The Legacy Bo Wallace Will Leave Behind

For years now, we have seen a great controversy in Bo Wallace’s performance on the field. If you have watched an Ole Miss game in the last three years, I would be willing to bet you have heard the terms “Good Bo vs. Bad Bo” or “Dr. Bo vs. Mr. Pick.” After the career he has had at Ole Miss, I believe people in the future will call him “Much Needed Bo.”

Oct 11, 2014; College Station, TX

The football program at the University of Mississippi was plagued with losses before the star quarterback, Bo Wallace, stepped foot on the campus. Ever since he has been named the starting quarterback, he has assumed the leadership role on the field for Coach Freeze. The relationship between the two helped Wallace grow into the leader he is today.

Looking back at his progression throughout his career, you can see how fast he has matured. He has gone from throwing 17 INTs his first year, according to Ole Miss Sports, to 10 INTs in 2013 and 11 INTs, thus far, in 2014. Though this may not be something most quarterbacks want to brag about, it has still worked for Ole Miss as they sit high at 9-3 this season. We all know that he couldn’t have done this without the strong receiving core behind him, but any team in the SEC who has ended a season at 9-3 knows it is something to brag about.

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His first year as a Rebel, Wallace led the team to a 7-6 season with a 38-17 victory over Pittsburg in the BBVA Compass Bowl. He threw for 2994 yards and 22 touchdowns, but those went unnoticed due to 17 INTs. No one will disagree, 17 INTs during one season is a bit excessive, but if you think back to 2002, the beloved Eli Manning threw 15 INTs as he led his team to a 7-6 finish as well.

The following season, however, that number dropped a significant amount. Wallace finished with 3346 yards passing and 18 TDs, but this time, he only had 10 INTs. This was the season Wallace’s true abilities as the leader of an upcoming team in the SEC began to be displayed. He led the Rebels to 7-5 during the regular season with a chance for his second consecutive bowl victory against Georgia Tech in the Music City Bowl. The Rebels finished the season at 8-5 after winning their second straight bowl game 25-17.

As an Ole Miss Rebel, he was 15-11 going into his senior year. This was a season that most fans had been anxious about because everything seemed to be coming together. No one could have predicted how this season would have gone for the Rebels during the preseason. Thus far, Bo Wallace has thrown for 3085 yards and 22 TDs with 11 INTs. He has the victories over No. 1 Alabama, No. 14 Texas A&M, and a No. 4 Mississippi State under his belt. This team is sitting pretty at 9-3 with their chance to claim their third straight bowl game victory.

Nov 22, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace (14) falls to the gourd after an injury on a play in the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Bo Wallace will leave here with his head held high. He has continuously had to fight through adversity. The entire 2013 season he had a shoulder injury, and most recently he played Arkansas with an ankle injury. No, the Rebels did not manage to win every game that Wallace played, but they got to see someone who did not quit on his team. There were many plays that he may have tried too hard on, but he proved to everyone that he was not afraid to take chances to help this team be successful.

He has led this team back to No. 9 in the polls and he has the chance to help them achieve the first 10 win season since Eli Manning wore his jersey. No matter how far in the future we look to, not a single Ole Miss fan should forget the name Bo Wallace because he played such a vital role in bring the Rebels back to football relevancy.

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