Getting to Know the Ole Miss Black Bear Rebel Whatevers

In case you’ve been living under a rock this week, or living with the Brady Hoke household, there are quite a few big games this weekend. Oddly enough, the state of Mississippi is in the center. Alabama, of course, is part of the fun festivities otherwise known as Saturdays in the SEC.

We already know about Alabama. In fact, I’m a little worried about Amari Cooper. He catches everything, we can’t have an ebola outbreak before we hit the middle of our schedule! Okay that’s my last bad joke. Okay probably not. After an off week, we’ve pretty much covered everything Alabama without more football to watch. So as a refresher, let’s get to know Ole Miss.

This is their year! Or was it last year? No, wait, it’s next year! Ole Miss is becoming famous for announcing their arrival before actually performing after the first month of the season. Remember when they were on the cover of Sports Illustrated a few years ago? Whatever happened to Jevan Snead anyway? How many Heismans did Dexter McCluster win? Doesn’t matter, let’s focus on the present. Apparently Ole Miss still hasn’t learned their lesson. Let’s flashback to last year and see what Bo Wallace had to say about Alabama.

"“We can put points on them,” Wallace said. “I think we can put points on anybody. We just got to show up and play and it’s the same thing every week: Let’s stay on schedule and control the tempo and don’t have any turnovers.”"

The Rebel Black Bears were shut out a few days later. So, Ole Miss definitely learned their lesson. They decided to let someone else talk of course.

"“We understand that we haven’t played a team that’s going to be as good as ’Bama,” Ole Miss safety Cody Prewitt said. “But we don’t really think ’Bama is as good as they have been, and we’re better than we have been. We’re looking forward to getting to the game plan and really nailing down all the tweaks and stuff that we’re going to have to put into ’Bama.”"

After a 24-3 victory over the daunting Memphis football program, I guess some players couldn’t wait to talk about Alabama. Maybe we could get Wallace and Prewitt a writing gig here for the site? Just throwing out ideas. Meanwhile let’s take a look at Hugh Freeze watching Amari Cooper tape.

Missing identity

So what is Ole Miss? They were the Rebels but apparently that’s somehow offensive. I thought the Ed Orgeron era was offensive enough. So they made a name change. Now they’re the Black Bears, who are also rebellious. So they must be like teenage bears who break curfew (please don’t stop reading). Anyway, now they are the Bears.

There is another Kiffin

I did not know this until a few days ago but Lane Kiffin’s brother, Chris, is the defensive line coach for Ole Miss. Could you imagine Thanksgiving dinner at the Kiffin household? Mama Kiffin arguing with the boys to take off their visors and Lane giving a five minute breakdown on which sides go best with which meats. Just like Lane, Chris is a big time recruiter and a heck of a coach. But not as good as Lane.

Last time Ole Miss beat Alabama

Let’s talk about 2003.

• There was no Twitter, 2003 already sounds like a horrible time. Also there was no Facebook, okay that’s not too bad.
• I was in the 6th grade. I still had dreams.
• A lot of people were still using AOL. Which I barely remember, does that mean phones with chords were still around?
• I don’t think there was HD in 2003. Also I’m pretty sure TVs were still bulky.
• The Red Sox were still cursed.
• We didn’t have the snuggie.
• Nick Saban was at LSU.

Okay I think I covered everything major. Didn’t have room for presidents, war, medicine, technology, and all that other stuff.

Prediction time

 A lot of people are calling upset. But if you know Ole Miss, then you know their team is mostly hype year in and year out. With all the pressure on the Rebel Black Bears of Mississippi, I expect them to crumble. This may not be Alabama’s most experienced team but they know how to win big games. This is the biggest game for both teams this season but at least Alabama has been tested. I wouldn’t call Boise State and Vanderbilt much of a schedule at this point. Will Bo Wallace finally throw a touchdown against Alabama? We’ll have to see.

Alabama- Trent Richardson ankle-breaker highlight on a loop

Ole Miss- Lee Corso F-bombs after getting the wrong Ole Miss headgear