HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

HottyToddy.com is giving readers a roundup of all the commentary and information about the Ole Miss Rebels from various publications around the Web.

Readers will be able to check out the latest information in a single post every day throughout the year. Here at HottyToddy.com, we are doing all the leg work to find the information that people may want to hear about Ole Miss sports.

Today’s roundup features Saturday Down South, The Rebel Walk.com and Ole Miss Sports.

Five from the SEC Listed Among 2016 Heisman Favorites

Dec 12, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Alabama running back Derrick Henry name appears on the Heisman Trophy during a press conference at the New York Marriott Marquis after winning the trophy during the 81st annual Heisman Trophy presentation. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Sportsbook Bovada released its early Heisman odds for the 2016 season, and three from the SEC are listed among the favorites: LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly and Georgia’s Nick Chubb.

It’s still uncertain whether Chubb will be ready for the start of fall camp or not. Fournette and Kelly are primed for big years.

Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs and Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley were also listed on the latest odds. The Vols and Crimson Tide should have a great shot to play in Atlanta, and Dobbs and Ridley are the names to watch out for. It may seem odd that Ridley is on the early odds, but knowing how dominant wide receivers have been under Lane Kiffin is easy to defend.

Here are the early odds, according to Bovada:

• Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson, +300
• Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford, +400
• Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU, +400
• JT Barrett, QB, Ohio State, +1000
• Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss, +1200
• Dalvin Cook, RB, FSU, +1200
• Baker Mayfield, QB, OU, +1400
• Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia, +1400
• Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon, +1400
• Samaje Perine, RB, OU, +2000
• Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama, +2000
• Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee, +2000
• Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA, +2000
• Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami, +3300

Courtesy of Jon Copper and Saturday Down South

Avery Johnson Thinks Slowing Down Moody and Saiz Is Key for a Upset

Alabama’s Avery Johnson is adamant the Southeastern Conference tournament championship can go to either of the 13 participating teams, but admits a win over Mississippi Thursday night would be considered an upset.

It’s a new season, a fresh start for all of the participating programs this time of year and each team realizes one loss could possibly be the end of the road. Both the Crimson Tide and Rebels (20-11) are playing for possible automatic bids into the NCAA tournament.

During the course of this season, Alabama was in the conversation for an automatic bid with wins over Wichita State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Florida, and LSU. After a five-game winning streak in the month of February, the 10^th-seeded Crimson Tide (17-13) have went 1-4 and comes into Thursday night’s second-round game (6:00 p.m., SEC Network) against the No. 7-seeded Rebels on a two-game losing streak with losses to Arkansas and Georgia.

But with the way all of the teams in the SEC have been up and down this season, Johnson has the highest confidence his team can make a deep run.

Courtesy of Courtney Smith and The RebelWalk.com

Rebels Win 12th Straight, 9-2 Over Youngstown State

Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
@olemisspix

Ole Miss softball’s Mike Smith reached the 50-win mark as the Rebels’ head coach, leading his squad to a 9-2 victory over Youngstown State Wednesday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.

Sophomore pitcher Elisha Jahnke improved to 4-0 on the year going four innings with two runs allowed in the start, while freshman Krista Jacobs and sophomore Kayla Landwehrmier combined to close the door, allowing just a combined two hits with four strikeouts over the final three frames.

The Rebel offense posted 11 hits, their ninth time this season reaching double-digit hit figures, and did not strikeout at the plate, the second time this season accomplishing the feat.

Freshman Ashton Lampton went a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish with one RBI, while freshman Hailey Lunderman and sophomore Elantra Cox both finished 2-for-3. Cox tied her career high with three runs scored, while Lunderman drove in two runs in the victory.

Ole Miss (20-3) wasted no time striking at the plate, pushing home five runs in the first inning after Youngstown State struck early with a run of their own.

Cox got the game going with a chopper single over the head of the third baseman, before Lampton’s double into the right-center field gap scored one to tie it up, 1-1. After Lunderman reached on an infield single, she and Lampton converted the double steal to make it 2-1 Rebels. Dakota Matiko drove in her lone run of the night off an RBI single to shortstop, before Haley Culley’s RBI single to right field scored Matiko and Paige McKinney.

After the Penguins (7-10) got a run back in their half of the second, Lunderman drove in her first run of the day on an RBI groundout to second that scored Cox.

The Rebels went on to plate three more runs in the fourth thanks to a Penguin error that scored Kylan Becker, an RBI single up the middle from Lunderman, and a sacrifice fly from Martinez that Bry Castro broke from second on to come all the way home for the score.

Ole Miss entered the midweek tilt as the nation’s leader in stolen bases, and added to the total with seven on the night, led by two each from Cox and Lampton, and one each from Lunderman, Matiko and Becker.

The Rebels continue their 16-game homestand this weekend with SEC opening weekend vs. Missouri. Ole Miss and Mizzou are scheduled for first pitch at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and a 1 p.m. first pitch in Sunday’s series finale.

For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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