Yesterday, after weeks of mild anticipation, the SEC released the 2012 conference schedule, which brought a range of reactions. Elation could be the word used to describe the mood of Georgia, who learned that for the second straight year that they would not be playing LSU, Alabama, or Arkansas (what a bunch of lucky assholes). The same could also be said for Vanderbilt, as they will miss all three as well, but the Commodores aren’t considered a serious threat for the SEC East title.
However, pretty much everyone looked at the schedule and said, “Well, Ole Miss is going to die,” as the Rebels must play LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia on the road. While it most certainly sucks and we will die multiple times, I’d like to remind everyone that, with the exception of Georgia, WE PLAY THAT SCHEDULE EVERY OTHER YEAR AND HAVE FOR QUITE SOME TIME. THANKS FOR PAYING ATTENTION. So we’ll not be accepting your sympathies for those games and you can all go to hell.
But, we will be accepting any and all sympathies for our non-conference games, which include the likes of Central Arkansas, UTEP, Tulane, and Texas. Now, you may scoff at the first three, and maybe even Texas because they are not good, but let’s examine Central Arkansas, UTEP, and Tulane as they relate to Ole Miss.
-Do you know what Central Arkansas did against I-A opponents that Ole Miss did not do in 2011? Took Louisiana Tech to overtime before losing. As a refresher, Ole Miss lost to the Bulldogs by 20 in Oxford.
-UTEP needed overtime to beat a team called Stony Brook, which very well could be a high school team. Could Ole Miss have beaten Stony Brook in 2011? NOT A SINGLE CHANCE IN HELL.
-Tulane traveled to Legion Field to play UAB and blasted the Blazers 49-10. If Ole Miss had three games against UAB in 2011, we couldn’t have scored 49 total points.
So, as you can see, these are not “here’s your check, thanks for the win” type of games for the Rebels. While we’ll no doubt be on the business end of some brutal treatment during the SEC road schedule, everyone has ignored the real brutality of Ole Miss’ schedule. Slots usually reserved for wins that generate bowl appearances are now filled with teams that have the ability to slap Ole Miss around. 2012 is already no friend of mine.
And Hugh Freeze, welcome to the world of rigorous non-conference scheduling.
(All jesting aside, OR AM I JESTING, a small part of me wishes Houston Nutt was coaching this team in 2012 because watching him pilot that ship to 0-12 would be the stuff of legendary horrendous coaching.)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
