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Vassallo: Ole Miss Football Fans – the Best Is Yet to Come!
Photo: John Bowen
What happened Friday night in New Orleans should serve as a declaration to college football: Ole Miss is definitely back!
With a top ten final ranking almost assured (the Rebs are currently sixth in Sagarin) and a top five recruiting class lingering (the Rebs are currently fifth with 247sports.com), the best days for Rebel football are still in the future.
The 48 points posted by Kelly, Treadwell & Co. were the most ever scored by an Ole Miss bowl team (Ole Miss scored 47 in the 2009 Cotton Bowl). Looking ahead to the September 5, Labor Day battle with Florida State, here’s our preseason SEC rankings based on objectivity (SEC Network need take notice):
- 1. Ole Miss
- 2. Alabama
- 3. Tennessee
- 4. LSU
- 5. Florida
- 6. Georgia
- 7. Arkansas
- 8. Auburn
- 9. Texas A&M
- 10. Mississippi State
- 11. Kentucky
- 12. South Carolina
- 13. Missouri
- 14. Vanderbilt
A new day has dawned within the SEC power status. Ole Miss is now a firmly established power broker. Those teams that discount the Rebels are making a huge mistake!
Here’s the current Sagarin ratings for SEC teams inclusive of Florida State:
- Alabama: 1
- Ole Miss: 6
- Tennessee: 10
- Florida State: 11
- Arkansas: 15
- Mississippi State: 17
- Georgia: 22
- Florida: 28
- Auburn: 29
- Texas A&M: 33
- Missouri: 62
- South Carolina: 66
- Kentucky: 81
- and Vanderbilt: 82
The current recruiting rankings per 247sports.com for SEC teams inclusive of Florida State are as follows:
- LSU: 1
- Florida State: 3
- Ole Miss: 5
- Alabama: 7
- Auburn: 9
- Florida: 12
- Georgia: 14
- Texas A&M: 16
- Tennessee: 21
- Kentucky: 24
- Arkansas: 26
- South Carolina: 32
- Mississippi State: 37
- Vanderbilt: 51
- and Missouri: 57
Note: Ohio State is second, Michigan is fourth.
In conclusion, Ole Miss should be favorite in every game this coming season with the one exception being LSU. And the only reason for this one not following suit is the fact the game is in Baton Rouge following a tough outing in Fayetteville.
I can see the Rebs going 11-1, winning the SEC West with little stretch of the imagination. A new day has dawned as Hugh Freeze “has made Ole Miss great again”, borrowing a phrase from someone else on the rise!
Steve Vassallo is a HottyToddy.com contributor. Steve writes on Ole Miss athletics, Oxford business, politics and other subjects. He is an Ole Miss grad and former radio announcer for the basketball team. Currently, Steve is a highly successful leader in the real estate business who lives in Oxford with his wife Rosie. You can contact Steve at sovassallo@gmail.com or call him at 985-852-7745.
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| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | W, 26-14 |
| Thu, Jan 2 |  | vs Duke (Gator Bowl) | W, 52-20 |
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | 11:00 AM SECN |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | 5:00 PM SECN |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | 5:00 PM SECN |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | 8:00 PM ESPN2 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | 3:00 PM TBA |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | 6:00 PM ESPN |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |
TampaRebel
January 5, 2016 at 5:39 pm
You find a way to inject your personal politics into everything.
TampaRebel
January 5, 2016 at 5:42 pm
America IS great and always has been great.
Ole Miss IS great and always has been great.
It’s a shame that there are, “take my ball and go home” petulant children who don’t understand these facts.
Arlene Potter
January 5, 2016 at 7:07 pm
Your predictions sound good! I attribute our success to Coach Freeze! He may well be our next “Johnny Vaught”!!!
nyc rebel
January 6, 2016 at 1:45 am
hahaha “Made Ole Miss great again” #Freeze2016
Mike
January 6, 2016 at 5:43 pm
I love your optimism, but for Ole Miss to go 11-1 The Rebs will have to beat Bama three in a row, and aint nobody done that to Sabin. And there are some losses on defense worse than No. 5. Hilton and Ellis for instance. The Rebel OL will have to be better as well, and it takes some big hits. All that said I have underestimated Freeze before.