Ole Miss football: No, it wasn’t all bad. My 5 favorite moments about the 2018 season

OK, so 2018 was mostly a very forgettable season for the Ole Miss Rebels, who finished 5-7 with a 5-game losing streak to close out the year. So forgettable, in fact, that my first reaction to this topic was: My favorite moment of 2018 was that it was over. But then I paused a bit, took a step back. And while it might seem like the entire year was bad and filled only with horrid memories, there were actually some great moments this year. Seriously.

Here are my 5 favorite moments of the 2018 season.

5. The emergence of Scottie Phillips

The Rebels went into the 2018 season with a serious question at tailback. By the end of Week 1, that question was answered. The lightly recruited 3-star JUCO prospect came to Oxford with very little fanfare but quickly emerged as one of the key pieces to the highly explosive offense, rushing for 204 yards and 2 TDs in the opening win against Texas Tech, averaging 12.8 yards per carry and providing the balance the offense was seeking to go with their aerial attack.

Phillips finished the year with 928 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, which is a damn fine season by any stretch.

Just think, though: 923 of those yards came in the first 9 games before going down at the start of the game against Texas A&M. Had he played a full 12 game schedule, he likely would have been in contention to break the program’s 69-year old single-season rushing record (1,312 by Kayo Dottley in 1949).

The Rebels are losing a ton of firepower this offseason, but fortunately for them, they’ll have another year of Phillips in the backfield, and the thought of him in a Rich Rodriguez offense is very intriguing.

4. Offensive fireworks against ULM

Certainly, one of the highlights was the offensive explosion against hapless Louisiana-Monroe, a game in which the Rebels set numerous school records en-route to a 70-21 win. The Rebels racked up a ridiculous 826 yards of total offense (obviously a program record), with 517 coming through the air and 309 on the ground.

QB Jordan Ta’amu completed 21-of-24 pass attempts for 374-yards with 3 touchdowns and no picks while also adding another 63 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.

Each of three star receivers found the end zone and crossed the 100-yard mark, with DaMarkus Lodge hauling in 9 passes for 179 yards, A.J. Brown catching 9 for 133 and D.K. Metcalf catching 4 for 115.

It was also a nice coming out party for the presumed starting quarterback in 2019, Matt Corral, who completed all 10 pass attempts for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns.

3. Season opening win against Texas Tech

The Rebels never really played a flawless game in 2018, especially against Power 5 opponents. The closest they came, however, was in the opening win against Texas Tech, a game they would win 47-27 on a neutral field in Houston. The Rebels were nearly as balanced as could be, attempting 32 passes and 28 rush attempts for 546-yards of offense. Ta’amu completed 68.8 percent of his attempts for 336 yards with 2 touchdowns and no picks, averaging 10.5 yards per attempt. As mentioned earlier, it was also the coming out party for ‘Hotty Scottie’ Phillips.

It was also the best performance from the defense we would see all year. Sure, at first glance the 476 yards allowed is less than impressive, but remember that the defense was on the field for an unbelievable 95 plays, meaning they gave up 5 yards per play. That’s not a great number in itself, but it was the second-lowest the Rebels allowed, behind only the 4.6 against Kent State.

Overall, the Rebels played a pretty damn good game against Texas Tech, in all three facets of the game. Unfortunately, they were at their best in the beginning of the year, and it was all downhill from here.

2. A.J. Brown breaking all kinds of records

What a career by A.J. Brown. He’s undoubtedly the greatest receiver in school history, and you could make the case he’s on the Mount Rushmore of greatest Rebels of all time. Yes, 2017 was his true breakout season, but 2018 was the year when he solidified himself as an all-time great, and by the end of the year he was in possession of numerous receiving records in school history.

He finished his career with 189 receptions for 2,984 yards and 19 touchdowns. He owns the record for career receiving yards, single season receptions (85) and yards (1,320), single game receptions (14) and yards (233) and is tied with Laquon Treadwell for single season touchdowns (11). And just think, he accomplished all of this in just 3 seasons and no bowl games.

1. The end of the NCAA mess

Without a doubt, the best moment of 2018 came at the conclusion of the Egg Bowl, when not only the season mercifully ended, but more important, so did the end of the entire NCAA saga. No more investigation. No more allegations. No more appeals. No more waiting on punishment. No more sanctions. I know for many fans, players, coaches, students, alumni and administrators, it didn’t feel like it would ever end, but it has.

I won’t go into the absurd history of the entire mess, but just think, since 2012, the NCAA has either been on campus investigating the football program or been upholding crippling sanctions. Six years!

By contrast, it took 10 months for the Warren Commission to investigate an assassination of the President of the United States, but it took the NCAA 5 years to investigate such trivial things as getting a free rental car and allegedly free t-shirts. Think about how much money was spent by both parties on legal fees alone in this entire affair, and yet, they always say there’s not enough money to pay the players – but that’s an argument for another day.

The full bill of the saga hasn’t fully been paid yet – the dearth of talent and depth on the 2019 roster is evident of that – but no more recruiting restrictions, no more bowl bans, no more fines and no more awaiting the unknown is a remarkably refreshing feeling. And knowing that’s all over, my friends, is the best moment of 2018.

Rick Stavig

Rick Stavig, who played at Ole Miss and Shippensburg University, is the owner of SE Scouting. A veteran scout, he specializes in the NFL Draft and recruiting coverage.