Vassallo: Another Great Rebel Football Season on Horizon

Head Coach Hugh Freeze signs posters at the start of Rebel Road Trip this morning.

Ole Miss football nation…are you ready for another unbelievable season?

If you’re not, you better start preparing now! The Rebs are the number ten listed team to win the national championship slated for January 11th in Glendale, Arizona. Westgate Las Vegas Superbook’s odds have us at a 25-1 shot. Other notable teams are as follows:

• TCU 7/1
• Baylor 12/1
• Bama 8/1
• Auburn and LSU both 25/1
• and Cowbell Country 30/1

Georgia is also at 25/1 and Florida is 60/1. Only 49 teams had odds.

This is important for a number of obvious reasons. Coach Freeze now has us in the national championship discussion even before the start of the 2015 season which has to help recruiting (currently we’re listed as #1 in the nation for the recruiting class scheduled for February 2016). Television cannot ignore these top ten teams and will want to have all of them in prime time as often as possible. Our players also realize that expectations here are high and if you’re going to contend for a national title, the preparation has to be well underway even prior to August.

Forecasting the season results based on the LV odds would have us going 10-2 which I predicted several weeks ago. Great minds think alike (LOL). In all seriousness, we have the potential to go 10-2 and even better if a few breaks fall our way. From an opponent’s perspective, I would not want to see Ole Miss coming up on the schedule. We are going to be a force each and every weekend.

I failed to mention Arkansas above as well as Texas A&M. They are 40/1 and 100/1 respectively. The ole ball coach is also at 100/1. My, how South Carolina has fallen in the east! It’s truly a lot more fun to anticipate an upcoming season when you have the ability to win every game. Reflecting back to 2011, as a great athlete said once upon a time, “I never would have thunk it.”

All I ever asked and hoped for from Hugh Freeze at this juncture was to make us competitive again. Has he ever delivered!

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.