Ole Miss is Through (SEC Weekend Reaction)

Ole Miss entered the 2015 football season with loads of hype and a roster littered with future NFL players. After beating Alabama in week three, the hype was seemingly justified. The Rebel’s schedule seemed to set up nicely for them to reach 7-0 before another real test would face the team.

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Yeah. About that. Ole Miss has looked mediocre or worst every week after beating Alabama. Let’s not pretend that the beat down of New Mexico State wasn’t something a mediocre team could do.

Immediately after knocking off the Tide, Ole Miss played sluggish against Vanderbilt and pulled out an ugly win against an SEC bottom feeder. The following week is where things really began to turn, however. Using the same strategy that Vanderbilt did, just with better athletes, The Florida Gators exposed Ole Miss in Gainesville. 4-1. Not only did the Gators win, the game was never really competitive after the first few series.

The Rebels had a chance to regroup in week 6 with a gimme game against New Mexico State and took advantage, resting many players. 5-1. It did not matter in the long run, though, as the Rebels were again thoroughly beaten in week 7 by a Memphis team that has not lost in over a year. Sure Memphis is a quality team this year, but no one was picking them to upset Ole Miss this year.

Ole Miss can now officially scratch any thoughts it had or reaching the College Football Playoff before the season began. That isn’t the most disturbing thing for the Rebels, however. Senior safety Trae Elston provided some insight to what is troubling the Rebels. According to scout when Elston was asked about the loss to Memphis, he responded “(w)e’ve just got to check ourselves. A lot of people on our team, we don’t have our heart into it. That’s what we need to do.”

How could a team that was sitting at 5-1 with all of its preseason goals still attainable playing without any heart? I couldn’t possibly answer that question. One thing if for certain, though. If the Rebels continue playing without any heart, the losses will continue to pile at an embarrassing rate for the Rebels.

Next: Who is the favorite in the SEC East?

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