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2-minute drill: Can Ole Miss capitalize on national stage?
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The Ole Miss Rebels have quietly built one of the premier programs in college football since Hugh Freeze’s arrival in Oxford in 2011, and Saturday they’ll have a golden opportunity to prove their worth against a national power on a national stage.
Ole Miss has the talent to win today’s game against No. 3 Alabama, but while the game will be a spectacle for long-suffering Ole Miss faithful, it will be just another Saturday for fans of the Crimson Tide, who can claim three of the last five national championships. Alabama plays in (and wins) high-profile matchups all the time; Ole Miss is just happy to take part in one.
The Rebels must use the electric atmosphere in Oxford created by College GameDay’s visit to the Grove to their advantage, but it can be a disadvantage as well. The home crowd will aim to supply some additional energy to the Ole Miss sideline, but the Rebels must keep their emotions in check and cannot lose focus on the task at hand.
There is a difference between playing fast and playing too fast, and Ole Miss must make sure it does not play too fast for its own good against the Crimson Tide. Playing with a high energy level is never a bad thing, the the Rebels must remained poised in the moment and cannot deviate from their gameplan in a chaotic environment.
Alabama will not be disturbed by the crowd inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and Ole Miss will need to play its best game of the year to come away with the win. The moment is set up to elevate the Rebels to the ranks of the national elite, but no matter the atmosphere or the crowd noise or the GameDay party in the Grove, if Ole Miss does not handle the moment well it will be a wasted opportunity.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
