This has been one of the best football seasons of my life.
Not because Ole Miss is 8-2, although that’s pretty great, but because I was there with my family, inside the raucous, rowdy red confines of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium when we stormed back from 9 down in the 4th quarter to beat LSU. I was back the next week with my 12-year-old son when we willed our way to victory over Arkansas and again with the family on that Saturday afternoon that Lane Kiffin got the final word in his feud with Jimbo Fisher with a narrow victory over Texas A&M.
In each of those white-knuckle wins I got to experience the joy of hugs and high fives with my wife and kids on every big play and the crippling anxiety of all the twists and turns in between. But that’s what made the wins even more exciting!
Each and every one of those games was thrilling, and I’ll have memories of those “All Night Revivals” for years to come (hat tip to whoever plays Zach Bryan in the 4th quarter TV timeouts. Please keep that going!).
Joyful memories are what being a fan is all about, and Ole Miss has mostly delivered this season.
While the loss to Georgia was a bummer, there’s still a chance at a 10-win season, a great bowl, and positive momentum headed into 2024 - momentum which got a head start on Thursday night when Lane Kiffin said that quarterback Jaxson Dart plans to return for his senior season.
Dart’s return should give Kiffin the sales pitch he needs to lure another great receiver to Oxford, and maybe even keep the likes of Dayton Wade, Jordan Watkins and/or Tre Harris around another season (Assuming they have a covid year of eligibility remaining. I think at least two of them have a COVID year remaining, but I’m not positive on that).
Add in Quinshon Judkins and Ole Miss could be really special in 2024 - just in time for the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
First, Ole Miss needs to put Georgia in the distant rearview mirror and take care of business against Louisiana Monroe and Mississippi State.
Two decisive victories over the next five days should result in more good times at a bowl game somewhere fun like Dallas or Orlando over the Holidays, and the table is set for just such a scenario.
First up is the University of Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (11am, SEC Network). ULM (2-8) has lost 8 straight, and as of Friday afternoon Vegas has the Rebs favored by 37.5 points.
That will be followed just five days later by a Thanksgiving night showcase with Mississippi State (4-6, 1-6 SEC), which has an interim head coach after firing Zach Arnett last weekend. The Bulldogs have lost three straight SEC games, including a 51-10 loss to A&M last Saturday.
Ole Miss will be a heavy favorite in that one, too.
Needless to say, the Rebels should win both of these games and finish 10-2, although I know nothing is certain when it comes to the Egg Bowl (more on that later).
A loss in either one of these upcoming games would tarnish an otherwise great season, and this season deserves so much better than that.
Here’s hoping for two solid victories and more good times and great memories.
Let’s get to 10-2!