College Football Offseason 1

We are officially 1 week into the college football offseason (227 days until first game). The 2011 season certainly had its moments but it was not up on the top of my list of great seasons. The National Championship game was a serious let down. Credit should be given to Bama for the performance they put on. However, I think just as much blame should be given to the LSU offense. They simply did not come to play. Rumors out of Baton Rouge are that there was a major argument between players and coaches before the game.. If true it makes a lot of sense, but most of the time rumors are just rumors. In the 3rd quarter every time LSU got the ball I kept thinking this is the time they put a drive together. 1 touchdown and they are right back in this game. That obviously never happened and Bama completed the worst beating ever in the BCS Championship game.

Before the season I made some predictions. Some of my predictions were spot on while some were a little off. I was not drastically wrong on anything. One thing I was spot on about was the firing of Houston Nutt. It had to happen. I was spot on with my prediction of USM having 10 wins in the regular season. USM just had one of their best seasons ever and the players/fans should be proud. I was wrong on my record prediction for Ole Miss. No one ever could have predicted that Ole Miss would lose to Vandy, Kentucky, and La Tech by 2+ touchdowns. A 2 win season for Ole Miss is beyond anything I ever would have expected. I predicted Ms State to have 8 regular season wins. They were so close yet so far from 8 wins.

Southern Mississippi

Larry Fedora has moved on to a bigger and better position. I am not sure UNC could have beaten USM this year, but the job is absolutely a better job. Fedora did take a lot of assistant coaches with him to UNC, but all is not lost for USM. I personally am a believer in going younger with coaching hires at smaller schools, but Ellis Johnson is a good coach. He is the only reason MS State had 1 good year under Croom. He also is a main reason for the success South Carolina has had over the last few years. I look for Ellis Johnson to bring back a defense at USM that is top 20 in the nation on a regular basis. The bigger question I have heading into the 2012 season is who is going to replace Austin Davis? That is going to be a tough job for someone.

Ole Miss

Hugh Freeze has been thrown to the wolves. The Rebels have what I consider one of the top 5 hardest schedules in 2012. Ole Miss could very easily lose their last 8 games next year. Only guarantee wins I see are Central Arkansas the first game of the year and Tulane. If Ole Miss looks forward to their game with Texas the 3rd weekend they could lose to UTEP who comes to Oxford with some good football players. It would take an entire blog for me to list all the question marks the Rebels have going into the 2012 season. Ole Miss fans need to be patient with Hugh Freeze because he won't have a winning season in 2012. Houston Nutt has not left Freeze with much to work with. All those top recruiting classes Nutt had mean nothing because most of the players are not contributing much. One thing Ole Miss fans are getting with Hugh Freeze is someone that truly cares about Ole Miss and in my opinion that means a lot. If given some time I could see Freeze and the new administration turning Ole Miss in the right direction.

Mississippi State

In the last 3-4 years Ole Miss and MS State have flipped positions. During the gloomy days of the Croom era the future looked really bad for MS State. An overhaul of the administration and coaching staff has led to a 180 degree change in EVERYTHING! The football team MS State puts on the field now is competitive with everyone they play. Going forward into the 2012 season Ms State is looking to build more depth and find a way to make those extra few inches/yards. The step Ms State is trying to take is much harder than the steps they have taken to get where they currently are. Some positives for MS State heading into the 2012 season: 1) Their schedule starting out is as easy as it possibly could be in the SEC. 2) From what I can tell the entire coaching staff returns for the 2012 season. 3)The Bulldogs return a lot of major contributors from the 2011 team.

Most people who read this know that I am a Ms State alumni, fan, season ticket holder, booster, etc, etc. However, I try to be as realistic as possible when I talk about all three MS schools. I always try to step back and take the emotion out of it, but that is sometimes hard when you have so much invested in something. One thing I truly believe is that the success of USM, Ole Miss, and MSU does nothing but benefit the State of Mississippi. All fans can agree that they want the state to be successful moving forward. A more successful state improves the quality of life for everyone.

What I want to see is all three schools succeed in the next 5 years. If Ole Miss can get the ball rolling in the next 3 years like Ms State has the in state rivalry is going to explode. The donations will regularly exceed the prior year(s) for both schools. I would love nothing more than to see on a regular basis an Egg Bowl between 2 top 20 teams. I can not even begin to explain the economic impact the State of Mississippi will feel if Ole Miss and Ms State start what I think is going to happen. Thousands of businesses will prosper off a rekindled rivalry.

As always thanks for reading and please continue to send comments/suggestions. I like reading what others think whether they agree or disagree with what I say.

Wally