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Rebel yell: Ole Miss eyes date with USC
Mississippi's defensive end Marcus Tillman (92) and defensive back Cassius Vaughn (24) celebrate after recovering a fumble by Florida quarterback Tim Tebow during the second half of Mississippi's win over No. 4 Florida.
Phil Sandlin/AP
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 09.30.08
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This time last year, Mississippi was on its way to a winless SEC season, and Houston Nutt was telling a recruit he expected it to be his last season as the Arkansas coach.
Mississippi eventually fired Ed Orgeron and hired Nutt, and the past few days signify how much things have turned. The Rebels stunned then-No. 4 Florida on Saturday, and a day later, Nutt was fielding calls from eager recruits.
“We got more calls Sunday night — them calling us — than we’ve had since we’ve been here,” Nutt said Monday at his weekly news conference. “We got calls from Florida, from Florida athletes. You can mark this down: It’ll help us in recruiting.”
It also could propel the Rebels on a winning streak — or cause them to overlook Saturday’s opponent, South Carolina.
Nutt said the attention was on the Gamecocks, but reporters felt differently, asking one question about USC.
They wanted to know how Nutt, after such a big win, would get his players to re-focus. After all, this was a team that, a week earlier, had lost at home to Vanderbilt.
“They haven’t been here,” Nutt said. “From this time last week, with (people) asking about the lack of enthusiasm after Vandy, now it’s the flip of it. That’s why you’ve got to be very steady and get ready to work.”
Even before beating Florida, the Rebels were on course for a resurgence. Orgeron had recruited well in his three seasons but struggled on Saturdays. The hope was a new coach would capitalize on Orgeron’s recruiting, and so far that has happened.
Mississippi (3-2) has exceeded its win total from last season, won its first SEC game in 22 months and could make its first bowl since 2003, when Eli Manning was quarterback.
While Mississippi hasn’t played USC since 2004, Nutt’s Razorbacks played the Gamecocks every year. Nutt was 7-3 against USC. Rebels defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix knows the Gamecocks better, having served in the same capacity at USC for most of Spurrier’s first three seasons.
While USC has been unable to strike a balance in its attack — the defense ranks first in the country, the offense 79th — Mississippi has played fairly even on both sides of the ball. Its defense ranks 47th, and the offense is 49th.
Nutt complimented the USC defense, although he referred to Casper Brinkley instead of brother Jasper. As for the Gamecocks’ offense, Nutt said it has been “up and down” but expected Steve Spurrier to come up with a solution.
“The thing that you know with coach Spurrier, they’ve got a good tailback and ... they’re going to have a good passing game,” Nutt said. “So you’ve got to know that there’s always gonna be tricks, so you’ve got to be ready to go.”
Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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