Despite increased anticipation, Ole Miss football will likely have to wait an extra day for Kiffin’s debut. Is it really such a bad thing though?
Rebel fans have been eagerly waiting for the 2020 season since Lane Kiffin took the job at the end of last year. Unfortunately, it looks like Ole Miss football will have to wait just a little while longer before they can get their hands on Dave Aranda and Baylor.
The Rebels were scheduled to join the rest of college football and open play on September 5th. However, according to Rivals Chase Parhamit, it looks like the NCAA will plan to move the date back a day.
Despite the change of plans, there’s a lot to be happy about.
The #OleMiss and #Baylor season opener is being moved to Sunday, September 6, sources tell @RebelGrove.
— Chase Parham (@ChaseParham) May 18, 2020
The silver lining happens to be that the two programs now secure a standalone game for the entire nation to watch. Instead of playing on a bloated Saturday, Ole Miss and Baylor will square off in a primetime Sunday contest in Houston’s NRG Stadium.
Not a bad trade off, if you ask me.
The NFL season doesn’t begin until the following Sunday, so it’s almost guaranteed that the meeting will be nationally televised on a major TV network.
Now, there’s plenty of speculation as to why the game is delayed, but the probable cause is to collect more TV ratings. At the end of the day, the NCAA always does what’s best for business.
And showcasing a primetime game that features Lane Kiffin will always be good for business.
But there’s also another glaring factor that could be the cause- COVID19. If this is the case, it’s really difficult to pinpoint the reasoning for the delay.
Perhaps the location will subsequently be changed due to the sheer size of NRG Stadium, which would obviously contradict social distancing requests. Or maybe the NFL is pushing the game off of their site because of the short time-span between the 6th and 13th.
Either way, if the reports are true, it’s almost certain that we will get to see the new-look Ole Miss football team in action on an independent date.
Remember Rebel fans, sometimes you have to give up the good to get the great.