by a combined 113-49 margin.

BYU (10-2) had absolutely no business being ranked after getting positively smoked by TCU and the hapless Florida St. Seminoles, but Brigham Young beat the Oklahoma Sooners and the Utah Utes, which counts for something. Nebraska (9-4) did little to impress me in the win column---the ‘Huskers beat only two teams with winning records---but, since all of the Big Red Machine’s losses were to teams that finished .500 or better and three of those were by razor-thin margins, I gave Bo Pelini’s team the benefit of the doubt.

The fact that Penn State (10-2) and Wisconsin (9-3) made the grade proves that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel; both the Nittany Lions and the Badgers lost convincingly to the Big Ten’s two top ten teams and neither beat more than two Division I-A teams that finished above .500, but the dearth of quality squads at the bottom of my ballot allowed a PSU team whose best win was against Temple and a Wiscy unit whose best win was against Fresno State to sneak undeservedly into the top 25.

Consideration was also given to the Boston College Eagles and the Mississippi Rebels. I’d like to tell you that I took a look at the Central Michigan Chippewas, East Carolina Pirates, Houston Cougars, Missouri Tigers, Navy Midshipmen, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern Wildcats, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, but, if I said so, I’d be lying.

I watched the Oregon-Oregon State game on Thursday, the Central Michigan-Ohio (Ohio) game on Friday, and a Saturday slate consisting primarily of the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh, Alabama-Florida, and Clemson-Georgia Tech games, with bits of the Nebraska-Texas and Hawaii-Wisconsin tilts sprinkled in for variety.

As always, I actively solicit your input with respect to what is, after all, a draft ballot. Feel free to register your disagreement or lobby for or against particular teams in the comments below.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Houston Nutt? Kansas?!?

cocknfire — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:15:19 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Is he insane? Maybe you shouldn't answer that.

Browse more photos »

Tell me what I'm missing here.

Ole Miss football coach Houston Nutt is interested in the open Kansas job, Arkansas radio station KABZ-FM reported today, and The Star has learned that Nutt is on KU athletic director Lew Perkins' list and that Perkins and Nutt have talked about the job.

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.

I'm not necessarily bashing Kansas. Okay, I am. But the real point is that Kansas is still on the road to consistent relevance, while Nutt appears to have Ole Miss there. Nutt is still just 52, so he would have time to turn the program around if he wanted to give it a try. I'm just trying to fathom the reasons he would want to give it a try after just two years in Oxford. Maybe they don't have open-records laws in Kansas; I'm not sure.

Obviously, we'll have much more on this in Sprints. Kansas ...

The Ten from The Last Ten - 4, 3, 2, and 1

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:39:08 -0000

The list kicks off here. She continues here. And now, she will come to her glorious end. Numbers four through one are pretty predictable, so I'll cut the intro short and dive right in.

NUMBER FOUR

Dexter McCluster - APB - Still on roster- Do you remember Dexter McCluster's first game? I do. He scored our first touchdown of the 2006 season on a Hugh Freeze classic gadget play. He tallied 268 all-purpose yards--fourth all time in school history for a single game. He lined up at halfback, wideout, punt returner and kick returner. And he did it all as a scrawny, mildly-recruited true freshman out of Largo, Florida. From that game on, I knew Dexter McCluster would do great things for our football team, but I never imagined him being as unstoppable as he can be at times.

In our four SEC wins from this season, only one--Vanderbilt--didn't see a offensive Dexplosion (get it?). It is hard to argue that, without Dexter McCluster, we would have defeated Arkansas, Tennessee, or LSU. Over those three games, he had 777 offensive yards. The Rebels, as a team, had 1,471. Crunchify those numbers and you'll see that the three biggest wins of this season saw Dexter McCluster personally account for 53% of the Ole Miss offense.

After seeing what he has done this season and what he was able to accomplish last season, I posit that there isn't another Ole Miss Rebel more responsible for our first back-to-back traditional New Years Day bowl appearance than Dex.

Oh, and he's a great guy, to boot. Anyone who has met Dexter McCluster can attest to his positive attitude, friendly demeanor, and pure love for the sport of college football. He is one of those guys who truly makes you proud to be an Ole Miss Rebel fan.

NUMBER THREE

Deuce McAllister - HB - 2001 - Deuce McAllister is a ballertron. Even though he was a two-time pro bowl selection in the NFL, casual NFL fans will never know just how good McAllister was at his prime. Deuce finished his college career at Ole Miss with 616 carries for 3,060 yards and 36 rushing touchdowns. He is also the only Rebel to score a touchdown five different ways: rushing, receiving, passing, returning a punt, and returning a kick. But even all of that doesn't really tell the story. Before Deuce's knee(s) went out, he was impossible to bring down and super-fast. After his knees went out, he was just impossible to bring down. If only we had seen the NFL career of a completely healthy Deuce McAllister, the nation would know just how good he was.

Maybe more than his immediate impact, Deuce carried our program on his shoulders, to some extent. He and Romaro Miller, in terms of skill players, were the two players that brought Ole Miss out of probation and onto a real stage. Deuce McAllister got people to talk about our program and school at a time when we could have completely fallen off the face of the college football landscape. Sure, we're no powerhouse now, but we're also not Kentucky. If Deuce hadn't injured himself his senior year, he would have been a serious candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

He is also a fantastic individual who, through his entrepreneurial efforts and philanthropy, does an excellent job representing his alma mater and home state.

For all of that, Deuce McAllister deserves this #3 spot. He's the greatest running back to play for Ole Miss in the modern era.

NUMBER TWO

Eli Manning - QB - 2004 - I remember when Eli Manning signed with Ole Miss. I wasn't anywhere near an avid fan of Ole Miss at the time, but I remember it. Immediately, Ole Miss fans had visions of Peyton Manning 2.0, since Eli was supposed to have all the skill with a stronger arm. Opposing fans pointed to the fact that Eli played at a small private school and wouldn't be anywhere near Peyton's ability (ed: an argument which makes no sense--all of the Manning boys went to Isadore Newman, right?).

In many ways, both parties were wrong. Obviously, Eli Manning was a phenomenal college quarterback, but he never lived up to the Peyton Manning level of hype. He had a solid impact on our program, but he wasn't even able to get us to Atlanta, despite staying until he was a fifth year senior. Still, Eli holds every significant passing record at Ole Miss, and I would guess that most of his records will stick for quite some time. The impact he had on our program was also phenomenal. Because of him, Cutcliffe was able to recruit a fantastic offensive line, serviceable receivers, and running backs just good enough to give Eli a decent threat on the ground. He brought the most media attention our school had gotten in decades, and was even a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

I remember watching Eli Manning in the Cotton Bowl of 2004 against a creative Oklahoma State defense. Over and over again, they would disguise blitzes until there were five or six seconds left on the playclock only to see Manning audible or pick up a hot route to completely dissect what the defense was sending. That was a special performance to watch which, although one of many, is one I will always remember.

As you all know, Eli is currently the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. He's done some good things for them.

NUMBER ONE

Patrick Willis - MLB - 2007 - I know that Eli, Deuce, and Dex likely did more for Ole Miss in terms of wins and losses. I also realize that Eli, Deuce, and Dex also have done more for our program with regards to national sports media spotlight and perception. But, I do not think that those factors serve as enough to usurp Patrick Willis from this number one spot.

There has perhaps never been an Ole Miss Rebel which perfectly embodied his position as well as Patrick Willis did. He is big. He is strong. He is fast. He has incredible football instincts and fundamentals. He is effective on the blitz or back in coverage. He never takes a play off. He is damn near flawless. Even despite having a broken hand, a tweaked knee, and a nagging foot injury during various points in his career, he was an effective tackler.

The reason that folks will be so quick to throw Eli, Deuce, or Dex above Patrick Willis on a list like this is simply because the only winning season Willis experienced was his freshman campaign--a season in which David Cutcliffe's foolish seniority-based depth chart kept PWillie on special teams and in a reserve role. No, he didn't play on defenses which won many games, but the fact that he brought some national attention to our program, became a consensus All-American, and won the Butkis trophy all while playing for an absolutely horrible football team says more about him than stats or anecdotes ever will.

While not nearly as well known as Michael Oher's, Patrick Willis' "rags to riches" story is just as revealing to the extent of the young man's character. Born and raised in hardscrabble, rural west Tennessee to drug addicted and abusive parents, Patrick Willis could have easily been yet another young life wasted. But it was not to be. Essentially raising his siblings on his own, Patrick worked odd jobs, bounced among several foster homes, and stayed in school until he was finally taken in by his high school basketball coach. He stuck through the hard times off the field with an endurance, patience, and demeanor few of us could ever possess.

And, as with many folks on this list, nobody who ever met Patrick Willis had an ill word towards him. He is a hard worker in everything he does, polite, respectful, and humble. He is that all-too-rare combination of stellar athleticism and fantastic personality.

Currently, Patrick Willis is terrorizing the NFC West as the starting Middle Linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers. During his rookie season, he led the NFL in tackles, was named the Defensive ROY, and punched his ticket to Honolulu as a member of the NFC's Pro Bowl team. Yeah, it's safe to say that the guy hasn't skipped a beat.

So while he may not have the wins and losses other people on this list may have, Patrick Willis is, as we see it, the single greatest football player to wear an Ole Miss uniform in the past ten years, if not ever.

You're makin' all of us proud, PWillie.

BREAKING NEWS: Houston Nutt To Kansas...

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:02:50 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

If it were to happen--and it won't--Houston Nutt would have big pants to fill! HA!

Browse more photos »

...is a headline I would write for a situation in which this ridiculous rumor were true. People have been tweeting, emailing, and blastin' my phone for answers on this, so I'll write what I know and, based on my experiences, what I speculate to be the case here.

What I know: Nothing.

What I speculate: This rumor is completely baseless, and there are many reasons for that.

Let's look at the very first clauses of the linked piece of news:

Ole Miss football coach Houston Nutt is interested in the open Kansas job, Arkansas radio station KABZ-FM reported today

As soon as I saw that, I knew there was nothing to this. Even after some internet sleuthing (a fancy term for message board lurking), I was even able to find Arkansans citing this radio stations source for this information as--are you ready? Here it comes--a fucking Arkansas Razorback message board.

An internet rumor got picked up by a radio station looking to make some news. That's it and that's all.

However, there could be some truth to this, in that it could be very much possible that either Nutt's people (agent Jimmy Sexton) contacted KU's people (AD Lew Perkins) or vice versa. I say this because Jimmy Sexton is arguably the most powerfully manipulative coaches agent. He represents not only Houston Nutt, but also Nick Saban, Gene Chizik, Tommy Tuberville, Bill Parcells, Larry Coker, Lane Kiffin, and Steve Spurrier--amongst many others. He plays athletic directors like drums, knocking money out of them with an astute and ethically debatable swagger.

He has plenty of tactics to keep his clientelle--and, vicariously, himself--paid, and this rumor reeks of one of them. Sexton has a repuation for sparking interest in his clients amongst various competiting entities in order to earn what I'll call "insurance raises" for his clients. (Go ahead, break out the tin hats, black helicopters, whatever--I know this is conjecture, but this kind of stuff isn't exactly a new phenomenon. It happens and, while I have no absolute way to prove it, I think we're being played here.)

Can Pete Boone and company be too oblivious, too stupid to know that there is a very legitimate possibility that this is going on? Well, I think you know the answer to that. Don't be surprised if Houston Nutt gets some kind of raise that, frankly, he doesn't deserve whatsoever.

And, if I'm way off on all of this, and Houston Nutt actually does leave SEC facilities, talent, and money, for that of the Big XII North... oh well. Promote Kent Austin to be head coach, bring Hugh Freeze in to be the OC, keep Tyrone Nix on board, and then we're set. We don't need Houston Nutt to win. We just need a not-Orgeron.

Rebel Roundup - 12/7/09

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:02:54 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Does anyone else remember the last time a supposedly poor bowl coach took his underdog 8-4 SEC team into the Cotton Bowl against a favored Big XII team?

Browse more photos »

Ole Miss-Oklahoma St. Open New Cotton Bowl | Associated Press
Just makin' it official here. We'll have more and more Cotton Bowl talk as the game approaches. Until then, languish with us through our non-conference basektball schedule and other Rebel happenings.

All 33 Bowl Matchups | ESPN dot com
Just so you can see who's playing who.

Thoughts on the Title Games | And The Valley Shook
Similar to Ivory Tower's mini-rant from yesterday evening, Poseur of ATVS laments the once-seeming inevitibility of a Texas vs. Alabama matchup due not primarily to the teams and their accomplishments themselves, but to the stubborn nature of in-game officials and their seeming slant towards the Longhorns. The comments thread also has pretty good discussion, if you're looking for some.

Southern Miss Coach Eustachy Blasts Stansbury | The Sporting News
You all already know about this, but I doubt any of y'all have seen that the mainstream media actually picked it up and blurbified it. Also, please do yourself a favor and check out the reactions left by commentors on David Brandt's and Kyle Veazy's blogs.

Clarion Ledger Ballots
Rick Cleveland voted for Ndamukong Suh on his Heisman Ballot, and Kyle Veazy has his All-SEC ballot up. Check them out.