RambleOn
The Law of Winning
Promised I would do this, so here it is. Not saying that this is an amazingly strong play, but its Ole Miss + whatever or pass, IMO.
Ole Miss +x @ Memphis
Progression
Ole Miss is a team on the rise, folks. I know it's hard to see that when you realize that we have won 7 games in the last two years, but the Rebels are rebuilding. Let's take a look at our 3-8 season of 2005:
Sep 5 - W at Memphis, 10-6
Sep 10 - Open
Sep 17 - L at Vanderbilt, 23-31
Sep 24 - L vs. Wyoming, 14-24
Oct 1 - L at Tennessee, 10-27
Oct 8 - W vs. Citadel, 27-7
Oct 15 - L vs. Alabama, 10-13
Oct 22 - W vs. Kentucky, 13-7
Oct 29 - L at Auburn, 3-27
Nov 5 - Open
Nov 12 - L vs. Arkansas, 17-28
Nov 19 - L vs. L-S-U, 7-40
Nov 26 - L at Miss State, 14-35
In Ole Miss's horrible state, they managed to beat The Citadel, Kentucky, and, you guessed it, Memphis. If you look at the rest of the results, Ole Miss pretty much got ass-kicked in the rest of the games. They played Alabama tight - that is the only redeeming grace in this disaster of a season.
Now, on to 2006:
Sep 3 - W vs. Memphis, 28-25
Sep 9 - L at Missouri, 7-34
Sep 16 - L at Kentucky, 14-31
Sep 23 - L vs. Wake Forest, 3-27
Sep 30 - L vs. Georgia, 9-14
Oct 7 - W vs. Vanderbilt, 17-10
Oct 14 - L at Alabama, 23-26 OT
Oct 21 - L at Arkansas, 3-38
Oct 28 - L vs. Auburn, 17-23
Nov 4 - W vs. Northwestern St, 27-7
Nov 11 - Open
Nov 18 - L at L-S-U, 20-23 OT
Nov 25 - W vs. Miss State, 20-17
Now, Ole Miss only won 4 games last year, but what a marked improvement. They beat Miss St, Vanderbilt (a damn good program last year), Northwestern, and, you guessed it, Memphis. More importantly, they only lost by 5 to Georgia, 5 to Auburn, and by FG's in OT against Alabama and LSU. This is a program on the rise, my friends.
Now, onto the current season.
Our strengths:
*1,000 yrd rush Benjarvus Green-Ellis, who finished second in the SEC last year with 234 carries and 3rd in conference with 1,000 yards.
*4 returning starters on the offensive line.
*A jump start WR: This summer, Ole Miss signed Junior A.J. Jackson (6-6, 225). At College of the Sequoias two years ago, A.J. caught 43 catches for 667 yards and 16 TD's. Last year, A.J. caught 30 passes for 493 yards and 9 TD's. This guy is big, physical, and could make a BIG impression this year.
*Experienced Wideouts (Out of 134 passes caught last year, 130 belong to returning players)
*Coaching change: John Thompson, who last coached at East Carolina, and has coached at Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, LSU, and South Carolina, has taken over the Defense.
*All Freshman kicker Josh Shene
Our weaknessess:
*An unstable QB situation - Ole Miss finished last in the SEC in total offense and scoring last year. It is still up in the air on who is going to QB this year: Brent Shaeffer, Seth Adams, or maybe even red-shirt freshman Michael Herrick. This position has me uneasy: a few turnovers from an in-experienced QB can kill any team. We shall see during the Memphis game if we've got a chance to win with whoever steps up in this position.
*A defensive line that allowed 158 yards rushing a game last year.
*The loss of Patrick Willis, who is irreplacable.
What about Memphis?
They lost every game but 2 last year. They beat Chatanooga, and UTEP. This is a team that is still reeling from their loss of DeAngelo Williams, who joined the Carolina Panthers in 2006.
Their strengths:
*An experienced Senior QB in Martin Hankins
*3 returning starters on offensive line
*A senior running back: Senior Joseph Doss is an efficient, consistent runner. He is not a big player runner though, does not have the propensity to break off 20+ yard runs. He's a work horse.
Their weaknesses:
*Inexperienced WR's:
*Coaching switches
*Inexperienced Corners
*Injury-filled spring
Bottom Line
I'm not going to get prolific here. I basically just have a strong feeling, after reading about these two teams, that Ole Miss beats Memphis again this year. We beat them when we were down, and now that we are imporoved, why shouldn't we beat them again? Memphis is a program that just does not have an identity right now. The coaches are all different, they recently lost the best player they have had there in ages, and there is no real cohesiveness at any position. They just don't have the big playmakers or the experience at any one position to make a dent this year.
I will give them this: They have a strong QB who could play very well this year. But who is he going to throw to? Two of their main returning recievers only combined for 12.6 yards per carry and 4 TD's last year. They don't have a prolific running back to make waves behind an offensive line that will probably be pretty decent. Doss is a workhorse and may be able to eek out a couple cards a carry. They don't have the linebackers to stop BenJarvus, and they don't have the cornerbacks to stop our recievers.
This definitely won't be a blow out. If you look at last year's game, which Ole Miss won 28-25, all the stats are pretty even. Both RB's had over 100 yards, and they actually led in Time of Possesssion and passing yards. Even with all that, the game wasn't as close as it looked. Ole Miss led 28-17 until 3 minutes left in the game, when Memphis orchestrated a long TD drive and corresponding 2 pt conversion, the push the early line of 3 and actually win/lose the game for the bettors who got the late line (3.5).
Ole Miss is on the up and up. Although we are down right now, I believe the last two years have led up to what might be a surprising season for the Rebels. We have a tough schedule, but most of the hard conference games are at home. It all starts with a win at Memphis, and that is a MUST. I don't see anyway we lose this game. If we do lose, the entire season is going to be a bust. It all starts here, guys.
These are just my thoughts, so you may agree or disagree. I simply think Ole Miss beats Memphis. Period. So getting ANY points with the Rebels is SOLID. I'll say Rebels win 27-21. :shake:
Ole Miss +x @ Memphis
Progression
Ole Miss is a team on the rise, folks. I know it's hard to see that when you realize that we have won 7 games in the last two years, but the Rebels are rebuilding. Let's take a look at our 3-8 season of 2005:
Sep 5 - W at Memphis, 10-6
Sep 10 - Open
Sep 17 - L at Vanderbilt, 23-31
Sep 24 - L vs. Wyoming, 14-24
Oct 1 - L at Tennessee, 10-27
Oct 8 - W vs. Citadel, 27-7
Oct 15 - L vs. Alabama, 10-13
Oct 22 - W vs. Kentucky, 13-7
Oct 29 - L at Auburn, 3-27
Nov 5 - Open
Nov 12 - L vs. Arkansas, 17-28
Nov 19 - L vs. L-S-U, 7-40
Nov 26 - L at Miss State, 14-35
In Ole Miss's horrible state, they managed to beat The Citadel, Kentucky, and, you guessed it, Memphis. If you look at the rest of the results, Ole Miss pretty much got ass-kicked in the rest of the games. They played Alabama tight - that is the only redeeming grace in this disaster of a season.
Now, on to 2006:
Sep 3 - W vs. Memphis, 28-25
Sep 9 - L at Missouri, 7-34
Sep 16 - L at Kentucky, 14-31
Sep 23 - L vs. Wake Forest, 3-27
Sep 30 - L vs. Georgia, 9-14
Oct 7 - W vs. Vanderbilt, 17-10
Oct 14 - L at Alabama, 23-26 OT
Oct 21 - L at Arkansas, 3-38
Oct 28 - L vs. Auburn, 17-23
Nov 4 - W vs. Northwestern St, 27-7
Nov 11 - Open
Nov 18 - L at L-S-U, 20-23 OT
Nov 25 - W vs. Miss State, 20-17
Now, Ole Miss only won 4 games last year, but what a marked improvement. They beat Miss St, Vanderbilt (a damn good program last year), Northwestern, and, you guessed it, Memphis. More importantly, they only lost by 5 to Georgia, 5 to Auburn, and by FG's in OT against Alabama and LSU. This is a program on the rise, my friends.
Now, onto the current season.
Our strengths:
*1,000 yrd rush Benjarvus Green-Ellis, who finished second in the SEC last year with 234 carries and 3rd in conference with 1,000 yards.
*4 returning starters on the offensive line.
*A jump start WR: This summer, Ole Miss signed Junior A.J. Jackson (6-6, 225). At College of the Sequoias two years ago, A.J. caught 43 catches for 667 yards and 16 TD's. Last year, A.J. caught 30 passes for 493 yards and 9 TD's. This guy is big, physical, and could make a BIG impression this year.
*Experienced Wideouts (Out of 134 passes caught last year, 130 belong to returning players)
*Coaching change: John Thompson, who last coached at East Carolina, and has coached at Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, LSU, and South Carolina, has taken over the Defense.
*All Freshman kicker Josh Shene
Our weaknessess:
*An unstable QB situation - Ole Miss finished last in the SEC in total offense and scoring last year. It is still up in the air on who is going to QB this year: Brent Shaeffer, Seth Adams, or maybe even red-shirt freshman Michael Herrick. This position has me uneasy: a few turnovers from an in-experienced QB can kill any team. We shall see during the Memphis game if we've got a chance to win with whoever steps up in this position.
*A defensive line that allowed 158 yards rushing a game last year.
*The loss of Patrick Willis, who is irreplacable.
What about Memphis?
They lost every game but 2 last year. They beat Chatanooga, and UTEP. This is a team that is still reeling from their loss of DeAngelo Williams, who joined the Carolina Panthers in 2006.
Their strengths:
*An experienced Senior QB in Martin Hankins
*3 returning starters on offensive line
*A senior running back: Senior Joseph Doss is an efficient, consistent runner. He is not a big player runner though, does not have the propensity to break off 20+ yard runs. He's a work horse.
Their weaknesses:
*Inexperienced WR's:
*Coaching switches
*Inexperienced Corners
*Injury-filled spring
Bottom Line
I'm not going to get prolific here. I basically just have a strong feeling, after reading about these two teams, that Ole Miss beats Memphis again this year. We beat them when we were down, and now that we are imporoved, why shouldn't we beat them again? Memphis is a program that just does not have an identity right now. The coaches are all different, they recently lost the best player they have had there in ages, and there is no real cohesiveness at any position. They just don't have the big playmakers or the experience at any one position to make a dent this year.
I will give them this: They have a strong QB who could play very well this year. But who is he going to throw to? Two of their main returning recievers only combined for 12.6 yards per carry and 4 TD's last year. They don't have a prolific running back to make waves behind an offensive line that will probably be pretty decent. Doss is a workhorse and may be able to eek out a couple cards a carry. They don't have the linebackers to stop BenJarvus, and they don't have the cornerbacks to stop our recievers.
This definitely won't be a blow out. If you look at last year's game, which Ole Miss won 28-25, all the stats are pretty even. Both RB's had over 100 yards, and they actually led in Time of Possesssion and passing yards. Even with all that, the game wasn't as close as it looked. Ole Miss led 28-17 until 3 minutes left in the game, when Memphis orchestrated a long TD drive and corresponding 2 pt conversion, the push the early line of 3 and actually win/lose the game for the bettors who got the late line (3.5).
Ole Miss is on the up and up. Although we are down right now, I believe the last two years have led up to what might be a surprising season for the Rebels. We have a tough schedule, but most of the hard conference games are at home. It all starts with a win at Memphis, and that is a MUST. I don't see anyway we lose this game. If we do lose, the entire season is going to be a bust. It all starts here, guys.
These are just my thoughts, so you may agree or disagree. I simply think Ole Miss beats Memphis. Period. So getting ANY points with the Rebels is SOLID. I'll say Rebels win 27-21. :shake:
