Ole Miss Football: Is Ole Miss Football Underachieving?
By Brien Straw
Especially in jury duty it’s never hard to find time to ponder over Ole Miss football and the state of the Rebels program in Oxford.
Most people think jury duty is a waste of their time. I disagree. Hate to go all Jimmy Stuart, but the right to vote and serve on a jury are two of this countries top privileges. It’s also provided me an opportunity to contemplate catch what others are saying about Ole Miss football for 2018.
Back in May, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Ryan McGee opined about the upcoming season with 100 things they can’t wait to see in ’18. Number 67 caught my attention, and almost a month later I’m still not sure which side I’d vote for. Yes I realize I must immediately go Skip Bayless and shout my opinion from the highest mountain top, or twitter right Skip, but I waiver on this topic.
A Classic Underachiever In Football?
Ole Miss Rebels Football
Ryan McGee says yes. He writes: “I think there’s a list of programs that have never been as great as they should have been (67). I’d put UCLA in there, along with Ole Miss and a lot of other programs.” I completely agree that UCLA is an underachieving program. As well as Texas A&M, for which Schlabach and McGee’s discussion began.
Despite coming off a BCS Title Game appearance, Georgia would sit atop my list of classic underachievers. But Ole Miss? On one hand what Hugh Freeze showed is that Ole Miss can compete with the nation’s best. And don’t give me the, “Yeah but he had to cheat to do it,” bullschmidt.
Ole Miss has spent the better part of this decade in NCAA purgatory for two reasons; Freeze begged the NCAA to investigate, and like many African-Americans believe when it comes to law enforcement, we were profiled.
The Highway Is Crowded
While Ferrari’s and Porches of college football (see: Alabama, Ohio State, Auburn, etc.) race by hiding police car at speeds well beyond the limit, Ole Miss is the Nissan Sentra with a taillight out that’s on the side of the road having to explain why we were going a couple of miles over the speed limit.
As a Ole Miss fan, while others will always assume success in Oxford requires nefarious actions, we know we are capable of holding our own with the big boys. A 46 year gap between Sugar Bowl visits, is all McGee would need to highlight to support his argument the Rebels have underachieved.
The Question Then Becomes Why?
Is McGee overlooking the Confederate symbols tied to the program that most use to explain the epic drought? Either he is, or he believes Ole Miss should have done a much better job of addressing those issues?
I was witness to a Ole Miss athletic director telling a small group essentially, “we are poor little Ole Miss doing the best we can.” For too long Ole Miss football lacked vision, and no holds barred approach to success. Facilities lagged while the SEC powers began an arms race in the 80’s. Budgets were microscopic in comparison to teams winning conference championships.
It’s Not Easy Being Us
Consider the upgrades at Vaught-Hemingway stadium. Each is significantly different architecturally from the previous renovation. We’ve all heard the stories about certain AD’s more concerned about the light bill than making sure lettermen were welcome on campus.
How often have you told a friend, Alabama’s got nothing on us when it comes to…? So, has Ole Miss been its own worst enemy at times? Yes. Should there have been more years between Vaught’s departure and Freeze’s messy exit like 2015 and 2016? Absolutely.
But underachievers? The ability to overcome stereotypes is real and not imagined. And until the SEC Network came along and significantly helped level the playing field financially, the Ole Miss budget paled in comparison to most of its SEC competition.
Perhaps this is why I consider a throw off comment in an article on the 2018 season so perplexing. I say Ole Miss could have done much more to remain competitive following the Vaught era, but I certainly wouldn’t place the Rebels in the same category of underachievers like A&M, UCLA, and Georgia. What say you?