Scratch off a few more teams

Here are teams that need to schedule one or two out of conference games for 2009.

Update- A source inside Kansas State Athletics says that KSU will not play Ole Miss.

SEC West, the Big XII of 2009?

I was looking through my new SI when I found SI's top 10 for 2009. I was excited that Ole Miss is #6 and ranked the highest in my lifetime. But then I realized that the SEC owns almost 50% of the SI's Top 10. There are four SEC teams in the top 10. (Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU) What's even more amazing is that the SEC West has three of the four SEC teams in the Top 10. Is there another division or even conference that can match up with the SEC West?

We all know the hype around the Big XII South this year. The hype stopped when the Big XII South went 1-3 in post season. Everyone assumed the Big XII South was the best division in college football. Of course they were wrong. Let's up this time the pundits have it right!

What's next?

Here are a few things to get you through the football slow time:

(1) Basketball- Yes we lost three outstanding players to injury but we did beat Arkansas.

(2) Baseball- Baseball is just around the corner. This should be an exciting year with an upgraded stadium.

(3) Recruiting- How high will Ole Miss move up in rankings to finish off the season.

(4) Super Bowl- No Manning but watch just for fun.

(5) 2009 schedule- A 12th game with a possible big BCS opponent in the works. Should be interesting who we play

Early 2009 predictions

It's already started. Minutes after the National Championship game, pundits started the punditry. So now that the insanity has started where does Ole Miss land in all of the projections? Below are a couple. I'll post more when they become available.

Chicago Tribune:
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma State
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma
6. USC
7. Ole Miss
8. Iowa
9.Penn State
10. Utah

Orlando Sentinel:
1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. USC
4. Texas
5. Oklahoma State
6. Ole Miss
7. Virginia Tech
8. Alabama
9. Ohio State
10. LSU

SI:
(1) Florida
(2) Texas
(3) USC
(4) Oklahoma
(5) Alabama
(6) Ole Miss
(7) Oklahoma State
(8) Utah
(9) LSU
(10) Virginia Tech

Both Herbstreet and Cowherd have us in their preseason Top 10.

Final Rankings #14, #15

Ole Miss finished the 2008 football season ranked #14 in the AP poll and #15 in the coaches poll. The Rebels enjoy their best ranking since Eli's last year in 03.

It feels good to be a Rebel

It's been a long time coming. We, Rebel fans, deserve to feel good. It's nice to walk into work this week wearing Ole Miss attire and be respected by all of these Ohio State fans. I am sure Rebels all over the country are feeling the same pride as I am.

I think these feelings will only get better over the next few years. I believe we will be a preseason Top 10 team next year. I also believe that we have an outstanding shot at winning the SEC west and making our first trip to the SEC championship game in Atlanta. Wow, wouldn't that take a big monkey off our backs!

Hotty Toddy Rebel nation, we deserve this!

Who will we play in 09?

So who else will we play in 2009? According to NationalChamps.net future schedules, the following universities still need out of conferences foes for next year. Who do you want to play?

Washington State
Virginia
Tulsa
Tulane
TCU
Rutgers
Penn State
Oklahoma
Ohio
North Texas
North Carolina State
UNC
Michigan
Louisville
Louisiana-Lafayette
Kansas State
Houston
Florida State
Florida Atlantic
Duke
Colorado State
Central Michigan
California
BYU
Boston College
Ball State
Ark. State
Akron

Lots of happy Rebels leaving Dallas this morning

I'm sitting in DFW and I have seen numerous Rebel fans heading home with a big ole grin on their faces. This is a great feeling and a long time coming.

This is the first time I've personally experienced a big Rebel win at a bowl game. I didn't have the chance to attend the Cotton Bowl in 2003. The last bowl game I attended was when I was in the band at Ole Miss. We played Air Force in the Liberty bowl in the early 90's. We won, but it was really cold. Despite the weather being much better this time, I don't think that will be my memory of this game.

Yesterday morning didn't start out very well for us. We left for the game four hours prior to kick off thinking we had plenty of time. After all, we were only six miles from the Cotton Bowl. Also, I had purchased a parking pass from Ole Miss. We didn't make kickoff. The traffic was horrible and we tried to park in three different Red parking lots but were told they were full. So we took a chance and paid a store owner $10 to park in his lot. Luckily the end of the game was much better than the start for us. And to top it all off, the rental car was still there when we returned from the game.

Tech fans were generally nice. They were not the worse fans I've ever encountered despite their reputation on the message boards. Of course I would hate for fans from other schools to obtain an impression of Ole Miss fans from some of our posters on the boards. Most were friendly and I had a good time chatting with them. A few of them made jesters and called us "losers" before the game but they were tame after.

The Cotton Bowl stadium was in great shape. I wouldn't mind going to another game there in the future. I could see how it might not be a pleasant place to visit if the weather was horrible . I don't blame the Cotton Bowl for moving to the new stadium.

I knew there would be quite a few Rebels there but I was shocked at just how many actually made the trip. Rebel fans flew in from all over. I met folks from Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Ohio and Colorado. During the game it was hard to tell how many Ole Miss fans were in the stadium because our colors are similar. Red, Red, Black, Navy However, after the Tech fans started to leave it was apparent just how many Rebels made the trip. I'm not good with numbers so I won't guess but the media cannot say we don't travel well.

This experience was a good one for me. Even if we hadn't won I would still have had a good time. I recommend all Rebel fans make a bowl trip in the future.

Hotty Toddy

2009 Cotton Bowl videos

Here are a few short videos I took at the 2009 Cotton Bowl:



Ole Miss cheerleaders



Halftime



Pride of the South at halftime



Rebelettes at halftime



More Pride of the South at halftime



Houston Nutt after the game.



Ole Miss band celebrating the victory.



Celebration after 47-34 victory



More celebration



And more




Pride of the South continues the celebration.

How it went down in Photos

Pictures from the Cotton Bowl

Hotty Toddy! What a great game. Enjoy

Start of the game. We missed kickoff even though we left the hotel (6 miles away) 4:00 hours prior to kickoff. We had a red parking sticker but they kept telling us that the lots were full. So we paid a guy to let us park in his lot. Luckily it wasnt a scam.

Ole Miss endzone

Texas Tech endzone

A few Tech fans with a sign sitting in front of us.

Ole Miss and Tech band members

Pride of the South, halftime

Texas Tech Band

Halftime

Texas Tech side towards end of game.

End of Game Celebration

I have scoreboard pictures after each of the scores as well as several videos that will be up later.

Cotton Bowl Champs

I was nervous at first but rev Nutt didn't let us down. I'll have lots of videos and photos when I get back to the hotel.

Hotty Toddy, it's great to be a Rebel.

A couple of videos from Parade and Pep-rally

Cotton Bowl Parade

I've just returned from the Cotton Bowl Parade and Ole Miss pep-rally. There are tons of Ole Miss fans here. I've posted some of the sights of the parade and pep-rally below. Enjoy! Videos will follow shortly.

Along the Parade route, in front of the American Airlines Center

Marine Marching Band

The Rangerettes

Dallas Cowboys' Float

First Baptist Church Float

Miss Texas USA

Texas Rangers' Float

Miss Mississippi

Ole Miss cheerleaders and float

Pride of the South

Ole Miss Pep-Rally