The Grove will be open for tailgating this fall and GameChanger Patch Co. wants to help you prepare.
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1. It's easy, when you cover Ole Miss for a living, to just write about offense.
Matt Corral is a first-round NFL Draft choice, a possible Heisman Trophy candidate and a great story. Lane Kiffin is Lane Kiffin. Jeff Lebby is a future Power-5 head coach with a brilliant offensive mind. There are multiple weapons in the backfield, an NFL tackle in Nick Broeker and an array of targets at wide receiver, including a converted quarterback/fan favorite in John Rhys Plumlee.
On Monday night, I took the bait a bit, writing about Corral's maturity and progression from 2020, and what I wrote was valid. Louisville tried to replicate what Arkansas did to Corral a year ago, but this time, Corral took the Cardinals' strategy and made them pay, carving up soft coverage en route to a 43-24 Ole Miss win.
However, it was Ole Miss' defense that probably deserved the lion's share of attention Monday. A year ago, as has been well-documented, the Rebels' defense was inept. It couldn't get off the field on third down. It couldn't get to the quarterback. It was awful against the run, susceptible to running quarterbacks and very porous against the pass.
On Monday night, Ole Miss held Louisville to 355 yards -- 200 through the air and 155 on the ground. The Rebels gave up 22 first downs, holding the Cardinals to 6-for-16 on third-down conversion attempts, and forced two turnovers. Louisville was held scoreless in the first half and had but three points midway through the third quarter before quarterback Malik Cunningham finished with a bit of a flourish.
"It felt good going into halftime with a shutout but coming out of halftime, we came out a little flat," Ole Miss safety A.J. Finley said. "We have to take that out of our game to be an even better defense than we were today.
"I feel like the D-Line did a pretty good job getting the rush on the quarterback the whole game. So that got him a little uncomfortable and got them outside the pocket, and we were rallying and tackling every time we got outside the pocket. ...It is pretty good to come out and show people what we have. Still some improvements we need to do but good to show what we have."
Much has been made of Ole Miss adding some transfers to its defense, and they were certainly impactful Monday night. Maryland transfer linebacker Chance Campbell had seven tackles and was seemingly everywhere for the Rebels, shadowing Cunningham for most of the game. Georgia transfer safety Otis Reese, who played the last three games of last season for Ole Miss, had eight stops. Navy transfer safety Jake Springer added two tackles.
"Luckily I don't have to do anything crazy or bring too much," Campbell said. "Just get to be myself, play hard and that's not hard because we've got a ton of other guys beside me and then a load on deck that also play hard. So kind of make you the odd man out if you didn't, so just kind of fly around and do what you do."
What's more interesting, I think, is a bit of a defensive change. During fall camp, I kept noticing the Rebels running an alignment with three down linemen, two linebackers and six defensive backs. People questioned my eyes, and it was just eight days of access, but it was a constant. Sure enough, on Monday, the Rebels dipped into their depth of defensive backs and played a 3-2-6 alignment against the Cardinals.
"They played how we are supposed to," Kiffin said. "Obviously we completely changed schemes from what we did a year ago, and I had not talked about it on purpose and waited for this game. You know, whatever you want to call it, this three-down and two linebackers and everybody else is DBs. It's similar to some stuff that we played last year. Arkansas and Iowa State play it.
"You know, just really thought it gives people problems, so in the offseason went to it and players bought into it and it paid off. (We) made some explosive plays and saw a lot of guys running down the hill hitting people."
"I feel like that allows for the safeties to actually just make plays," said Finley, who had eight tackles Monday night. "You know, it allows us to come down and make a lot of tackles. It's really just a different look. It's just a different look. We really do a lot of stuff out of it and it's good for us."
On Monday, that scheme -- combined with an influx of talent and a normal offseason -- was a game-changer for Ole Miss. And if the Rebels' defense can build on Monday's performance, the ceiling for this team just got higher.
2. Here's my weekly ranking of the SEC football teams:
1. Alabama -- The Tide hasn't missed a beat.
2. Georgia -- My goodness, the Bulldogs' defense is stout.
3. Texas A&M -- That was a pretty impressive win over a solid Kent State team, but I've got some concerns about the quarterback play.
4. Ole Miss -- It's close, and I don't think Louisville is going to set the world on fire, but an improved defense plus Matt Corral is a winning equation.
5. Kentucky -- They're a real contender for the second place spot in the East.
6. Florida -- Chase Parham made a strong comparison, I think, linking the Gators' football team to last year's Arkansas baseball club. The Gators have no weaknesses, really, but they're not quite elite.
7. Auburn -- Bo Nix really looked comfortable in Brian Harsin's system.
8. Missouri -- The Tigers were fine against Central Michigan. They were Chili's when you just get two-for-one beer and a burger. It's fine. Nothing special. Not bad. Just fine.
9. LSU -- The Tigers have some talent, sure, but the people putting them in the top 10 and talking about 10 wins got exposed for being the fan boys they are. Period. Sorry not sorry.
10. Arkansas -- The dip starts here, I think. The Hogs are ok on both lines of scrimmage, and if they had a quarterback, they'd be interesting. Of course, if I had a head full of hair...
11. Tennessee -- That second quarter against Bowling Green is difficult to ignore.
12. Mississippi State -- I'll give the Bulldogs credit for clawing back from a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit, but that was more on Louisiana Tech than it was anything.
13. South Carolina -- Maybe it's a South Carolina thing. I cheered for Will Muschamp and now I catch myself cheering for Shane Beamer. It's a long road back, however, to credibility.
14. Vanderbilt -- Dear God.
3. I've got some leftover thoughts after watching a weekend of SEC football. I'll keep them brief, knowing Week 1 overreactions can come back to haunt you.
-- Mississippi State is one-dimensional. Mike Leach is the smartest guy in the room and he wants you to know it, so the system is forcing round pegs into square holes. It doesn't work. Will Rogers is fine, but he's not winning games in this league, and in that offense, the quarterback has to go win games.
-- Here's the thing about Ed Orgeron yelling at the fan as he made his way into the Rose Bowl on Saturday night: It's just not necessary. No, it's not a big deal. No, he doesn't owe anyone an apology. No, he wasn't really challenging the fan to a fight. No, it's no harm that he called UCLA's primary color "sissy blue." But it showed, at least in my opinion, a lack of focus. Coaches tell kids all the time road games are business trips. For LSU, Orgeron's behavior told them they were going partying. And then the Tigers got their asses kicked on both sides of the line of scrimmage. That's the takeaway from Pasadena. For all the talk about talent on the roster and blah, blah, blah, they got whipped on both sides of the line by a team that is likely no better than fourth in the Pac-12.
-- Maybe K.J. Jefferson was nervous. That would make some sense, right? However, Saturday's start against Rice wasn't his first, and he simply wasn't sharp. He missed open receivers on easy throws. He bailed himself and his teammates out with his feet, but that won't work much in the SEC. It was hot in Fayetteville and Jefferson has battled his weight during the lead-up to the season, so maybe that played a role. He'll have to step it up Saturday against Texas if the Hogs want to even think about a post-game party on The Hill.
-- Kentucky is going to be 4-0, at least in my opinion, when Florida makes the trip to Lexington on Oct. 2. The Wildcats get LSU at home on Oct. 9. Midnight Madness will still be a couple of weeks away. Big Blue Nation could be going wild about football as the leaves start to turn.
-- Texas A&M's offense was sloppy in the opener, but the Aggies' schedule gives Jimbo Fisher time to work on it, and he's damn good at fixing offenses. The Aggies play Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas and Mississippi State before Alabama heads to College Station on Oct. 9. Texas A&M's defense is the real deal, so quarterback development over the next month is absolutely vital if the Aggies are going to challenge in the SEC West.
-- All offseason, I kept hearing Vanderbilt could be "historically bad." They didn't lie.
4. I could never be an Associated Press Top 25 voter, not with my uncontrollable bias and my lack of mainstream media chops, but if I were, my ballot would look like this today:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Oklahoma
5. Texas A&M
6. Notre Dame
7. Clemson
8. Iowa
9. Oregon
10. Iowa State
11. Cincinnati
12. Penn State
13. UCLA
14. USC
15. Ole Miss
16. Texas
17. Kentucky
18. Florida
19. Utah
20. Coastal Carolina
21. Auburn
22. Wisconsin
23. Arizona State
24. Virginia Tech
25. Michigan State
5. It's time for some more conference realignment talk. The latest, via SI's Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger, is courtesy of the Big 12, which seems determined to expand quickly. Per SI:
Less than six weeks after Texas and Oklahoma announced their impending departure to the SEC, the league is poised to add four new members in a process that could culminate in one week’s time. UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati are expected to apply for Big 12 membership next week and then could be approved for admission in a meeting of Big 12 presidents Sept. 10, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated.
The league has the eight votes needed for expansion.
In this scenario, the four teams will join the league by 2023 or, at the very latest, 2024, and may even compete alongside Oklahoma and Texas before those two powerhouses depart for the SEC, making for a couple of awkward seasons in a 14-team Big 12.
The timeline is fluid and has been described as optimistic, but not unrealistic. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has even gone on site visits, most recently taking a trip to meet with Houston officials on Thursday.
UCF, Houston and Cincinnati, the three American Athletic Conference members, are required to give 27-month notice to their league and pay a $10 million exit penalty. In the current timeline, the teams would give a 23-month notice and likely pay an increased exit fee. BYU is not a member of a conference in football, but must give the West Coast Conference notice for its other sports leaving the league.
The four new members are not expected to immediately get full distribution shares. However, their first-year shares in the Big 12 are expected to double if not triple their American distribution, which is around $6 million or $7 million.
The new additions will continue to make the Big 12 viable, even after Texas and Oklahoma are gone. Those departures, by the way, could still come sooner rather than later, especially if Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby decides the acrimony isn't worth the money and reaches a compromise with the two schools.
The addition of the four programs to the Big 12 could expedite the approval of the 12-team college football proposal, one that hit a roadblock of sorts when Texas and Oklahoma made their intentions to bolt to the SEC known.
Per SI:
The CFP is seven years into a 12-year contract with ESPN. Leaders could renegotiate the deal before the contract ends, but that might mean ESPN gets the exclusive rights, which many executives are against. Or they could wait until the contract expires to open it up to the market in a way that allows more media partners to bid on portions of the 12-team contract, creating multi media owners to college football’s championship postseason.
There is a third option, but it is contingent on ESPN agreeing to break the contract early and allow a second media partner to bid on a portion of the expanded playoff.
Now the AAC must respond to being poached. Look for the AAC to invade Conference USA, where a program like UAB makes all the sense in the world. The Sun Belt and Mountain West conferences are also likely in play now, as they figure to be aggressive in an attempt to survive and not be poached into obscurity.
6. The NFL season begins Thursday night in Tampa. Here are my predictions for who will end the season holding the Lombardi Trophy at the end of Super Bowl LVI in Inglewood, Calif., in February.
AFC Wildcard Round:
Kansas City over Baltimore
Cleveland over Miami
Tennessee over Pittsburgh
NFC Wildcard Round:
Rams over San Francisco
Green Bay over New Orleans
Seattle over Washington
AFC Divisional Round:
Buffalo over Tennessee
Kansas City over Cleveland
NFC Divisional Round:
Tampa Bay over Seattle
Rams over Green Bay
AFC Championship Game:
Buffalo over Kansas City
NFC Championship Game:
Rams over Tampa Bay
Super Bowl LVI:
Buffalo Bills over Los Angeles Rams
7. In this space, I'll jinx the ever-living hell out of some poor players' seasons. Here are my preseason awards predictions for the 2021 NFL season:
Coach of the Year: Sean McDermott, Buffalo
Comeback Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Micah Parsons, LB, Dallas
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh
Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Donald, DL, Los Angeles Rams
Offensive Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina
Most Valuable Player: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo
8. A couple of things will happen on Saturday that I simply can't refrain comment on.
Saturday is the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks on New York City and Washington D.C., a day anyone who lived it will never forget.
I was in Auburn, Ala., that morning, covering Auburn in the aftermath of its win over Ole Miss and getting ready for the Tigers' scheduled showdown against LSU five days later.
Laura and I had welcomed our first child, Campbell, to the world on May 1, and I missed her terribly during the early weeks of that football season. I had worked in Auburn all day Monday and gotten up early on that Tuesday to get my work done so that I could get back to Mobile late that night after practice on the Plains.
I was writing story on Auburn defensive end Reggie Torbor, a Baton Rouge native headed home to face the program that had rejected him. The TV in my hotel room was on mute; my mindset was pre-write everything that week and have time to enjoy my family.
I looked up here and there at the TV, which was on NBC. I saw the smoke billowing out of the World Trade Center, but I figured it was a movie promo or something. I was writing formulaic stuff, transitioning between quotes, just getting it done. I write fast, so as I wrapped up the Torbor story, I looked up again.
That's when I knew something awful had happened. By now, you know the rest.
Unless, of course, you're in your 20s or younger. And in case that's your situation, take some time this week and watch it. Watch it unfiltered. Don't just watch the retrospectives. No, watch the Americans -- people just like you or your brothers or sisters or parents -- lean out of the window of the 90th floor of an office building in Manhattan and decide whether they want to die of smoke inhalation/extreme heat or leap to their deaths on the pavement below.
Before you get caught up in the stories of the children, now in their 20s, who lost parents that day, watch the way those parents died. Understand it was done by people who hate us, hate our way of life and are only disappointed that the death toll that day wasn't higher.
Then, remember how unified we all felt in the months following the attacks. We actually cared for one another. We were kinder to one another. We celebrated our country, honored our flag, etc. Not to get too old-man on you, but I think we all appreciated being American in a way that we haven't since.
And of course, Saturday is the first home game of the season in Oxford and the first time the Grove will be open for tailgating since Nov. 16, 2019, when Ole Miss entertained LSU in the home finale that season.
Make no mistake; I'm thrilled Ole Miss fans will be able to assemble in the Grove and on campus. I couldn't be happier that friends and families can renew their traditions and party before the Rebels' game against Austin Peay. I'm elated fans can gather for the Walk of Champions and cheer on their team as they walk across campus and to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
However, it's really hard for me not to scream about the absolute hypocrisy of it all. On one hand, media outlets can celebrate massive unmasked gatherings in Blackburg, Madison, Iowa City, Pasadena, Charlotte and elsewhere. On the other hand, media outlets owned by the same parent companies can lead with fear and manic coverage about the pandemic.
This weekend, the Grove will be full of revelers. The stadium will be, too, including suites and the like. On Monday, Oxford's schools will require kids to wear paper or cloth masks in classes. It's pure theatre. I keep waiting for common sense to intervene. I remain disappointed.
In a few weeks, when these massive gatherings haven't caused a spike in hospitalizations (I'm not particularly interested in cases), I'll hold out some hope that the aforementioned logic kicks in and we chill with some of the craziness. Again, I suspect, I'll be baffled when nothing changes.
I will say that I put a lot of hope in the redemptive power of sports. I remember how we all stopped to watch the 2001 World Series. The Yankees lost to the Diamondbacks in seven games, but it wasn't Luis Gonzalez's Game 7 game-winner off Mariano Rivera that I remember. Instead, it was President Bush's ceremonial first pitch before Game 3. Whether you voted for Bush or not -- I did, in full disclosure -- it got a little dusty when the president walked out to the mound at Yankee Stadium. It was a symbol of American fight, our way of saying we'd been knocked down but not knocked out.
On Saturday, when Wisconsin fans celebrated their "Jump Around" tradition after the third quarter, I cried. I don't know why. I mean, yeah, I love the Big Ten for some weird reason, but that wasn't it. I think it was watching the joy. I loved watching the student section revel in a moment that had been denied them for almost two years.
It felt cathartic for me, so I can't imagine how it felt for Wisconsin fans. I suspect it felt rehabilitative. It looked like joy. It gave me some hope.
9. It's time to eat. Here's our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 102 — Middle Eastern Baked Chicken.
I have always loved the combo of chicken and rice. Well, this dish will give you a complexity of flavors that will make you want to make this dish again and again. Did I mention cinnamon and dill?
Tidbit #1: Whenever you put your chicken in the oven, go ahead and make the mise en place for the rice. Then you are free for an hour and a half.
Tidbit #2: For the transition of the cooking of the chicken to the rice, 5 minutes before the chicken is finished, start the onions. After you have added the rice, take the chicken out of the pot and place it on a metal rack. Pour the contents in the pot into the saute pan with the rice to further enhance the flavor.
Tidbit #3: After resembling everything back in the original pot for presentation purposes, take your bunch of dill and place it around the chicken. Cover with the lid and let the steam infuse the rice and chicken with this flavor. Serve up after 10 minutes.
Things you will need:
4 People
Glass of Chardonnay
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cook time - 1.5 hours
Utensils needed:
Worksurface and chef’s knife
Measuring cups
Stove and oven
Cooking pot with lid
Saute pan with lid
Baking tray with metal grill
Wooden spoon
Tongs
Ingredients needed:
5 tbsp butter
1 whole chicken
2.5 cups water
1 Red onion diced small
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup pine nuts
3/4 cup raisins
2 cups long-grain rice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp jerk seasoning
Salt and pepper
4 stalks fresh dill
Cook the chicken
Step 1: Set your oven to 375°F. Then place your butter in the cooking pot and melt on the stove. Once melted, place your whole chicken in the pot and season with salt and pepper. Pour the water in, cover, and place in the oven for 1.5 hours.
Make the rice
Step 2: With 5 minutes left in the cooking of the chicken, start sautéing your red onion in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. After, add the pine nuts, raisins, rice, cinnamon, and jerk seasoning with a pinch of salt. Toss.
Step 2.1: Take the chicken out of the pot using your tongs and spoon, place it on the metal rack. Pour the liquid in the pot into the pan with the rice. Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until completed, about 8 minutes.
Assembly
Step 3: With the rice cooked, pour into the original cooking pot. Place the chicken on top and now the fresh dill around it. Cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes to infuse the flavor. Then serve up and enjoy!
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss football, football recruiting and whatever else may come up this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me -- and hopefully, to you -- for your reading pleasure:
The Old-School Coach and the New-School QB: How Mac Jones Was Built | Sports Illustrated
This Pirates' lineup in 1971 made history, even if few took notice at the time
Mark Davis’ mansion will look very familiar to Raider fans | Las Vegas Review-Journal
The disappearance of Dolores Wulff - A family's suspicions and 41-year search
Ben Simmons update, one-on-one with LiAngelo Ball, plus more NBA news and notes
Legal dynasty heir whose son and wife were found shot dead is shot in the head | Daily Mail Online
Requiring Masks in Schools Has a Downside - The Atlantic
Afghan anchorman reads news surrounded by Taliban fighters
Joe Biden Needs to Stop Talking about Beau | National Review
Childhood, Interrupted. Ruining young lives will not quell our… | by A.J. Kay | Jul, 2021 | Medium
The covid endgame: Is the pandemic over already? Or are there years to go? - The Washington Post
