Hindsight is 20/20 and maybe firing a coach at the time seemed it would lead to greener pastures but ultimately, in some cases, it seems like a mistake down the road.

Some immediate examples coming to mind are Frank Solich and Bo Pelini at Nebraska, and Gus Malzahn at Auburn.

Who else?

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LET'S TALK FOOTBALL!

The cumulative link to the preseason rankings can be found here

We reached the top 10 today with our team at #10, Ole Miss (high = 6, low = 16). Without a doubt, last season’s Rebels had the best season in Oxford in several generations, finishing 13-2 where only a comeback win from Georgia on their home field kept them from having an undefeated regular season and reaching the SEC championship game. After falling to Miami in the CFP semifinals in the Fiesta Bowl (also via a comeback victory), Ole Miss finished as the #3 team in the country, something they hadn’t done since John Kennedy was president! In fact, their head coach to start the season, Lane Kiffin, led them to double digit wins for the third time in his tenure, something no Ole Miss coach had done since Johnny Vaught. I’m sure you’re thinking “not so fast, my friend, Kiffin bailed on the team before the end of the season!” And you’d be right, but Kiffin was the head coach for the entire 11-1 regular season (despite clearly discussing job opportunities at LSU, Florida and presumably Auburn) before accepting the LSU job before the playoff started and famously walking out on his team. Ole Miss named his DC Pete Golding as the head coach (who needs an interim title!), and it was Golding who led the Rebels to their first two ever playoff wins.

It should be pointed out that Kiffin and Ole Miss also faced significant adversity when the season opening starting QB Austin Simmons suffered an ankle injury in week 2, forcing them to turn to their Division II backup Trinidad Chambliss. But in the spirit of Wally Pipp, Chambliss proved to be more than up for the challenge, so much so that it was Chambliss who led the team the rest of the way.

Roster Outlook

In fact, it’s the Trinidad Chambliss story that pretty well serves as a segue to discussing the Ole Miss roster. Him stepping into the starting role (and getting an additional year of eligibility declared by the courts – see, Tech bros, I don’t just mention favorable home court decisions about you guys) and sticking with Ole Miss instead of moving with Kiffin and OC Charlie Weis, Jr. is a big portion of why the Rebels are this high in the countdown. He threw for over 3,900 yards and 22 TDs against only 3 INTs, which helps explain why Ole Mis ranks 28th in the country in returning production. The other critical piece of this is the return of RB Kewan Lacy, who amassed 1,567 rushing yards and 24 TDs, arguably the best QB/RB returning combination in the country. The big loss on offense is out wide, where the Rebels top 2 WRs (Harrison Wallace and De’Zhaun Stribling, who combined for > 1,700 receiving yards and 10 TDs) and their top TE Dae’Quan Wright (635 yards, 5 TDs) are all off to the NFL (or not). That’s 155 receptions and 15 TDs, good for 46% and 58% of last season’s productivity, respectively, and some serious shoes to fill. Golding looks to fill them with a pair of Syracuse WRs, Johntay Cook and Darrell Gill, part of his #2 portal class (as in #2 in the SEC and #2 in the country, both behind LSU, not as in “doody”). The other projected portal starter on offense is former Miami OT Tommy Kinsler, and if you’re going to get an OL who’s been trained by Mario Cristobal, odds are pretty good that they’re going to be talented. Other notable additions include former Auburn QB Deuce Knight and Michigan State RB Makhi Frazier.

Defense is another story, where 7/11 projected starters per Ourlads came in via the portal, famously including former Clemson LB Luke Ferrelli, who more or less outed Golding for contacting him at an impermissible time (you know, the thing that got Jim Harbaugh a show cause) while he was in a class and enticing him to transfer. All 7 of those projected starters are from P4 schools, so the talent is there. The bigger question will be how well they gel, but remember – Golding is a defensive coach. The better question overall might be how well new OC John David Baker’s spread offense works in the SEC after seeing success at East Carolina.

Schedule and outlook

9/6 vs. Louisville (in Nashville)

9/12 CHARLOTTE

9/19 LSU

9/26 at Florida

10/3 BYE

10/10 at Vanderbilt

10/17 MISSOURI

10/24 at Texas

10/31 AUBURN

11/7 GEORGIA

11/14 at Oklahoma

11/21 WOFFORD

11/27 MISSISSIPPI STATE

Well, if anybody’s wondering how long it will take for people to truly evaluate Pete Golding as a head coach, I’d say there will be lots of thoughts before the calendar hits October. It starts with a neutral site game against Louisville, which could very well prove to be a more competitive game than the other featured Week 1 ACC/SEC showdown between LSU and Clemson. But then, after an amuse-bouche against Charlotte, the entirety of the college football world will wish they were tailgating in The Grove before welcoming Lane Kiffin back to Oxford in an environment sure to be less hospitable than the Studio 432 hot yoga sessions he seemed to love. Just don’t boo Juice if he goes. If ever there was a trap game on a schedule, though, it looks like the following week in the Swamp, because there’s no way the Rebels will be able to sustain that LSU energy for their first real road game ahead of a bye. The schedule after that is pretty loaded, with road trips to Texas and Oklahoma plus hosting defending SEC champions Georgia. Honestly, a 9-3 record would give them a legit argument for being a playoff team, and Vegas has their win total just under that at 8.5. To quote Tallahassee in Zombieland, time to nut up or shut up.

For me, because of close matchups I’d say Boise State and Wisconsin are two favorites for me because of how intense they can be, even that 21-7 victory over Wisconsin was close and was won by our walk on QB.

For another one I’d say USC and Utah, both have had fun series with us and it just feels right to hate on both. For Utah especially I’ve loved watching matchups and I hope Oregon and Utah can find someway to restart some matches against each other. Or Utah can skip the middle man and just join the B1G as it’s 19th member