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!

The Magnolia Bowl

The Ole Miss and LSU rivalry now has a name and a trophy. The game will now be known as the Magnolia Bowl and a trophy with a golden magnolia will be awarded to the winning team. Student Bodies from both LSU and Ole Miss decided to name the rivalry and picked Magnolia Bowl as the name. Magnolia is the state flower for both Mississippi and Louisiana.

Hotty Toddy from Mexico

Sorry I havent written a lot lately. I decided to take a cruise. Don't worry, I will be back in LA on Sat in time for the game. I am sure the Vaught and the Grove will be packed for the game! We are hosting #1...... It's time folks!

Hotty Toddy from Mexico!

I'm glad to see AK's boys off to a 2-0 start!

Ultimate Pay Back?

Many years ago, before I was born, there was an LSU player named Cannon, who as J. Vaught said, "rained on our parade." He ruined Ole Miss's chance of winning a National Championship. This story, played out each year when Ole Miss & LSU meet, haunts Ole Miss fans.
What better chance than on national TV to change the story told in the future. Little Ole Miss can achieve the ultimate payback by ruining LSU's chance of playing for the national championship.
The story line is perfect. Ole Miss, 3-7, down on our luck, knocks off #2 LSU and secures national media darling Ohio State a national championship. The entire country will be pulling for Ole Miss. The entire country will celebrate a Rebel victory. What a signature win!

Win 3

It was great to get another W. It was a bit depressing to have NWS rack up 400 or so yards of offense and score 31 points. It was also sad to have only 23K at a game. Perhaps this is the low point and it will only get better from here.

The rest of the season should be about spoiling our rivals seasons. We can keep LSU out of the National Championship. We can keep Miss. St. from going to a bowl game. So there is a lot still to play for. Win the next two and it can propel us into 2008.

Loss #7

Ole Miss v. Auburn = boring game.
I was glad to see the Rebels stay in the game until the end. But, as usual, we lost. And let's face it, Auburn isn't so hot this year. So it's official, even though it was pretty much assumed, another losing season. Four in a row. I am tired of losing. Our next home game against Northwestern State will probably be our smallest crowd at Ole Miss in 10 years of so. But it's hard not to blame folks.
So where do we go from here. Basketball? Baseball? With LSU & State still to go on our schedule, we could prove spoiler and make ourselves feel a bit better. LSU will probably play for the NC, unless they lose again. Either Ohio State or BC will lose and that will open the door for a one loss team. We could keep LSU from playing in the NC. State is sitting at 5 wins. They will likely have to beat us to become bowl eligible. What a better way to end the season than to keep the dogs out of a bowl game? So it's time to circle the wagons and beat out two biggest rivals if for nothing else, pride.

Big Game tonight

The Rebels' volleyball team (10-1) will face rival LSU(8-1) tonight in Oxford. The Rebels are trying to crack the Top 25 for the first time in program history. The game is at 7pm tonight in the Gillom Center. For more information visit OleMisssports.com


(courtesy of UMAA)

SEC Power Poll: Week 1

The Hotty Toddy Blog takes part in the SEC Power Poll hosted by Garnet and Black Attack. Over 20 bloggers rank the SEC teams each week. Here are the rankings for this week: Here is the break down:


1.LSU (13 out of 19 potential first-place votes), 219
2.Florida (3), 209
3.Georgia (2), 188
4.Auburn (1), 152
5.Tennessee, 144
6.Arkansas, 142
7.Alabama, 123
8.South Carolina, 99
9.Kentucky, 81
10.Vanderbilt, 60
11.Ole Miss, 44
12.Mississippi State, 24

ScheduleTidbits

It's time Rebel fans. Game week is upon us. Before we hit the field and take on those Tigers, I thought I would take a look at our schedule for some interesting tidbits.

This year if you are not sure who we play, your best bet is to guess either a bulldog or a tiger and you will probably be right. We face off against four tiger teams and three bulldog teams. We also play some Demons, Commodores, Gators, Elephants and Pigs.

Our overall record against all the teams we play this year is W259 L 272 T 16. We've played Mississippi State the most at 103 times and Northeastern State the least at one game. We've played Memphis more times than we've played Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas or Auburn.

We play seven game at home and five away. Our closest away game is at Memphis (81 miles)while the greatest distance we will travel is to Athens, GA (409 miles).

Below is a breakdown of how many times we've played each team.

Miss State (103)

LSU (95)

Vandy (81)

Memphis (56)

Alabama(54)

Arkansas (53)

Georgia (42)

Auburn (31)

Florida (21)

LA Tech (8)

Missouri(5)

Northwestern State (1)

Ole Miss v. Georgia: Ole Miss fans weign in

Here is what Ole Miss fans are saying about the Georgia game:

(1)What are your predictions on our game?

Ole Miss 24 Georgia 14--yobes

I think it will be a close game, but Ole Miss will pull it out in the end. With our offensive line returning four of five starters and UGA losing 6 of their front seven (I think), we should dominate the line of scrimmage. Also, we return our entire D-Line. Anyone who thinks that Patrick Willis was the reason it was close last season must not have seen the game stats after last year. PWilly had four tackles against UGA.--tizzownes

Ole Miss, 24-21--shaunp38

Its a sandwich game for the bulldogs with them traveling to Alabama and Tennessee the week before and after. They could easily overlook a home game with the Rebels.--steriossreb

UGA 20 OM 17--KAGReb

Ole Miss 17 UGA 23--Indiana Rebel

Close but the home team wins.--KennesawReb

(From LSU fan) UGA 30, Ole Miss 16--Flyman

This is one of my upset picks for this year.--ozzy2378

(2) Are you planning to make the trip to Athens?

Yes, but Athens is only 1½ hours away for me.--yobes

yes--KAGReb

Yes, I can't wait.--Indiana Rebel

Yes, i live in GA and have friends at uga--KennesawReb

I will be at the game (one of the few I've been able to attend since graduating 5 yrs ago). I will absolutely be there, a Rebel in a sea of Bulldogs.--ozzy2378

(3) What are your overall thoughts on the GA campus and stadium?

Stadium much nicer than Auburn. Campus very nice.--yobes

I think it's a great town, campus, and stadium. Athens is like Oxford but bigger.--tizzownes

I love it, beautiful scenery and a great atmosphere--shaunp38

My favorite place to visit in the SEC...great campus and my favorite stadium I have been to.--KAGReb

Parking sucks, the campus is really nice and the stadium is difficult to get into and out of. They stick visiting fans way up in the top corner of the upper deck.--Indiana Rebel

Large but nothing to write home about. Nothing stands out as unique or different. The downtown area is great...many good nights down their with my friends. (the victory bell is a cool tradition)--KennesawReb

(From LSU fan) Never been there, but I've always heard it was pretty nice.--Flyman

UGA folks are as close to Ole Miss folks as I've found anywhere. Their fans love us and our fans, from what I hear love playing them. Very friendly game day atmosphere.--ozzy2378

(4) What do you respect about GA?

Fan loyalty. Unlike the Clemson and South Carolina perception, I have always found Georgia fans hosptiable, even when they lose.--yobes

I like everything about UGA. They're just very much like Ole Miss.--tizzownes

They have a solid football program but also excel in smaller sports, winning titles in Gymnastics, equestrian, swimming (I think), tennis and having solid baseball teams.--shaunp83

Everything...Great athletics, academics, campus, and fans. I also really like Mark Richt.--KAGReb

Their ability to party before, during and after a football game. They also have pretty good athletes.--Indiana Rebel

Great coach on and off the field. Their defense is always fun to watch.--KennesawReb

(From LSU Fan)Mark Richt, first and foremost. He seems to be a class act who's desire is to run his program with integrity. As the face of the UGA football program, I believe he represents UGA very well. On the field, UGA never seems to let up. They play with heart from beginning to end, and they generally exude confidence. Tough team that will play hard, hit hard, and make you remember that you played the Bulldogs. Never an easy game. --Flyman

I hung out in the Grove last year with a bunch of Georgia fans before our game. They were all good guys. They loved the Walk of Champions when the players came through.--ranchreb

(5) What do you dislike most about GA?

A lot of Georgia fans are arrogant. See Jeff From Atlanta to Stewart Mandel **(See below)--yobes

nothing--tizzownes

Very little that I dislike about UGA.--shaunp38

That they can't seem to beat Florida!--Indiana Rebel

The fans...I live in Ga and they are almost all the same. Before they became a contender, no one really cared, but now every car and truck has a georgia sticker or tag. They all have an attitude that no one can beat them and most of them that run their mouth can't name 3 players on the team.--KennesawReb

(From LSU fan)Went to the LSU-UGA game in 2003, and after the game I ran into more jerks in red than I could have imagined. It wasn't true of every fan, but about half of the ones I talked to were some of the sorest losers I've ever seen. Before the game, great fans all around. After the game, a bunch of pissers. Other than this, however, there's not much negativity I can say about UGA.--FlyMan

Thing I don't respect is the neverending "coach speak" from their fans about how good they will be next year or the next year or next. I'm surrounded by it here in Albany, Ga. but I do root for them harder than any other team (born and raised on UGA football.)--ozzy2378

To join in to the discussion visit:

Ole Miss Spirit

Ole Miss Rivals

**For two years you've been dodging my question. When will Georgia coach Mark Richt start to feel the heat for never making the BCS title game, let alone bringing a national title to Athens? It seems like every year the Bulldogs are overhyped and every year they load the NFL, but it never translates to the BCS Championship Game. What gives?--Jeff, Atlanta
It's not that I've been dodging it -- I just can't believe anyone would ask that with a straight face. The last time I checked, Richt has produced four 10-win seasons and two SEC titles in a six-year span. That's two more titles, by the way, than Georgia had won in the previous 20 years. Perhaps you'd prefer to go back to Jim Donnan? Or Ray Goff?
Not that Jeff represents the average Georgia fan (I hope), but I lived in Atlanta for five years, and it always baffled me just how inflated a perception people have there of that program's place in the national landscape. Keep in mind, because of my age, I didn't start following college football until about the mid-'80s, so I missed the Herschel Walker glory years. To me, Georgia was just an average, top-20 type program for most of my life. But to listen to their fans, you'd think Georgia was a USC or Notre Dame. They've won two national titles in their entire history, the last one coming 27 years ago. BYU won one more recently.
I think part of the problem is that many old-school Georgia types still view arch-rival Florida as their measuring stick. Yes, it's true, the Dawgs used to beat up on the Gators regularly in the '70s and '80s, but that changed in a big way after Spurrier took over Florida. (The Gators have won 15 of the past 17 meetings). Times have changed, and both because of Spurrier's legacy there and because it's the flagship school in the most talent-rich state in the country, Florida is now one of the elite programs nationally; Georgia is still more of a regional power. Which is not to say the Dawgs shouldn't beat the Gators from time to time or make an occasional run at the national title, but to hold Richt or any other coach to a national-title-or-bust standard is just plain ludicrous.