Following Saturday’s debacle several of Ole Miss’ players attempted to explain the Rebels’ second-half collapse.
Running back Brandon Bolden may have said it best when he said, “Sometimes you just let go of the rope.”
At the half, the Rebels held a commanding 31-10 lead. Not only was the Ole Miss offense scoring almost at will, but the Rebel defense was thwarting its Football Championship Subdivision opponent’s best efforts to march down the field.
Then, for whatever reason, the Rebels let go of the rope as Bolden simply put it.The player who appeared to take the loss the hardest was safety Damien Jackson. The junior college transfer has normally been a good chat during the spring and fall camp, but on Saturday he rarely made eye contact, staring straight ahead while answering the media’s questions.
“They’re some great players. To be honest, I feel like I let them down,” he said of his teammates, referring to Coty Blanchard‘s fourth-and-long touchdown strike in overtime, where the JSU freshman dropped a near-perfect pass over three defenders to set up the two-point play. “Plain and simple it was my fault. It should not have happened. It was my fault. It will not happen again. I’m at a loss for words; All I know is that it was my fault.”
Jackson said during the interview session that when Blanchard had scrambled to his right he had gotten caught too far up field, allowing JSU’s Kevyn Cooper to sneak behind him.
Asked how Ole Miss can regroup to move on, Jackson said, “We’re going to find out what kind of team we are.”
In case you’ve some how missed it, here’s the ESPN recap:
It’s a game you hate to be on the losing end of if you’re Ole Miss, but both teams made big plays to send the game to two overtimes. Maybe the loss will provide a valuable lesson for the Rebels.
By the way, Blanchard, who was playing in his first-ever college game, appears to be Alabama’s version of Dylan Favre. The 6-foot, 180-pound freshman was named Alabama Mr. Football following a 15-0 senior season at Cherokee County High, where he passed for more than 2,900 and 35 touchdowns while also rushing for over 1,160 yards and another 20 scores as a senior.
In today’s EAGLE we have Saturday’s upset covered from virtually every angle:
—Late rally lifts JSU to upset of Rebels
—Ole Miss D can’t make the plays
—Nutt says team needed to make more plays
—Commit Bell not swayed by upset loss to Jax State
—Crowe can’t downplay magnitude of upset
Want a scoring summary from Saturday? HERE is the LIVE Game Blog.
Ole Miss wasn’t the only game this weekend. Some game called the “Crosstown Classic” was played at Oxford’s Bobby Holcumb Field. Here’s John Davis’ take on how the Lafayette Commodores were able to hold on late to defeat the Oxford Chargers.
Also, the Water Valley Blue Devils led for almost three quarters at Calhoun City before a fourth-and-5 TD strike from J.R. Jennings catapulted the Wildcats to a 10-7 victory at the “Boneyard.”
NFL HAPPENINGS, MAKING THE CUT: This past weekend was a busy one for NFL franchises and the players trying to make their first, or in some cases, 15th roster. Below is a rundown of roster moves involving former Rebels since Sept. 1. (Sept. 4 all teams had to reduce their preseason rosters to 53 players for the start of the regular season.):
—OL Darryl Harris signed to the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs.
—LB Patrick Trahan signed to the practice squad of the Tennessee Titans.
—WR Shay Hodge cut by the Washington Redskins.
—OL Stacy Andrews traded to the Seattle Seahawks from the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed draft pick.
—RB Bruce Hall released by Denver Broncos.
—DE Emmanuel Stephens signed to the practice squad of the Atlanta Falcons.
—DE Jermey Parnell released by the New Orleans Saints and signed by the Miami Dolphins.
—CB Marshay Green was released by the Arizona Cardinals. He’s expected to be signed to the Cardinals’ practice squad.
—DE Derrick Burgess cut by the New England Patriots.
—QB Jevan Snead cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
—RB Cordera Eason removed from the injured reserve list and released by the Cincinnati Bengals.
—WR Taye Biddle released by the Minnesota Vikings.
—OL Terrance Metcalf cut by the Saints.
While the dust is still settling with some teams and their roster moves (shuffling players to the practice squad, injured reserve, etc.) here’s a rundown of where Rebels have ended up:
—Arizona Cardinals: C Ben Claxton, CB Trumaine McBride, CB Marshay Green (practice squad?).
—Atlanta Falcons: DT Peria Jerry, DE Emmanuel Stephens (practice squad).
—Baltimore Ravens: OL Michael Oher.
—Carolina Panthers: DE Greg Hardy.
—Denver Broncos: CB Cassius Vaughn.
—Detroit Lions: LB Ashlee Palmer.
—Kansas City Chiefs: S Kendrick Lewis, WR/RB Dexter McCluster, OL Darryl Harris (practice squad).
—Miami Dolphins: LB Charlie Anderson, OL John Jerry, Jermey Parnell (listed at 6-6, 290 at OL).
—Minnesota Vikings: DE Jayme Mitchell, S Jamarca Sanford.
—New England Patriots: RB Benjarvus Green-Ellis.
—New York Giants: QB Eli Manning.
—Pittsburgh Steelers: WR Mike Wallace.
—San Francisco 49ers: LB Patrick Willis.
—Seattle Seahawks: OL Stacy Andrews, C Chris Spencer.
—Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR Michael Spurlock, OL Keydrick Vincent.
—Tennessee Titans: LB Patrick Trahan (practice squad). (September 6, 2010)
