Tuesday Top Ten: Most Exciting Ole Miss Games in 2015
In past Tuesday Top Tens, we have drawn from larger pools of choices and narrowed it down to just 10. Today’s is a bit different as we go over the 10 most exciting games on the Ole Miss football schedule for this upcoming season. Now there’s only 12 to choose from so just two got left off, and to the surprise of no one, those two are Fresno State and New Mexico State. My apologies to the Bulldogs and Aggies aside, here’s No. 10 on our list, the Vanderbilt Commodores.
10. Vanderbilt
I know what you’re thinking, it’s an SEC contest, how could it be behind two out-of-conference games on a weak OOC docket? Well, Vanderbilt was horrible last season. That does not figure to be much different in 2015, especially since the Dores will be the fourth game of the year.
The meeting shouldn’t be a repeat of the 41-3 shellacking in Nashville in 2014, despite this go-round coming in Oxford. Derek Mason should have the meter moving in the right direction but it’s safe to expect a big spread, and a Rebel cover.
9. Memphis
It’s hard to find a tougher team in the country than the Memphis Tigers. In 2014, not only did they get a kicker so heated he was ejected (Ole Miss’ Gary Wunderlich), but they got the BYU Cougars to engage in a massive melee after their Beach Bowl victory. The Tigers were one of three Tennessee teams Ole Miss faced last year and by far were the most difficult to put away. The Rebels took down Vandy and the Volunteers by a combined score of 75-6. Memphis, on the other hand, was down just 7-3 entering the fourth quarter at Vaught-Hemingway before succumbing 24-3.
This one may not be the sexiest in the eyes of those outside of the Deep South, but Memphis was 10-3 last year and left each team they played with a series of bruises. You better believe they’ll come to play in the Liberty Bowl come Oct. 17 and if the Rebels aren’t careful, this one could get interesting once again.
Sep 27, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels defensive back Mike Hilton (28) and linebacker Keith Lewis (24) go up for the ball during the game against the Memphis Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
8. UT-Martin
The Skyhawks? Yes. Not because this game will be anything to write home about. Ole Miss will win this one and it won’t be remotely close, but hey, it is the first game of the year and signifies that football is indeed back. Also, this will provide us a chance to see all three quarterbacks (other than Jason Pellerin) and a lot of other young players. There will be hard hits, big plays and get the engines going as pigskin is upon us once more.
7. Florida
This will mark the first time that Ole Miss has played a game in the state of Florida since 2008 when Houston Nutt’s team upset the Gators, giving them their lone blemish on a 13-1 national championship team. No one except the fans will see this as a revenge game, however, None of the players or coaches on either side are the same and the programs have flipped roles. Ole Miss is now the team with a potent offense, hard-hitting defense and title aspirations, while the Gators are the ones who are breaking in a new coach and trying to end a pattern of futility.
Other story lines in this game include Florida freshman DE Cece Jefferson, who spurned the Rebels for the in-state Gators in February. It will also be a homecoming of sorts for Ole Miss OT Laremy Tunsil, a Lake City, Florida native. Lastly, UF hotly pursued Hugh Freeze after the firing of Will Muschamp and you can bet if things don’t start off well for the Gators, there will be animosity in the air for the Ole Miss head coach.
6. Texas A&M
In their first two years in the SEC, Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M dealt a pair of devastating three-point losses to Ole Miss in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Last year, the Aggies were Manziel-less and were thrashed in their home stadium. It was a bit of a rebuilding year for the boys from College Station as they broke in a lot of new pieces.
This year, all those pieces are a year older and the team figures to have a pulse on defense for a change after stealing defensive coordinator John Chavis away from LSU. Texas A&M looked really bad in front of their home fans a year ago and this will be one of a few games on their calendars come the fall.
5. Arkansas
Speaking of humiliating losses, Ole Miss’ beating of A&M had nothing on what the Razorbacks did to the Rebels in the 30-0 beatdown in 2014. Tired of being the SEC’s whipping boy, Arkansas took down LSU and Ole Miss in consecutive weeks by finals of 17-0 and 30-0, respectively. The tone of the game was set by a phantom encroachment penalty on C.J. Johnson that negated a fourth down goal line stop, and the camels back was broken from there. A severely depleted Ole Miss team didn’t have the personnel to compete and it showed.
The Razorbacks are a sexy pick to have a big 2015 campaign despite just three conference wins in three years. They will be tough to beat but when you have your dignity stripped from you in a loss as demoralizing as 30-0 to a 7-6 team, you’re ready to lock the gates and pick a fight. Expect the leaders on the Ole Miss team to do just that.
Oct 4, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels running back Jaylen Walton (6) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown pass during the second half against Alabama Crimson Tide at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
4. Alabama
From the worst loss of the 2014 regular season to the best win of it. Ole Miss is on the right end of some revenge games and the wrong end of some others. Alabama wasn’t cheated out of a win, nor did they beat themselves. They were flat out beat on the field by a team that was simply better that day. Chants were directed at Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban and it was as gut-wrenching for the Tide as it was glorious for the Rebel faithful.
This will be a slugfest in Tuscaloosa and the Tide will be thirsty for blood. Despite losing Amari Cooper, T.J. Yeldon and others, Alabama should be better in 2015. Their defensive line may be the only one in the nation better than Ole Miss, and they have finely tuned what Kiffin wants them to do offensively. The ESPN FPI has this as the only game Ole Miss is not favored in, but we’ve seen the improbably before in this matchup.
3. Auburn
Halloween football gives all Rebel fans the heebie jeebies. It conjures up memories of 1959 when LSU’s Billy Cannon broke seven tackles en route to the endzone to upend the mighty Rebels. In recent years, Halloween is now reserved for Auburn-Ole Miss and this year, Halloween falls on a Saturday. The last two years have been very tight battles with both ending in heartbreak for the guys in red and blue.
The Tigers should be formidable again in 2015 and after the gem that this matchup brought in 2014, it’s safe to assume there will be a lot of build up here. Laquon Treadwell will be fired up after his gruesome leg injury at the expense of Auburn last season, and the Ole Miss secondary should be ready to redeem themselves after a few big plays spurred the Tiger comeback. Freeze and Gus Malzahn are good friends off the field, but once the ball is teed up, it’ll be war on the Plains.
2. Mississippi State
The Bulldog fans were treated to their best football season in history in 2014. Quarterback Dak Prescott led the team to the No. 1 ranking in the country, the first 10-win season in school history and the first victory over LSU since the turn of the millennium. Unfortunately, they lost a nail biter to Alabama that knocked them from their pedestal and were dealt a double-digit defeat at the hands of a Rebel team with nothing in the tank but a lot on crutches.
Cowbells will be clanging, bowl grappling will be in full effect, and the hate will flow through the Magnolia State. It will be Senior Night for Prescott and he would love nothing more than to regain the Golden Egg and send the Rebels packing with a loss.
Nov 29, 2014; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels celebrate and raise the Egg Bowl Trophy after winning their game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels defeat the won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
1. LSU
The granddaddy of all revenge games this season. LSU stormed the field after taking down the previously undefeated Rebels, in a 10-7 classic. LSU appeared as though they had the superior game plan but costly miscues left the game in the single-digits until a late touchdown pass gave the Tigers the lead.
Not only will the Rebels be fighting for a higher spot in the rankings and possibly much more at stake, and not only is this a bitter rivalry game. This will be the last time guys like Robert and Denzel Nkemdiche, Treadwell, Tunsil, Tony Conner, Johnson, Jaylon Walton, Trae Elston and others play in the Vaught. It will be a dogfight, a fitting end to a stellar 2015 season in Oxford.