Fun With Balls. . .
Man, what a crazy football bowl season, huh Bobcat??
Yesterday, my beloved 20th ranked University of Mississippi Rebels (9-4 regular season) led by new head coach and demigod Houston Nutt, opened up several cans of premium whoopass on the 8th ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech (11-2 regular season) in the Cotton Bowl.
The Rebels, led by diminutive running back/part-time quarterback/wide receiver Dexter McCluster ran over, under and through Texas Tech all day. McCluster ran for 97 yards and caught 6 passes for 83 yards. The big, rumbling, bumbling tight end Gerald Harris caught two touchdown passes and Brandon Bolden ran for 101 yards including a 17 yard rush for a touchdown.
But beyond the numbers, there was something else, something far more important than numbers, scores, and stats. It was team spirit. Ole Miss had it. Texas Tech didn't.
Houston Nut came to Ole Miss from Arkansas following behind David Ogeron's poor 3-8 performance last year with the Rebels. Ogeron may have left behind a weak record, but his recruiting skills were phenomenal. Nutt saw the talent, he believed in his players and Nutt made a promise to his team. He said if you believe in me, I'll take you to a bowl game. A simple motivation for his players and those young men performed.
Ole Miss stumbled a bit this year and rudimentary mistakes at critical points cost them some very close games against top 25 teams. Wake Forest and Vanderbilt come to mind. The Rebels should have won both of those games and finished the season 11-2. But they didn't.
Each week, Ole Miss picked themselves up and dusted themselves off, overcoming the doubt and second-guessing that can ruin a team. They came back each week stronger and more motivated to win. In Florida, the reached the peak with a devastating defeat of the Gators in Gainesville. Then they beat LSU in Baton Rogue. They believed in themselves and it was Nutt who fostered that feeling, nurturing his players to victory.
At the end of the game yesterday I noticed that two of the linemen from Texas Tech were displaying what could be best described as "poor loser syndrome" as they lashed out at the Rebels and their own teammates. It was sad to see a great team who had come so far, only to lose an important game, pouting like spoiled children, a game in which they were beat fair and sqaure.
Ole Miss, you should be proud. I am! We all are! Mississippi is proud of her Rebels!
I leave you with our historic cheer:
Hotty Totty, Gosh Almighty
Who In The Hell Are We-Hey
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
Ole Miss By Damn!
f#*$in football!!
A mystery to me ... you don't even play with your foot!
'Throwball' seems a better name.