Ole Miss 35 ULM 3

A severely hobbled Ole Miss squad dispatched the ULM warhawks 35-3 in sleepwalk mode. Lane Kiffin squads will do that. Saban-coached teams play like every game is the Superbowl, as evidenced by Alabama scoring 66 points against Chatanooga during the same timeframe. That is the thing I dislike most about Kiffin. He brings that Hollywood quality to Ole Miss, so that it gets unearned media attention just because it has Kiffin, but Kiffin-coached teams always seem to lack heart, and maybe that’s not just Kiffin. Maybe that’s the tranfer portal, that this is just a minor league for the NFL, and players hop around year to year now instead of buying into a program and developing within that frame. Teams like Ole Miss, which cannot compete with Alabama and Georgia in terms of the athletics budget, must get players where they can find them.

Anway . . . the Egg Bowl is next for the Rebels, and Mississippi State has just fired its coach and coming off a victory over Southern Miss. This one is always a tossup, and State always gets up for it. The Ole Miss offensive line is hobbled, as I’ve said. The lowly ULM team managed to sack Jaxson Dart 3 or 4 times today. Not a good indicator. At all. It would not surprise me if State pulled off the upset in this game. Kiffin teams, as I’ve said, lack heart, and the Rebels seem to be out of gas. Still, this State team is pretty bad, so it is a tossup.

Most definitely, I’ve arrived at the time of year, here at the end of the college football season, where I won’t know what to do on Saturdays for a few weeks. I’ve been pretty clear that I think football is a very stupid game, so I don’t watch these games if Ole Miss isn’t involved. I find football pretty damned boring, if I’m being honest. One exception is the SEC championship game because I most certainly find myself wishing Alabama would defeat Georgia as the Alabama team is likely the only team that has the ability to do it, making that game the de facto national title game. Aside from that, I guess I’ll put together a reading list, and I have a new story simmering, so maybe I can get after that.

Before I end this, though, I want to continue that tought: The playoff teams. As of today, we have an undefeated Michigan team, undefeated Ohio State, Florida State, Georgia, and Washington. Florida State is the team that annoys me the most in this mix because its schedule has been so light. Aside from defeating an underwhelming LSU team to open the season, FSU hasn’t played anybody, and a team like Georgia or Alabama will completely dismantle that team. Same thing goes for the Washington Huskies. Michigan will play Ohio State next week, and that will determine the better of those two, but I think Ohio State gets the edge in that matchup. Like I’ve said, the top two teams are Georgia and Alabama, by a mile. Then Ohio State. The next team isn’t clear at all to me, but it isn’t FSU nor is it Washington. It’ll be interesting how it shakes out.

Hotty Toddy, though, and here’s to Ole Miss dispatching the Bulldogs in Starkville on Thanksgiving evening. I’ll see you there.