Ole Miss in the midst of a new chapter of its football program, one that it hopes is far brighter than the past half-decade has been. With the season only a handful of days away, let’s take a look back at 6 losses that likely still sting most everyone within the fan base — and hope that 2021 doesn’t bring more of this agony.

6. Mississippi State 2007

Ed Orgeron’s final chapter was an excruciating one. The 3-8 Rebels traveled to Starkville to face a 6-5 Bulldogs team. Ole Miss dominated the first 3 quarters and led 14-0 with 12 minutes to play. Orgeron elected to go for a 4th-and-1 at midfield and it was unsuccessful. Mississippi State took advantage of the short field and scored a touchdown to make it 14-7 with about 8 minutes left. After both teams traded possessions, Mississippi State forced a 3-and-out. Derek Pegues took the punt 75 yards for a touchdown to tie the score. The Rebels blew a 14-point lead in 5 minutes. Another punt followed and Mississippi State kicked the game-winning field goal with a handful of seconds left.

Ole Miss gained 9 yards on its final 4 possessions, when a couple of first downs would have sealed the victory.

Orgeron was fired immediately after the game.

5. Alabama 2007

In the final year of a disastrous Orgeron era in, Ole Miss led Alabama 24-17 with just over 8 minutes left in the game. This was Nick Saban’s first Tide team, not the juggernaut it became.

Alabama returned a punt 53 yards to set up a short field and quick TD run to tie the score. Then after Ole Miss threw an interception on the ensuing drive, Bama kicked a 24-yard field goal to go ahead 27-24 with just over 5 minutes to go.

On a 4th-and-22 with 17 seconds remaining at the Alabama 46-yard line, Seth Adams found Shay Hodge on a deep pass down the left sideline down near the 4-yard line with just 7 seconds left.

The play inexplicably went to review, which showed Hodge being fired out of bounds by the Alabama defender and coming back in the field of play to catch the football — a legal play. Instead, it was ruled an illegal touching penalty upon review and ruled a turnover on downs. No clear explanation was ever given why the play went to review or what was seen on replay. Orgeron was fired later that season.

4. Jacksonville State 2010

This was the beginning of the end of the Houston Nutt era. Fresh off back-to-back Cotton Bowl victories, Ole Miss entered the 2010 season needing to replace a lot of talent on both sides of the football, particularly at quarterback with Jevan Snead electing to enter the NFL Draft a year early. Most everyone figured the Rebels had a week to figure things out under center with Jacksonville State coming to Oxford to open the year.

That proved to be untrue.

Ole Miss blew a 31-13 4th-quarter lead that culminated in a 2-point conversion with 18 seconds left that sent the game into overtime at 34. Jacksonville State answered an Ole Miss score in the second overtime and elected to go for 2 and was successful, handing the Rebels an embarrassing 49-48 loss.

3. LSU 2003

Another year, another shot at the SEC West spoiled. Ole Miss put together an improbable run under David Cutcliffe during the 2003 season with a fellow named Eli Manning under center. In the season’s penultimate game, Ole Miss was 8-2 (6-0) and squared off against a No. 3-ranked LSU club 9-1 (6-1) and still had national championship aspirations.

An Ole Miss win would clinch the SEC West and the program’s first trip to the SEC Championship Game.

Travis Johnson picked off LSU quarterback Matt Mauk and ran it 9 yards into the end zone to open the game. But disaster soon followed.

Groza Award finalist kicker Jonathan Nichols missed a pair of field goals and Ole Miss’ final drive ended with Manning tripping over an offensive lineman’s foot in a brutal 17-14 defeat.

2. Auburn, Halloween night 2014

This one has become known as the Treadwell injury game. Ole Miss started the 2014 season 7-0 and entered this game fresh off a gut-wrenching defeat to LSU in Baton Rouge. The first iteration of the College Football Playoff rankings came out the next week. It had Ole Miss No. 4 and Auburn No. 5 — setting up a de facto elimination context in Oxford.

This seesaw affair eventually saw Auburn take a 35-31 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. Ole Miss responded with an 8-play, 76-yard drive that was spoiled by a Bo Wallace fumble at the Auburn 6-yard line. The defense got a quick stop to give the Rebels one last shot. The offense took over at their own 48, needing 52 yards for a score.

Unfortunately, the Rebels only gained 51 and a half. Wallace threw a screen to Laquon Treadwell at the Auburn 20. Treadwell ran 19 yards and appeared to get over the goal line into the end zone. He was pulled down from behind and dislocated his ankle and broke his fibula on the play. What was not seen in live-action but discovered on replay was that Treadwell fumbled the football inches short of the goal line. Auburn took possession and won the game, effectively eliminating Ole Miss from Playoff contention.

1. Arkansas 2015

This one is a No. 1 seed in everybody’s bracket. You all remember. Ole Miss entered the game 7-2 (4-1), hosting a pedestrian Arkansas team. A win, in retrospect, would have clinched the SEC West title for Hugh Freeze-led Rebels with a home game against LSU and a road contest at Mississippi State left on the schedule. Ole Miss struggled to stop Brandon Allen and the Arkansas passing attack for most of the game, and couldn’t shirk the Razorbacks. The game was tied at halftime and Arkansas even took an early 4th-quarter lead.

Ole Miss led 45-38 with 4 minutes left and proceeded to allow an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to tie it at 45 with less than a minute left. The Rebels scored first in overtime, and a Marquis Haynes sack followed by an incompletion led to Arkansas facing a 4th-and-25 scenario — a term that now lives in infamy amongst Ole Miss fans.

Hunter Henry caught an Allen pass well short of the line to gain and appeared to be dead to rights. As he was being tackled, Henry hurled the football backward over his head. It was picked up by Alex Collins at the 42-yard line, who ran it 31 yards for an inexplicable 4th-down conversion. The Razorbacks scored two plays later. Bret Bielema elected to go for 2 and end the game then. The first attempt failed, but a facemask penalty on Haynes gave the Razorbacks yet another shot. An Allen keeper was successful and handed Ole Miss a gut-wrenching 53-52 defeat.

This game will long live in infamy for the Rebels’ fan base.