The Ole Miss Rebels ran one of the coolest plays you’ll see all year when they executed a fumblerooski to perfection in a 24-3 win over Memphis last weekend. However, it’s tough to appreciate the play when you don’t know what’s happening, and to be fair it is very tough to follow what happened on this unorthodox trick play.

Take another look at the play from Saturday, and then we’ll break it down.

The first thing you’ll notice on this play is Ole Miss huddles strangely close to the line of scrimmage, which should have tipped off the Memphis defense that something fishy was coming. The Rebels never really break their huddle, but instead merely turn around within the huddle, remaining bunched around the center in a completely abnormal but somehow still legal formation.

Based on how the Ole Miss offense is lined up, it is almost impossible for the Memphis defense to follow the ball once it is snapped to quarterback Bo Wallace. This is critical, as it will set up a misdirection run by the Rebels on the play.

Wallace accepts the snap and in one fluid motion he subtly slips the ball to tailback Jaylen Walton, who is standing to his right. For those wondering: the play is known as a fumblerooski because normally Wallace would accept the snap low to the ground and immediately put it back on the ground for a teammate to pick up and run with. However, on this play he somewhat co-accepts the snap with Walton, which is a minor variation to a traditional fumblerooski.

Once Walton has the ball, Wallace acts as though he still has the ball and follows a pack of offensive lineman darting to the right side of the field. At that point, Walton has the entire left side of the field to run, and once he gets the edge he is able to pick up an easy first down. Ole Miss’ misdirection works to perfection, as Wallace and his linemen do a superb job of pretending the quarterback kept the ball.

The timing of the play is also critical. If you watch the video again and listen closely, you can hear someone on the Memphis defense repeatedly shouting “Fumblerooski! Fumblerooski! Fumblerooski!” The huddle close to the line of scrimmage and the oddly bunched formation triggered a reaction from at least one Tigers defender, but the Rebels are quick to get set and they snap the ball before Memphis can make any adjustments, leaving them vulnerable to the trick play.

Hugh Freeze always seems to have a trick up his sleeve, and this one was simply fantastic. It could be a long time before we see another trick play as strange and wonderful as this one was last Saturday night.