Ole Miss Football: Will Bama End The NCAA Case Against Ole Miss?
Sound crazy? Of course it does. However, Ole Miss football fans have already seen how bizarre an NCAA case can become with TSBU’s plot to ‘take down’ Ole Miss. Well it’s going to get even more bizarre over the coming weeks and months unless Bama steps in.
Why Bama you ask? Well besides being the cash cow of the SEC they have a lot at stake here. For Ole Miss football fans there has been no shortage of conspiracy theories over the past four and a half years. I might as well let you in on another ‘real’ conspiracy theory. It goes something like this.
On the eighth day God created Alabama football. Apparently on the ninth day Alabama football began cheating. If everybody does it then Bama has perfected it. To hear Bama fans tell it, they don’t have to cheat. However they have been caught before, although not recently. No they’ve become very adept at avoiding the wrath of the NCAA. Even when cancelled checks to players show up the NCAA does nothing.
Connecting The Dots
Ole Miss Rebels Football
Alabama head coach Nick Saban and NCAA President Mark Emmert have a history. They are connected at the hip. There’s no secret about the fact.
Emmert was the Chancellor at LSU when he hired Nick Saban to coach the Bayou Bengals.
Numerous times during Saban’s tenure as Alabama head coach there have been fingers pointed about improper benefits being given to players.
It seems as though Alabama and head coach Nick Saban have a get out of jail free card with no expiration date. It’s hard to blame a coach for using his numerous connections.
However, it may be time for coach Saban to call in another favor but not for Ole Miss or MSU. As I said before Alabama has something at stake here. The NCAA case against Ole Miss football is already ugly. Several schools were mentioned within the responses. Of course, the responses are redacted. However Student-Athlete No.39 had a lot to talk about with NCAA enforcement. So how does this affect Bama?
More Dots Than Answers
Apparently, Student-Athlete No.39 was in the recruiting process for the money more so than competing at a decent school. The most compelling statement from the official responses to the amended NOA is found in the response of former Ole Miss coach Chris Kiffin. On page17 the official response clearly states Student-Athlete No.39,
"“admits he solicited cash and other inducements to sign with multiple institutions during his recruitment.” ~Kiffin Official Response"
So how does this pertain to Bama? Simply put, Leo Lewis committed to Alabama at one point during his recruitment. Does this mean he solicited cash and inducements from Bama? Of course not. However, the key word in the above statement from the Kiffin response is the word ‘multiple’. Certainly more than just Ole Miss and MSU. There are rumors which indicate Lewis may have received impermissible benefits from LSU and Bama. Of course, Lewis wound up signing with the highest bidder in MSU.
The How And Why Of No.39
So how and why does a prospective student athlete scam numerous schools? Of course, we know about the Cam Newton situation which MSU was also involved in. The ‘how’ is easy to figure out. At one point Lewis was the top linebacker prospect in the nation. Numerous schools were chasing after him. The word got out he could be bought and the rest is history.
The ‘why’ is the biggest mystery however I have my own theory. I believe Lewis solicited every school for an unbelievable amount of money. Cam Newton kind of money. Of course, no school is going to pay that kind of money for Lewis. Once he found that out he began to take whatever he could get from any school which would pay out. Of course the money added up and he simply went with the highest payout and the new Denali. MSU missed on Newton and they refused to allow that to happen again.
So How Does It Affect Bama
First of all it doesn’t affect Bama unless it really happened. Second, even if it did happen and Bama is implicated in the NCAA case it will be like it never happened. Once again Saban can call up his old buddy Emmert and make it go away. Yes it is really just that easy.
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I realize Nick Saban is not a huge fan of Ole Miss football. The fact Hugh Freeze has won the last 2 out of 3 against Bama may indeed be enough to make Nick not call up his old buddy Emmert. However, if Alabama is implicated within this case you can bet that call will be made. And all will be forgotten for Bama.