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Ole Miss opens its College World Series stay on Saturday against Auburn at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

The Rebels have had the type of season that likely required some Xanax for most of the fan base, but they are ending up where most expected or at least could arguably predict when the season began.

Ole Miss blanked Southern Miss for 18 innings — only the second time ever a team has done that in super regional play — and is arguably the hottest team in the country as only eight teams remain for the national title.

Content items with quotes and things are on the way, but I’m a little scatterbrained as I pack for Omaha, so let’s have a bit of a potpourri of thoughts on this Thursday.

We’ve talked about the No. 1 in the nation and the 7-14 to death, but it really has been the craziest season I’ve covered in my 17 years on the beat. This is the team that was 10-run-ruling opponents early in the year and struggling to play nine full innings because of dominance, and it’s the team that SEMO run-ruled and the team that lost every Saturday SEC game for the first seven weeks of league play…

… And now it’s possible Ole Miss is most comfortable on the second day of things because of Hunter Elliott. It took far longer than most expected, but Mike Bianco figured out the pitching — or at least he first two days of it and the bullpen. I have no idea who will start the Rebels’ third game in Omaha. DeLucia has shown a toughness since entering the rotation, and he was honest about being a starter versus a reliever. There’s a clear difference in his numbers and production. Elliott is going to be a star. His ceiling is higher than I thought it was when the year began for sure, and he’s going to get the biggest stage for his encore on Monday.

In saying that, Bianco overthought things against Alabama, and the wait to see if the Rebels got in the field might not have been a nervous one had he started DeLucia a week after his effort against Kentucky instead of worrying bout the left-right splits. Also, Hunter Elliott didn’t pick up a baseball the weekend the Rebels lost two of three at South Carolina. That was mid-April. This thing took a long time to develop.

Bianco needs to buy MSU athletics director John Cohen a really nice Christmas gift. I do think Cohen was instrumental in the Rebels grabbing the last at-large spot in the field. If NC State had gotten in instead of Ole Miss, any June press conference would have been announcing a new coach. It’s a crazy story, really.

Speaking of Bianco, that’s a really cool picture I used up top. From talking to people around the program, he did a great job keeping the staff and players focused on what they could control and locked in when things were going poorly. It would have been easy to let it go and flounder to the finish. It’s his best coaching job in 22 seasons, and honestly he’s a better coach than a decade ago. There’s emotion and excitement taking in the scene in Omaha in picture. He’s watching his team enjoy the moment. Good for Mike. He deserves it.

Also, the players settled down the social media stuff that was starting to become a little bit of a story. Former Ole Miss All-American Austin Anderson sent some tweets attempting to motivate the Rebels and encourage them to focus on the field instead of the Internet and social media. At first a couple players responded negatively on social media instead of following the advice, but around the beginning of May, I didn’t notice as much of that stuff. Tim Elko, Max Cioffi, Justin Bench, Ben Van Cleve and others did an excellent job leading the team and there was a greater focus.

Jacob Gonzalez has been ridiculously unlucky this season. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is .249, meaning only one-quarter of the balls he puts in play result in a base hit. In the college game, that’s at least 50 points below average and probably a little more than that. He walked 48 times and has only struck out 28 times. He’s ridiculously talented and has played very well. That BABIP won’t stay there. Buy all the stock on his junior season. He’s a top-10 pick in year. He’s underrated inside the fanbase, it seems at times.

Josh Mallitz threw 12 straight sliders to get out of the eighth inning on Sunday. His development and understanding his own game are really exceptional. He trusted that breaking ball over and over in that situation and it worked. Mallitz to pair with Brandon Johnson changed the dynamics of this team.

Peyton Chatagnier had three walks in 95 at-bats from March 13 until April 30. Since April 30 he’s walked 10 times in 64 at-bats. He’s never going to be Bench or Gonzalez, but that extra bit of selectiveness has really helped him overcome that monumental slump. He’s Ole Miss’ Energizer Bunny, and the Rebels are different when he’s productive.

Bench has 22 hits in the last 14 games and only two without a hit during that stretch. He’s also the defensive leader. HIs ability to be the best defender in center or at third base has allowed the lineup moves during this run.

John Gaddis has had an up-and-down season individually, but it’s neat that he jumped in the portal, put medical school on hold for a year and will finish his career in the College World Series. He told me last summer that the CWS was the reason he chose Ole Miss, and he’s in Omaha. He’s also more of a fan favorite, it seems, after the Texas A&M dustup.

This five-year Ole Miss run is pretty stout even though it only has the one Omaha appearance. Getting to Nebraska is the goal, and the lack of appearances was about to create change, but beyond that the Rebels have put together a good streak that's only been arguably matched one other time in the modern era. From 2008 to now: national seed, super regional, best record nationally when COVID happened, super regional, College World Series.

I hope some of you get to spend time this weekend in Omaha with your dad or son or daughter. Sharing sports moments and memories with family members is really special, and I’m always a sucker for the stories about fathers and sons or daughters at the College World Series on Father’s day. Here’s to all of you.