Ole Miss Football: Two-thirds Of The Season In, Here We Are

The 2018 Ole Miss football season is now two-thirds of the way thru and with just four games left the Rebels really aren’t sitting in a bad spot.

Ole Miss football (5-3, 1-3) is now eight games into the 2018 college football season and despite the record and a few bad games the Rebels are sitting in a pretty good spot. Many college football pundits are probably somewhat surprised by coach Matt Luke and the Ole Miss Rebels simply because many expected us to be much worse this season than we have been.

While many of the ‘experts’ had Ole Miss finishing at the bottom of the SEC for a variety of reasons the Rebels have exceeded most expectations despite the problems and adversity they have faced. Considering everything the Rebels have had to endure thru the past few years there have been signs of great things ahead for this program.

It Hasn’t Been Easy

Ole Miss Rebels

Its true the conditions haven’t been ideal for Ole Miss football. Going back just twenty games there has been a lot which has happened which has hindered the program and dampered the Rebels fans spirit and expectations. The program has been thru a lot and no it hasn’t been easy for anybody involved.

If the NCAA investigation and impending COI ruling wasn’t bad enough there was also the scandal involving former Rebels coach Hugh Freeze which led to Matt Luke being named interim head coach during the 2017 season.

Of course, 6-6 was not what many of us expected last season and Luke did an incredible job to get us to that point. The final win last season against then No.14 ranked Miss State was the turning point for the Ole Miss football program going forward. The 31-28 Egg Bowl win was enough to ensure Matt Luke losing the interim tag and becoming the Ole Miss Rebels 38th head coach.

It Could Be Worse

While many Ole Miss fans can’t imagine things being worse for the program than they already are it is true. Considering everything the Ole Miss football program has been thru things really aren’t that bad and yes they could be far worse. In a perfect college football world none of this would have ever happened but that just isn’t the way things work when you are a Ole Miss fan. Things are never easy but they are really not that bad.

No there was no NCAA ‘hammer’ which fell on the Ole Miss program. Despite what was levied against the Ole Miss Rebels by the COI ruling which included a bowl ban there was not the mass exodus of a dozen or more players which was predicted by many pundits. Of course, one can look at the transfers and see it wasn’t an ideal situation yet it could have been far worse and some of the transfers were actually expected. A few may have even been beneficial.

Sure it isn’t easy for coach Matt Luke this season, nor is it easy for the rest of the staff. Ole Miss fans have been hoping for something much better than last season but many of us, including myself, may have set the bar far too high for this team considering what they have had to deal with this season. Reduced scholarships, injuries and limited depth have been serious hurdles for this program to overcome but things could be far worse.

So here we are getting ready to face the South Carolina Gamecocks this Saturday and this could be the game which equals the 2017 seasons best six wins. With four games left in 2018 there is a very good chance coach Matt Luke and the Rebels could exceed last season. While all four games left represent difficult SEC opponents they are winnable. Not a bad spot for the Ole Miss football program to be in right now. Hotty Toddy!