1. So 4-4 with a win in Gainesville and a great chance at going 7-5 (or even 8-4) is obviously a massive improvement over the Orgeron era, but the Rebels have outgained their opponent in three of those four losses and are a bounce or two away from being 6-2, in the top 15 or so, and in the race for Atlanta. Exactly how pleased or not pleased are Rebel fans with how this season has played out so far?
"Well, I think it's safe to say that had it not been for the last four years, many of us would be upset about our record so far this season. Sure, we lost at the last second to Wake, turned the ball over seven times against Vandy, lost by four to Alabama and let go of a 14-3 lead against South Carolina. Still, the fact that we haven't lost by more than a touchdown in this whole season is a testament to where Nutt has taken this team. We're in every game, and we've come away with some victories. When it comes down to it, most Ole Miss fans predicted going 6-6 or 7-5 this season. That's still probably going to happen.
"At the same time, it's a big shame that we haven't been able to capitalize more in the games we have lost. With a fantastic defensive line led by senior DT Peria Jerry (who is incredible), a passing attack that includes LT Michael Oher blocking for Jevan's blind side, Jevan's bevy of excellent wide receivers, and a linebacking corps with great speed, I expected to beat Vanderbilt and South Carolina."
2. As you know, I am an Auburn fan. Please give me some sort of shred of false hope my team might crack the mythical 300 total yards/20-point offensive barrier. I will take whatever you can give me.
"Chris Smelley passed for over 300 yards against Ole Miss. Against Kentucky, he passed for 105. If that doesn't tell you something about the state of our secondary, I've got some land in Starkville to sell you.
"Start Chris Todd. He will have a career day. Pass on every down. Go for it on every fourth down. You will win the game. (Against WVU our longest two completions of the night covered 22 and 16 yards and both were thrown to running backs. We do not have the tools to test your secondary, Chris Todd and Chris Todd's Magic Shoulder of Rainbows included. This is a valiant effort and I thank you for it, but I remain very, very low on hope.--ed.)
"Other than that, stay away from our defensive line and linebackers. They're mean and fast. If you can get it past them, you will score touchdowns."
3. The clearcut No. 1 weakness for the Rebel offense seems to be Snead's and McCluster's wanton disregard for hanging on to the ball. Is that the case, and assuming it is, are there any other weak spots the Auburn defense could try to attack?
"Obviously, those two are very turnover-prone. Jevan has improved in that field, but McCluster has not. Rip the ball from his hands.
As far as other ways to attack our offense, assume 4.3 speed WR Mike Wallace will run a fade on every play. He will. Run the 3-4 against the Wild Rebel. Alabama did it, and the formation was atrocious. Blitz heavy and often. When Jevan gets rattled, he makes significant mistakes. When he's not rattled, he'll pick you apart. Also, if you devote eight players to coverage and only send three, Jevan will walk around in the pocket as long as it takes your defensive linemen to get to him. He will hold onto the ball, and he will get sacked. Pray to God/Allah/Yahweh that Shay Hodge isn't feeling aggressive. If he is, Jevan can put the ball 20 feet away, and Shay will figure out how to catch it."
4. Auburn is obviously going through something we might charitably call "a bit of a rough patch" and the Rebels should be fairly prohibitive favorites on Saturday. Of course, Nutt's teams have long had a tendency to play down to their competition and the Rebels' two most damaging losses of the year (to Vandy and SC) came at home. Any worry about a letdown after the big Nutt Comes Home game last week? What's the single biggest key to the game for Ole Miss to prevent that from happening?
"To answer your first question, yes. Personally, I'm not worried. I feel confident that we're going to win, but there are still plenty of jaded Ole Miss fans (including a lot of bloggers at our site) who think that we're going to figure out a way to lose to you. You're right that we should have beaten South Carolina and Vanderbilt, but I like to pretend like our team is past that.
"The way for us to prevent Auburn from winning is to avoid more than one turnover. If we can do that, we will win the game. Our offense is very creative in finding ways to score points. Your offense is not. If we can continue that trend, we've got nothing to worry about."
5. The RSC recently posted that the "Orgeron recruited a ton of great talent" meme (and/or Arkansas straw man as employed by the anti-Nutt faction) is a bit overplayed. Assuming that's the case, is there anything you miss about the Coach O era as opposed to what Nutt seems to be offering?
"In short, no. I guess that there's a portion of me that missed the drama that was recruiting under Ed Orgeron. It was at least a little fun to see all those stars in our recruiting classes that you knew probably wouldn't qualify. Nutt, on the other hand, does this pesky thing where he only takes a few grade concerns in order to ensure that he gets 25 players into school. Imagine that. A school with 53 scholarship players assuring that it will have 78 in the following season. Crazy.
"Nutt = Ed Orgeron + coaching ability - a little bit of recruiting prowess - micromanaging personality + crazy (which is saying a lot)."
That is. Thanks again to Juco All-American and I do heartily recommend the RSC for all the Ole Miss-based humor you can handle.
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