LSU Atlanta

LSU Fightin’ Tigers
vs.

Ole Nutt Wild Rebels

First, the Troy recap:

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times...

It was a tale of two halves, and it scared the Dickens out of Mike A. Tiger and the rest of the LSU faithful. Too bad so many in Tiger Stadium lost faith and left early. Thank goodness our fledgling quarterback didn’t lose faith in himself after an NCAA all-time record-setting seventh "pick six" in the second quarter. Jarrett Lee helped dig the hole and then got us out of it in spectacular fashion. Dude doesn’t let anything get him down, and Mikey believes he has the talent, resillience and leadership skills to be remembered as a great one at LSU before he is done.

Some on the team gave up on Lee, particularly a few guys on the defensive side who have shown more with their mouths than their play this year. Pot, meet kettle. Most of our seniors are sadly not leading by example. But after some raw emotions on the sidelines, some soul searching and a little "attitude correction" from the coaches at halftime, the defense got going and the offense got off the mat…and the rest is history. Give Troy credit as a bowl-bound team with good players and a spread offense that is tough to contain. Give our team credit for overcoming adversity and for new leaders stepping up -instead of mailing it in and fracturing the team, they went out and did their jobs and earned a huge comeback win. The intangible called “chemistry” may finally be coming together for the identity of this team, and that bodes well for the future.

Time to watch that Billy Cannon run just one more time.

LSU now turns to face another pretty darn good team, and it’s our biggest traditional rival with the gayest cheer in all of football. Hotty Toddy! (Oh wait, Mike forgot that Texas A&M has more gay cheers than the Village People. Ole Miss is not the best at anything. ) But the U of M is the swizzle stick for the Magnolia State, so leading that stupid cheer actually helps your reputation there.

Who the hell is the second guy from the right? Flim flam, bim bam, Trent Lott, by damn! (Notice the girls plugging their ears.)

Speaking of rebel yells, it’s notable that Ole Miss fans like to brag and yell when they don’t have much to brag and yell about. Maybe they are trying to convince themselves that they are relevant outside of the state of Mississippi. Kinda like creating a “Walk of Champions” trying to convince themselves they have won championships.

“The Walk of Champions?” More like a cold day in Rebel Hell.

Kinda like the way they dress up like yearbook models, gather in “The Grove” and serve drive-thru chicken from china plates on linen-draped card tables trying to convince themselves they are cultured. Until somebody yells "ARE YOU READY?"

Okay, they won football’s national championship in 1959, and won four SEC championships in the middle of the last century. And since then they have won…what? Anyone know? Bueller? Bueller?

Ole Miss has had brief flashes of hope since the days of black and white game film. The inception came from a genetic mutation that occurred in Drew, Mississippi which produced Archie, the Manning Messiah. He became the face of Ole Miss football. We broke his arm once. He broke our hearts twice. But while Archie Who ultimately failed to win a championship, he is still hailed as their legend, in no small part due to his heroic exploits against the Tigers. Bayou residents just as much remember him as the tortured Saints quarterback who also shilled aluminum siding on TV.

Nearly three decades of mediocrity later, the Rebels buzzed with messianic hope for the Return of the Son of Manning. When first son Peyton chose to go to Tennessee where he recognized he had a real chance of winning, the red and blue kept hope alive and turned patiently to the youngest male offspring to revive the Manning legacy. Eli is Coming! And when he did come everyone was certain this would surely signal a coming championship for Ole Miss. In a manner only befitting our rivalry, in 2003 Ole Miss was undefeated in the SEC and stood between LSU and Atlanta. The Tigers entered that yell-hole in Oxford and dramatically crushed their dreams. The deciding moment came when Chad Lavalais collapsed the Rebel front line and Eli stumbled onto his rear on fourth down.

DON’T TRIP, ELI!!

LSU went on to win the National Championship. Ole Miss saved face by hanging a banner in Vaught-Hemingway stadium that reads “2003 SEC WEST CO-CHAMPS.” Something new to yell for. The Rebs are the only team to not win the West and go to Atlanta. Even Mississippi State had made it once. ESPN’s Trev Alberts famously described Ole Miss as “the runts of the SEC” when noting they had not won anything in the SEC since the Kennedy years.

LSU fans didn’t say that. We just repeat it.

Prediction:
Let’s get serious and realize that this year’s Ole Miss team will be a huge challenge for LSU this week. Ed “Yaw Yaw” Orgeron may have been Shrek II as a head coach, but he did an excellent job of recruiting talented players for the Rebels. And they liked the way he yelled. So the cupboard was not bare when Houston Nutt fled Fayetteville for greener pines to the east. You better believe Rev. Nutt knew he was leaving a mess and gaining a big opportunity. Which says a lot about Arkansas. Truth be told, he was more than a little responsible for the mess with his handling of player issues of all types and his little “Textgate” scandal.

The Rebels have a solid team that is bowl eligible and (mouth)breathing down LSU’s neck to take over 2nd place in the West…a position the runner ups consider to be their birthright. However, they did march into the Swamp and beat the mighty Gators this season. Never mind that Florida was a little dinged up and still working out the kinks on offense, the Rebels came in playing like they expected to win and they did.

Reb signalcaller Jevon Snead is no slouch. He was rated a 4 star in high school and originally committed to the Florida Gators before switching to Texas. After transferring to Ole Miss and sitting out a year, Snead has taken the Rebs up a notch. You can bet he was jacked up to punk Urban Meyer this year...and did it. There is ample SEC caliber talent distributed throughout the team, and their defensive front is nasty. Even with a new head coach, in retrospect it's clear they had more ducks lined up for this season than the Tigers, who have superior raw talent but lost most of their leaders and playmakers from the championship season. When Ryan Perriloux was kicked off the team, we were in for a bumpy ride. These kids are just now getting their feet going the right direction.

This is a Red Alert game for LSU. There have been years when inferior Rebel rabble showed up spoiling for a fight with their neighbor and outpunched the bengal bunch. They always play us tough. And Reverenad, oops, Colonel Nutt relishes the underhog role and always seems to find the right buttons to motivate his teams into a frenzy. The Fighting Faulkners will be sky high in Tiger Stadium. On the other hand, Col. Nutt also is prone to boneheaded mistakes and to make stupid play calls that frequently turn the tide of the game against him. We know this guy very well. He’s scary like a midget with a half-empty flask of Rebel Yell in one hand and a switchblade in the other. You can take him but you better watch out for that nasty mini Ninja legwhip move. If he gets you on the ground the fight is even.

LSU can’t afford to come out flat or stumble against these guys. If we had failed to rebound last week, I would have predicted a loss for the first time. But Mike’s got to believe that the incredible comeback effort by both defense and offense has given this team a little tailwind. And maybe our ticket holders will not boo Lee on the first incompletion or abandon their seats in the third quarter if LSU is down by a score. Rebels won’t quit (and their fans won't quit yelling) and this one gets decided in the fourth quarter. LSU heats up and wears them out. LSU 21, Yelling Catfish Wearing Oxfords 17

Even if you win, Johnny Walker Red Rebel, you still won't win the West. So, regardless of the outcome, congratulations on continuing the streak!

LSU Faithful in the ATL: It’s Ole Miss week! Don’t sit at home! Come to Rio Grande Cantina in Buckhead or Buffalo Wild Wings in Alpharetta and join in the age old cheer – GO TO HELL OLE MISS, GO TO HELL! Now there's a yell for ya!

Your Pal,

Mike A. Tiger