Bowl Season

[MSTSatchmo]

It’s been said a gazillion times, but opt outs and the portal have screwed teams during the bowl games.  This one would have been a good matchup otherwise.  

[NoWammies]

9 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

It’s been said a gazillion times, but opt outs and the portal have screwed teams during the bowl games.  This one would have been a good matchup otherwise.  

I agree. Sucks our sack leader opted out. 

[NoWammies]

And to think Richardson shut Tre down in the Egg Bowl. I’ll take him even tho State fans said he’s garbage. 83 gave him credit tho so kudos to him. 

[Bulldogs4]

Oh he is a good player and a good pick up for Ole Miss. 

Penn State has the number 1 defense in the nation yet a bad State team held Ole Miss to 17.

Just thought I would throw that out there. 

[NoWammies]

PSU fans said for weeks on Twitter that regardless of game being in Atlanta they’d have the home crowd cuz of they’re following. That looked to be false. Hope you enjoying your time @rebmus

 

https://x.com/bradlogancote/status/1741192367346987339?s=46&t=AP0_RymTp1SB6dY_84dfNA

[Bulldogs4]

Breck Tyler transferred from State to Ole Miss in 1978 after Coach Tyler stepped down at State.

Which was understandable being his Dad coached at OM when he was a youngster.

And when he suffered an excruciating broken ankle in the 1980 State -Ole Miss game, it was his former State teammates who carried him off the field. 
 

That said, I thought I would never see that happen again but with the unrestricted free agency these days I suspect there will be plenty more players who will go from State>Ole Miss>State in the years to come. 
 

Not sure what to think about it as it is disappointing to see a player transfer to your rival. But that is the players discretion. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Bulldogs4

[NoWammies]

2 minutes ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Breck Tyler transferred from State to Ole Miss in 1978 after Coach Tyler stepped down at State.

Which was understandable being his Dad coached at OM when he was a youngster.

And when he suffered an excruciating broken ankle in the 1980 State -Ole Miss game, it was his former State teammates who carried him off the field. 
 

That said, I thought I would never see that happen again but with the unrestricted free agency these days I suspect there will be plenty more players who will go from State>Ole Miss>State in the years to come. 
 

Not sure what to think about it as it is disappointing to see a player transfer to your rival. But that is the players discretion. 

Yea it was crazy hearing Malik Heath saying Ole Miss during a Green Bay Packers game. 

[NoWammies]

Only thing missing now is for Dart and Judkins to officially say they’re returning next year. 

[Dawg83]

Penn State will never seriously compete for a championship until they majorly overhaul this offense. I know they hired Kansas’s OC so maybe he’s what they need. But this frankly been a fairly pathetic offensive showing.  And I now totally understand why their fans are kinda over Franklin and won’t lose sleep if he eventually leaves for another job.

 

For Ole Miss, hey you can’t call this season anything other than a huge success. 11-2 when many predicted them to be in the 7-5 or 8-4 range. I personally had them at 7-5 and State at 8-4 so I’ll own that super wrong prediction. Say what you want about the SEC being down but they’ve taken full advantage of any of that. And my criticism of Kiffin not winning big games was kinda squashed this year too with the LSU and Penn State wins.

 

Thus begins an offseason of much anticipation in Oxford. It’s a long time until kickoff in 2024 but I have no doubt Ole Miss people will be looking forward to next season as much as any in the modern era. We’ll see what comes of it. As NoWhammies has alluded to, I do think you need more help on the OL to really compete with the tippy top teams next year. And then it’s a matter of seeing how quickly many of the new pieces are able to gel. The mentality will likely be Playoff or bust for many OM fans.

[Bulldogs4]

Oh the horrors, Ole Miss has let Penn State score 25 points. That must be a record output for that offense….

 

 

Sarcasm noted I hope….

[Dawg83]

17 minutes ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Oh the horrors, Ole Miss has let Penn State score 25 points. That must be a record output for that offense….

 

 

Sarcasm noted I hope….

Allar being a high 5 star and the number one QB prospect in the country his year is…. Something…. That guy stinks. And he has nobody at receiver to bail him out, either.

[MSTSatchmo]

50 minutes ago, NoWammies said:

I agree. Sucks our sack leader opted out. 

You won’t see many teams with just one player opting out.  That’s impressive now.  
I thought OM would win anyway, but without 4 secondary players and two defensive linemen, Penn State didn’t have a chance against Kifffin’s offense.  
 

On the other hand, opt outs have allowed some players to shine.  Maryland’s QBs are doing well with their opportunities and USC’s QB set bowl records after Williams opted out and Nelson decided to transfer.  We can’t forget about the 3rd string QB for WKU that entered the portal, dressed for the game though and threw 5 TDs in a comeback win.  

[Dawg83]

I do think it’s a little funny that other than Bama and Georgia, the best defensive game anyone had against Ole Miss was by a bad State D. On the flip side, Barbay’s offense was vomit inducing that night and the reason State didn’t win.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Dawg83

[NoWammies]

Well not trying to make an excuse but during the Egg Bowl Dart was questionable going into it and basically had Lafayette County’s OL playing. 

[rebmus]

50 minutes ago, NoWammies said:

PSU fans said for weeks on Twitter that regardless of game being in Atlanta they’d have the home crowd cuz of they’re following. That looked to be false. Hope you enjoying your time @rebmus

 

https://x.com/bradlogancote/status/1741192367346987339?s=46&t=AP0_RymTp1SB6dY_84dfNA

Oh, we had a great time!

the crowd looked pretty 50/50 to me.

I overheard some Penn State fans in the restroom saying “I don’t think they outnumber us, but they’re definitely louder.”

 

 

[MSTSatchmo]

6 minutes ago, NoWammies said:

Well not trying to make an excuse but during the Egg Bowl Dart was questionable going into it and basically had Lafayette County’s OL playing. 

I believe everyone questioned the game plan against State.  As bad as State’s secondary was, Kiffin didn’t really test them. 

[NoWammies]

Just now, MSTSatchmo said:

I believe everyone questioned the game plan against State.  As bad as State’s secondary was, Kiffin didn’t really test them. 

I agree. I think this was the best gameplan and play calling I’ve seen Kiffin and Weis Jr call. The deepball  is nice but getting the ball out quick moving the chains is just as nice against a fast attacking defense. 

[MSTSatchmo]

3 minutes ago, NoWammies said:

I agree. I think this was the best gameplan and play calling I’ve seen Kiffin and Weis Jr call. The deepball  is nice but getting the ball out quick moving the chains is just as nice against a fast attacking defense. 

I know Kiffin likes to be balanced and run the ball, but get ready for those quick throws next year.  Most teams will not be able to cover all those WRs.  There should be a couple mismatches every game.  

[NoWammies]

What’s gone without saying is Dart played an amazing game today. That’s the QB play of his we’ve been waiting on. I’ve thought of him as Bo Wallace where you get Good Bo and Bad Bo but today we got the guy I’ve been waiting for. Right read after right read and no game changing momentum turnover. Today is an example why he needs to return cuz if he duplicates that every week next year with the weapons then he’s a 1st/2nd round pick. 

[NoWammies]

42 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

You won’t see many teams with just one player opting out.  That’s impressive now.  

This is another thing going unmentioned. Other fan bases keep questioning the way Kiffin is building his teams through the portal but he’s getting the right guys who are buying into the system and building a new culture. I keep hearing this is a make or break system he’s doing but look what he’s built. Even if it is, we went from a 4/5 win bowl ban fan base with bags on our heads to a fan base with hope and a possibility of a national championship for the time being. 

[Dawg83]

25 minutes ago, MSTSatchmo said:

I believe everyone questioned the game plan against State.  As bad as State’s secondary was, Kiffin didn’t really test them. 

I questioned whether Kiffin was on drugs at different points in that game. Lol. Could not believe that they were sitting on 3 points well into the second half.

[MSTSatchmo]

2 minutes ago, NoWammies said:

This is another thing going unmentioned. Other fan bases keep questioning the way Kiffin is building his teams through the portal but he’s getting the right guys who are buying into the system and building a new culture. I keep hearing this is a make or break system he’s doing but look what he’s built. 

The mass portal transfer trend is still relatively new.  It’s been heavy three years, maybe four.  Can it work, yes.  Eventually you’ll get some guys that don’t produce or leave after a year.  Maybe Kiffin has been lucky with his additions.  Maybe he can gauge talent better.   His defensive additions have been ok so far, but his offensive additions have been really good.  It all starts with the QB position.  
 

I do think it will be more of a part of building a program than originally thought.  The whole unregulated buying players will end soon though, I think.  Contracts, caps, etc have to be implemented.   

[Bulldogs4]

Part of that was it was the Egg Bowl and the State defense played really well. More credit there and in a rivalry game, those kind of games happen. 
 

Ole Miss folks were critical of the offense but each team had three scoring opportunities and Ole Miss cashed theirs in for 17 and State only had 7. Both defenses dominated that game. 

[NoWammies]

Looks like the SEC will be 3-0 in NY6 Bowls unless Charlie Ward, Derrick Brooks, Peter Warrick, Deion Sanders and Warrick Dunn come out in the 2H. 

[Dawg83]

People are going to use this Georgia-FSU score as justification for FSU not making the Playoff. Don’t particularly feel like that’s fair. I realize people don’t like the player opt outs as excuses but when you’re talking 15-20 starters, it’s just not even the same team.