LSU Preview

Well, this preview is going to be a little different than past previews. I could have written about the matchups between the teams, broken down who we would need to rely on, etc. but I think that has been especially played out for this game. Instead, I'm serving up a cold pitcher of Kool-Aid. After this video, I'll begin a Spirit-style pep-talk. I know, that's not generally our bag, but this weekend, it is. I'm tired of losing to the tigers. I'm sick and tired of never being mentioned on SportsCenter and only seeing highlights of us playing poor defense on Percy Harvin. So I wrote this, more than anything to pump myself up for the game. We're going to be there, and we'll certainly be sauced.

This is THE game. It's our biggest game since the LSU game in 2003. It's not going to end the same way. It can't. Chad Lavalais doesn't play for LSU anymore. But more than that, our team is hungry. They're hungry for blood. For all the build up to that 2003 game, the rebels came out sluggish. That can't happen this Saturday. It WON'T happen. The rebels are going to win this game. They're going to do it for Houston Nutt. They're going to do it for Kent Austin and Tyrone Nix.
But more than that, they're going to do it for Peria Jerry, who chose to stay for his senior year. They're going to do it for Michael Oher, who did the same. Mike Wallace, Jason Cook, Maurice Miller, Darryl Harris, Tony Fein, Dustin Mouzon, Jamarca Sanford. This is a game for the SENIORS. The guys who had to put up with Coach O yelling at them, removing the love of the game. It's for the players who have bled and sweat on the field only to come up short so many times.

It's also for you and me. It's for everyone who stuck it out and stayed a fan. We, the contributors to Red [REDACTED] Cup, are going to be at the game this Saturday in Death Valley. I suggest you be there too. You don't want to miss the best day to be a rebel in a long, long time.

When things look down in the game, and I'm sure that they will, remember this. We were down 17-7 at the half against a team that beat South Carolina 56-6, Georgia 49-10, and most of all LSU 51-21, but the team didn't quit. In the face of despair in Gainesville, the team kept fighting. Even after they had just handed a sure victory to Vanderbilt on seven turnovers, the team was not out of steam. Kentrell Lockett wasn't ready to quit when he blocked the extra point that would have tied the game. The entire defense wasn't ready to quit when they held Tim Tebow, the Heisman winner, to a loss on the most important play of his season.

Never give up on this team. They have fought hard battles, never giving up, and they deserve something more than that.
In closing, if you hear of anyone being killed by an LSU fan this weekend after we win, that's probably one of us. We've already decided that after we win, we're going to talk loads of crap. Loads and loads.

Prediction: Rebs by four

What are y'all's predictions?

For RLZ?

The other day, I asked who was drinking the most Kool-Aid. Well, there must be more of it going around than I thought because as of 4:00-ish on Friday, August 8, 2008, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2250 think Ole Miss is going to Atlanta.

Please, somebody, show me where this poll was linked on the Spirit message boards, so that I can know that this is an orchestrated effort by some Rebel fans to make ourselves feel better about ourselves in some e-poll vote orgy thing, rather than there actually being this many crazy people on the internet.

That is some serious Kool-Aid.

Hey Kool-Aid ... OH YEAH!

Between Jevan Snead, Houston Nutt, the 2008 Liberty Bowl, Derek Pegues, Jerrell Powe, and
some greased-up, slimmed-down Norm Chow wanna-be that Southern Miss hired, the optimism about football in Mississippi is reaching just absurd levels.

Let's call it the Kool-Aid quotient. Last weekend, my cousin pointed out to me (mind you, he's twelve) that some guy in the Mobile Press-Register called Mississippi State the dark horse favorite to win the SEC. The outstanding character and discipline in Starkville notwithstanding, this is clearly something one might dream up only under the influence of some new brand of psychodelic mushroom-swirl gouda they've cooked up down at the 'Tippi 'Tate dairy farm.

Meanwhile, this story was recounted to me by someone who covers Ole Miss football:

"Ole Miss has some talent, but I've heard several people in the past few days say that 8 or 9 wins is realistic and that Powe will win 2 games by himself. That's kinda ridiculous. I'm not sure any d-lineman in the country is worth a 2-game swing. It's amazing how high the expectations are for Powe. Amazing. I saw some guy post on a message board that 'Now I can get on with my life' after Powe was cleared."

And please don't get me started on the flagship school of the state. Here, as a reminder, is how Fedora tactfully handled the nagging fact that is AD is certifiable:

And of course, Coach Jeff Bower. You can never replace a Jeff Bower. He is a living legend, who will always be remembered for his contributions to the Southern Miss program and to the university. Coach Bower built a foundation and established a legacy that we will embrace and build upon to bring this program back to a championship level.

Let's see grape is purple, fruit punch is red, orange is, well, orange ... but I forgot, what color is hubris again?

All three teams have some monstrous strengths (the defensive line in Oxford, the secondary in Starkville, the conference affiliation in Hattiesburg), but they also have noticeable deficiencies (Cornerbacks? What are cornerbacks?). Also, did Larry Fedora forget to mention to you Golden Eagle fans that a high-flying offense requires something along the lines of a quarterback? Your returning leader in passing is Martevious Young, who probably won't be your starter on day 1 because he's thrown for TWO YARDS IN HIS CAREER!

The long and short is that we have a lot of football fans living in dreamworld right now - of course, most southeastern football fans decided long ago to set up permanent residency there. So, grip 'n' sip and let us know who is drank the most Kool-Aid in '08.

My vote is for Southern Miss. It might seem that the Rebs and Bulldogs are mighty uppity, but the vocal minority in Hattiesburg have this sense of entitlement about them that is ... nauseating.