The game against Alabama on Saturday night was a punch in the gut for Ole Miss. Actually, it was like getting punched in the gut followed by an uppercut or knee to the face. It was a beatdown of epic proportions, for the second consecutive year. After losing 66-3 last year, losing 62-7 at home is a tough pill to swallow. Trying to find the silver lining in such a loss is a truly difficult task.

But you know what? No one can honestly say they were totally surprised. Well, surprised the Rebels only managed 7 points and 248 yards of offense, perhaps. With the amount of NFL talent they have on offense against a young Alabama secondary, that was a disturbing performance. But the Rebels’ defense giving up 62 points to the Tua Tagovailoa-led offense? That was entirely expected, as shameful as that is to say.

Look, there’s no denying the fact that this program is down right now. The lack of talent on defense is alarming. How and why Hugh Freeze decided to totally neglect that side of the ball in recruiting in his past few recruiting classes is curious to say the least. The old Landshark defense seem like decades ago. The 2015 season feels as much a part of ancient history as the glory days of Archie Manning or Johnny Vaught.

These past two-plus years have been hard. And brace yourself, because it’s going to get even worse next year, when Jordan Ta’amu, A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, Greg Little and company are long gone.

There’s no denying the fact that Matt Luke has his work cut out for him. He’s pretty much run out of good will at this point. The fact that he’s an Ole Miss guy through-and-through and bleeds red and blue is of no relevance to the fans at this point. Once the Rebels are through with this season (and yes, Luke will keep his job the rest of this season and at least next barring catastrophe), a lot will need to be accomplished. There will undoubtedly be staff changes – I wouldn’t be surprised if there were two new coordinators next year – and signing a deep recruiting class will be paramount.

This program needs better athletes all around (especially on defense) and they need coaches who will put them in position to succeed. That performance against Alabama wasn’t just an indictment of the talent level (which, by the way, is a glaring hole in the narrative set forth by the NCAA and the media that the Rebels are the only ones in college football who ever cheated in recruiting), it was also an indictment of the coaching staff, because those players were woefully unprepared.

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

The fans are understandably in an uproar. They wanted DC Wesley McGriff gone at halftime. They want people fired. They want things to change right now. They want blood. Losing by 55 points will do that to a fan base. I get it. But firing everyone right now won’t solve the long-term problems, and it certainly won’t improve the outlook for the rest of this season.

The bottom line is this: The Ole Miss program – players, coaches, staff, administrators and fans – can’t let the Alabama loss define the season.

It was a brutal loss, no doubt, but it’s in the past. They can’t dwell on it now, because they need to put all of their focus into Kent State. Every game is a one-game season and the last game is over. On to the next one. If you dwell on any one game it will consume you and stagnate and prevent any positive growth that would come as a result of the experience, no matter how poor the experience might be.

Remember, last year the Rebels lost by 63 points to Alabama, which was in turn followed by a 21-point loss to Auburn. A few games later they found themselves at 3-5. But they didn’t let those losses define them. Had they done that, they wouldn’t have been able to turn things around to finish 6-6, an impressive achievement considering the depths they had fallen to by midseason.

There’s still plenty of season left and plenty of opportunities to improve and turn things around. Remember, it’s essentially all downhill from here, because I can promise you, they’re not going to play anyone else the rest of the year as talented or well-coached as Alabama.

Believe it or not, there’s still a lot to play for this year. No, not championships, a Playoff spot or a bowl game, but certainly pride. Pride in themselves, their teammates, their families, their school and their fans (yes, they still have fans, no matter how angry the fans may be at times). For both the name on the front of their jersey’s and the back.

It was an ugly loss, but it’s time to move on. The game against Kent State this week presents an opportunity to get better and right some wrongs before SEC play kicks back up next week against LSU. It won’t take that ashy taste out of the mouth completely, but it’s a start. One game at a time.