Rebels on a Roll

Outlined under an early autumn sun the Johnny Rebs of Ole Miss shot down mighty Florida, 31-30, before over 90,000 shell-shocked Gator fans as a followup to Southern Cal's equally shocking loss to Oregon State. Alabama's conquest of Georgia between the Hedges in Athens followed later in the evening along with LSU's win over a battling Mississippi State football team.
Now the 2008 college football season reaches the half-way mark this Saturday with Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks invading Oxford.
Spurrier was heavily recruited by Johnny Vaught and Johnny Cain out of his Tennessee home town and almost went to Ole Miss, but Florida came up with a church for Steve's Father and the rest is history. Spurrier won the Heisman. If he had gone to Ole Miss the Rebels would not have suffered that Dry Spell, over 40 years since the Glory Years.
People forget that Archie Manning was not a part of the Glory Years. The field generals of that era included Charlie Conerly, Farley Salmon, Jimmy Lear, Eagle Day, Raymond Brown, Bobby Franklin, Jake Gibbs, Doug Elmore, and Glynn Griffing.
All will be honored and remembered at the All-American Football Foundation's 99th Banquet of Champions February 16 at the Jackson Hilton.
Jevan Snead who came into his own as an Ole Miss Quarterback, crossed swords with Florida's Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and prevailed a week after throwing four interceptions in the last second loss to Vanderbilt. Ole Miss is leading the SEC in last second losses, first to Wake Forest and then to Vanderbilt.
The victory for Snead who was courted by Florida as a high school senior before the Gators landed Tebow. Edging Tim had to be extra sweet for Snead who went on to enroll at the University of Texas before transferring to Ole Miss and red-shirting. Ed Orgeron recruited Snead and other key Rebs in the win over the Gators.
Houston Nutt has Ole Miss headed in the right direction with the help of players Orgeron recruited. With any luck at all, Ole Miss could be 5-0 going into the South Carolina game at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss still has to win three more games to become bowl eligible.
All-America candidate Michael Oher proved how important it is to come back for a senior year. Hope Greg Hardy realizes this. The worst example of an Ole Miss player coming out early was Rufus French, who made All-America as a junior, then jumped to the Pros and hardly was heard from again. Hardy was sensational against Florida and Peria Jerry, who teamed up with eight other defenders to stop Tebow cold on a fourth and one situation, damaging Tim's repeat Heisman Trophy hopes a bit.
Beating Florida had to be as sweet as his Arkansas season ending win over LSU last year.
Houston Nutt has inspired this year's Ole Miss team to shoot for the moon after the disastrous 2007 campaign under Orgeron.
Sly Croom had his Mississippi State team in the LSU game all of the way. A week off gives the Bulldogs a chance to snap out of their losing streak and be competitive in the second half of the year.
State's seniors had a meeting prior to the trip to Baton Rouge and that seems like a good sign. I attended the State, Southern and Ole Miss summer rallies in Jackson this summer and Croom had his seniors there. They were a very impressive group.
Alabama's 41-30 in over Georgia, a team picked by some to not only win the SEC but the national championship as well. Nick Saban is bidding for Coach of the Year. His field general John Parker Wilson has come into his own in a late bid for All-Star recognition. His leadership has been outstanding, a likely candidate for the All-American Football Foundation's Colonel Earl (Red) Blaik Leadership Scholarship, which goes only to seniors.
Bama beefed up its defense when it landed 366-pound Terrence Cody from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community college last year. The Alabama-Ole Miss game in Tuscaloosa looms large for both teams
The Ole Miss-Florida game could have gone into overtime if Kentrell Lockett had not blocked the Gators extra point attempt leaving the score 31-30. Offensively. Shay Hodge sparkled as Snead's favorite receiver with three catches , including the spectacular 86-yard scoring pass.
Dexter McCluster's 40-yard TD sprint was monumental and meant much to the Florida recruit after his heart-breaking fumble in the Vanderbilt end zone as the game drew to a close.
Auburn edged Tennessee in another important SEC game . Peyton Manning was on hand to cheer for the Volunteers. Imagine what it would have meant if both Peyton and Spurrier had attended Ole Miss. Johnny Vaught would have had a second Glory Years story. He asked Archie to send his boy to Ole Miss but Archie told his Hall of Fame coach that he would let his second son make up his own mind. Vaught, who helped Archie negotiate his first contract with the Saints had a response for this but it did not make any difference.
Had Peyton gone to Ole Miss, the University of Mississippi would have had two NFL Super Bowl winning field generals.

Long Weekend In MIssissippi

Down went Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Mississippi at the hands of Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech and Marshall. All three teams need major comebacks in an effort to have winning seasons. It will not be easy.
At Oxford with several opportunities to score near the Commodre goal line Ole Miss came up short. Four passes were intercepted as Jevan Snead had his worst day as a varsity quarterback as an Ole Miss Rebel. Penalties also plagued Houston Nutt's Red and Blue. Vanderbilt was simply a better team on this beautiful mid-September evening.
The pre-game tail gate was better than the ball game. All-American Charlie Flowers, J. Warner Alford, Chancellor Robert Khayat, Ed Wilburn Hooker, Dr. Shed Hill Roberson, Warren (Beaux) Ball were there. Missing were Billy Ray Adams, Kent Jr. Lovelace, and Bobby Ray Franklin.
Beaux Ball, former brother in law of Kent Jr., revealed that he was three years younger than Kent Jr. who refused to allow his daughter Alden LeGasse to throw a 70th birthday party for himn three years ago because he did not want anyone to know he was 70.
I made the trip with gool ole Bill Lee, Ray (Buck) Howell, and Bobby Howell. We saw Malone (Nick) Nicholson and his pals, who I had traveled with for the Samford game. Bobby Howell recalled the Jackson State riot when he was a city policeman when his superior the legendary Beavers Armstrong ordered his group to surround the protesters. His group included eight cops, including Bobby Howell.
Bobby met Coach Johnny Vaught years later and told the great coach that his brother, Ray, played for him. He said Vaught said that Ray caught one important pass in his career against Maryland. Vaught was teasing Bobby. Buck caught the first touchdown against the nationally ranked Terrapins over the great Dick Nolan for a TD which helped Ole Miss upset Jim Tatum's nationally ranked team.
Tatum had been a freshman coach at North Carolina when Vaught was Bear Wolf's line coach in Chapel Hill. On the morning of the Maryland game Vaught came by Howell's room,closed the door and said he wanted to talk to him. Howell said he figured that his coach was going to commend him on a great career as he prepared play his senior year. Vaught told him:" I have never been so disappointed in my life in you, Howell."
Howell said he is getting ready to fire me,send me back to Brookhaven disgraced and without a diploma. He went out there and played his best game. I heard the story years later and asked Vaught how many other rooms did he visit that day. He said " Several more." A master motivator and a Hall of Fame coach, John Howard Vaught.
I miss him as do the many, many great players who helped him launch the Glory Years at the University of Mississippi.
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