HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

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

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

Today’s stories come from SB Nation, Ole Miss.247Sports.com, Bleacher Report.com, SEC Country.com, Ole Miss Sports and Saturday Down South.com.

Here’s what to expect from the SEC West race (beyond Bama winning it)

Courtesy of Ole Miss Communications

The battle for the SEC West crown kicks off on Saturday, with six of seven teams beginning conference play. (Arkansas, the only straggler, begins next week.)

No. 1 Alabama at No. 19 Ole Miss (3:30 pm ET, CBS)
Mississippi State at No. 20 LSU (7:00 pm ET, ESPN2)
No. 17 Texas A&M at Auburn (7:00 pm ET, ESPN)

The SEC as a whole has had a disappointing beginning to 2016.

Georgia tried to lose to Nicholls State, Tennessee tried to lose to Appalachian State, Florida was mostly listless against UMass, Arkansas eked by Louisiana Tech, and both Kentucky (to Southern Miss) and Mississippi State (to South Alabama) blew leads and got upset.

Courtesy of Bill Connelly to read the rest of the article go to SB Nation.com

Rebels Want To Drag Bama Into Deep Waters Saturday

Courtesy of Joshua McCoy/ Ole Miss

Ole Miss just wants to drag top-ranked Alabama into deep waters by the time the fourth quarter arrives Saturday and then see what happens.

The 17th-ranked Rebels will attempt to become the first team ever to defeat a Nick Saban-coached Alabama squad for the third consecutive season when the two SEC West powers square off at 2:30 p.m. CT.

That’s not what is on Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze’s mind, however.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” said Freeze on Wednesday when asked about the possibility of the three-peat during the weekly SEC teleconference. “I’m just trying to get our guys ready to compete deep into the game. Saban has helped me tremendously during my time in the SEC. We really don’t talk about that stuff outside of the Xs and Os.”

Courtesy of David Johnson and OleMiss.247Sports.com

Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Game Preview, Prediction and Players to Watch

Win the pivotal matchup

A lot of attention will be given to the defensive front sevens and whether the Ole Miss “Landsharks” can equal Alabama’s pressure from its fast-twitch front seven, but the real matchup is between the Rebels offensive line and the Crimson Tide defense.

It’s a pure weakness vs. strength pairing that could easily decide the game.

Alabama basically ran over the USC line two weeks ago, and the Trojans’ front five is thought to be better than this group that really struggled against Florida State.

Courtesy of Christopher Walsh and to read the rest of the article go to Bleacher Report

Freeze thinks Alabama ‘may be better than last year’

Head Coach Hugh Freeze and Chad Kelly discuss plays in the Labor Day showdown against FSU. (Photo by Bill Barksdale

When looking at the history between Ole Miss and Alabama, there’s no question one time has dominated the overall head-to-head matchup.

Crimson Tide teams are 47-11-2 against the Rebels dating back to 1899. With that said, Ole Miss has won the last two match ups — something that’s never happened. As such, it’s created a bit of a budding rivalry between the two programs.

Heading into this year’s installment, Alabama yet again sits as the top-ranked team in the country. After collapsing in the second half of the Week 1 loss to Florida State, Hugh Freeze’s team bounced back quite nicely against Wofford at home.

As the Crimson Tide come into Oxford, there’s yet another opportunity for the Rebels to rise up and knock off the proverbial bully on the street.

Courtesy of Jason Fraychineand to read the rest of the article go to Saturday Down South.com

Hugh Freeze talks relationship with Nick Saban on SEC coaches teleconference

Hugh Freeze

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze has the opportunity to do what no coach has done since Nick Saban took over at Alabama — beat the Crimson Tide three years in a row.

Freeze, however hasn’t given that much thought.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Freeze said Wednesday during the SEC coaches teleconference. “I’m just trying to get our guys ready to compete deep into the game. Saban has helped me tremendously during my time in the SEC. We really don’t talk about that stuff outside of the Xs and Os.”

When asked to specify, the fifth-year coach said Saban has given him guidance on how to run a program, how to discipline players and how to develop relationships with athletic director.

Freeze also had high praise for Alabama true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts, who leads No. 1 Alabama into a huge matchup at No. 19 Ole Miss at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Courtesy of Marcus Rodrique to read the rest of the article go to Saturday Down South.com

Week 3 Win-or-Walk Games Are Why College Football Is the Greatest

Welcome, Ole Miss. Step right up, Oklahoma. Embrace the moment, Notre Dame.

For teams that have already lost a game, “win-or-walk weekend” has officially arrived in college football. And September isn’t even in the rearview mirror.

“You can’t start looking at what other [teams] are doing,” said Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze. “The only thing you can control is what you do.”

Courtesy of Matt Hayes to read the rest of the article go to Bleacher Report.com

Ole Miss could make history against Saban

Linebacker Terry Caldwell gives the ‘Fins Up” sign after the victory over Wofford. (Photo by Russ Jones0

Only two teams have defeated a Nick Saban team three consecutive times. Neither was a team from the SEC.

With a win against Alabama this season, Mississippi would become the first SEC program to defeat a Nick Saban-led team three straight times, according to ESPN.

Ole Miss won last year’s game 43-37 and won 23-17 in 2014.

Courtesy of Nick Williams and to read the rest of the article go to SEC Country.com

Baseball Begins Fall Practice Friday

Photo courtesy of Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss

While fall is a time where Major League Baseball begins to wrap up its season, it is only the beginning for the Ole Miss baseball team. With the academic year already one month in the books, the Rebels will officially begin fall practice Friday afternoon, Sept. 18, by taking Swayze Field for the first of many intrasquad scrimmages throughout the next seven weekends.

The first scrimmage will begin at 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, while the Rebels will wrap up opening weekend with an intrasquad battle Sunday at 6:15 p.m. All fall scrimmages are free admission and open to the public.

“I think it’s always an exciting time,” said head coach Mike Bianco. “After the season ends, you go through the summer and start preparing for next year. We’ve gone through the skill portion of the fall, but now we get to have everybody out on the field at one time, and I think everyone is excited about it.”

The Rebels are coming off a 2016 season where they tied a school record with 40 regular season wins, went 43-19 overall and hosted an NCAA Regional for the seventh time in the last 13 seasons.

Despite losing six Rebels to the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft, Ole Miss returns several veterans who provided big impacts on the field last season. Infielders Tate Blackman, Colby Bortles and Will Golsan return, all with at least two years of playing experience in the SEC. Meanwhile on the mound, Will Stokes is back as one of the leaders in the bullpen along with three 2015 Freshmen All-America honorees: Brady Feigl, James McArthur and Andy Pagnozzi.

The veterans welcome 18 newcomers to the team as well, one of the best recruiting classes in the nation and arguably the best incoming classes in school history. The group features seven high school All-Americans and one junior college All-American. Five were listed in Perfect Game’s top-100 high school players, more than any other school in the country. Seven were tabbed as top-500 prospects throughout baseball, including the college ranks; however, they all decided to come to Ole Miss to play in front of the best atmosphere in college baseball at Swayze Field.

“When we look at the guys that we’re returning, we have some people at key positions in the field and on the mound. Along with one of the best recruiting class in the country, we’ll have freshmen that will be taking the field for the first time, said Bianco. “This team, when you look at the roster, is dominated by freshmen and sophomores, but it certainly has players that have competed in the Southeastern Conference.”

With a mix of veterans and talented newcomers, fall practice is a time where players begin to battle for starting positions in the spring. Bianco, who enters his 17th season at Ole Miss as the winningest coach in school history, is looking forward to seeing how things play out.

“There’s competition at every position,” said Bianco “On the mound, we lost our Friday starter (Brady Bramlett) but returned a lot of arms; some of those guys will play some different roles for us. Behind the plate, we lost an All-SEC catcher (Henri Lartigue) but have Nick Fortes back and a couple of outstanding freshmen. We lost a tremendous shortstop in Errol (Robinson), but return a couple of guys that have been displaced out of shortstop for a year or two. I think it’s going to be an exciting fall for us to not only implement our system, but also be able to sit back and see what we have here and where they’re going to end up this spring.

While the current team starts fall practice, former Ole Miss players will gather together for Alumni Weekend in conjunction with the football team’s game versus No. 1 Alabama. The Friday night event will take place from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Pavilion Club inside The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Any baseball alumni interested in attending can RSVP at OleMissMClub.org.

“We decided to pick one football game per year to invite the players back. It’s a one-night gathering to get everyone together again,” noted Bianco. “We’re really looking forward to it, and it should be a huge weekend for Ole Miss Athletics.”

For the latest news and updates involving Ole Miss Baseball, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Baseball on Instagram at olemissbsb and now on Snapchat at OleMissBSB. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Bianco on Twitter at @CoachMikeBianco.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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