Did Aschoff really just say that OM was a NC contender?

[Pollodawg]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/


Did I hear that correctly?

[Jacksondevildog]

If true, they would be the first SEC team to win the national title with at least 4 losses.

[Pollodawg]

If true, they would be the first SEC team to win the national title with at least 4 losses.

I understand he is a native of Oxford and an OM grad, but come the hell on, man. That's beyond ridiculous.

[RichardHarrow]

He's a Florida grad

[smootness]

You got a better link? That just goes to the college football home page on espn.

[Jacksondevildog]

He lived in Oxford for a while. I'm sure they lean on him to write positive things about their program.

[RichardHarrow]

Is it this video? http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/80128/video-sec-west-top-returning-players

I didn't hear him say anything about a national championship but I skipped through the video until about the 2:25 mark where he starts talking about Ole Miss.

[nsvltndog]

Expect the silliness to continue to ramp up based on the way 2015 in state recruiting is going. They will be on point with the spin machine. Just wait until they beat the worst Boise team since 1998 in the opener in Atlanta.

[Jack Lambert]

Ole Miss will get all the pub next season. Heck they will probably be pre season ranked. We all know how it will end. ESPN sold their soles for them last year just because of "The book of Maining" and I think they will again this year.

[sscjr1]

"Darkhorse contender"

[BeardoMSU]

And Roberta gets a nod too.

[smootness]

Haha, yeah, he said they could be a darkhorse for the West, even the NC...which is really, really stupid.

[Coach34]

He's a Florida grad

Aschoff did attend OM or if he didnt there is some connection there. Can't remember what it was exactly

[Coach34]

Ole Miss has a chance to be decent. But Darkhorse? C'mon mane

[smootness]

There are definitely times when a team comes out of nowhere. But some teams are just excluded from having the ability to win a national championship for one reason or another. If you have Bo Wallace at QB, you just aren't going to win a national title. Period.

All of their freshmen from last year could conceivably show up this year and be world-beaters; they could conceivably find a really good RB from somewhere; their OL could conceivably gel and be good; their defense could conceivably continue improving to the point that it's really, really good.

But they'll still have Bo Wallace at QB, which means they aren't a darkhorse to win the NC because they can't win it.

[jumbo]

Aschoff did attend OM or if he didnt there is some connection there. Can't remember what it was exactly



grew up in Oxford...then went to UF

[M.Fillmore]

If true, they would be the first SEC team to win the national title with at least 4 losses.

In Nutt's second year the Oxford Eagle had a spread declaring the BearSharks as the number one team in the US after a four loss season.

There is precedent, albeit not from anyone who is credible.

[thunderclap]

Noodle arm QB, midget RBs, fat OL. Chuck and duck. Yeah, they're gonna have a huge year.

[Pollodawg]

Is it this video? http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/80128/video-sec-west-top-returning-players

I didn't hear him say anything about a national championship but I skipped through the video until about the 2:25 mark where he starts talking about Ole Miss.

No. The first vid on the link, the one about who will win the sec west, is the one I was referring to.

[starkvegasdawg]

I bet the coolers of kool-aid are being delivered at a record rate to Oxford now. Just one more thing fueling the delusion. My question is when will the media ever get off their knees in front of Ole Miss and see them for that they are. And that is a institution that cares more about partying than an education. The only sport they have ever been worth anything in in the last hlaf century is tennis. Basketball? Please. Never been worth a fart in the wind. Baseball? Made a few regionals and supers but always choked. Football? Had a few cotton bowls in recent memory but for the most part have been Indy bowl caliber at best. Here lately their players have been making police reports and defendants lists more than they have been making pre season award watch lists. They've lost to their rival more than they have won lately even though they seem to think they are the far superior team.

[LC Dawg]

I don't remember which game but last year I checked in on an Ole Miss game on ESPN and the announcers were constantly pointing out the ESPN #1 recruit, ESPN #1 OL, ESPN #1 WR, etc. They were in the room when that Rebel class signed. It is in ESPN's best interest to promote Ole Miss because if they fail to do well after all the press that ESPN has given them ESPN will look bad. Ole Miss should have a decent team but I feel that ESPN is going to prop them up a little bit higher than they deserve because they have invested in them.

[cpilkenton]

In Nutt's second year the Oxford Eagle had a spread declaring the BearSharks as the number one team in the US after a four loss season.

There is precedent, albeit not from anyone who is credible.

When it comes to ole miss, the phrase "frequently wrong, never in doubt" comes to mind.

[codeDawg]

UM will not be horrible, but they won't be good either.

Their offense will be worse than last year. The o-line lost a lot of guys, they lost the deep threat WR, and they still don't have a RB that makes you respect the play-action. Maybe Bo's arm will be a little stronger. Maybe the other receivers will step up, but I just don't see it being enough for significant improvement.

That said, their D is legit and has a lot of talent. If these guys would spend less time screwing around and beating up other students, they would be scary. The other thing is I think they are overly aggressive and there are opportunities for a smart game plan to exploit them.

Alabama is a complete team. Even if they are replacing parts, the replacements are 4 year starters on most other teams. LSU is just reloading. Auburn won't have the schematic advantages of last year, but they are loaded. A&M still has a lot of talent. We have the most complete team we have had since 1998/1999. In fact the parity of some of the top teams could set us up like 1998. We'll see.

Dark horse candidate, my ass.

[Pollodawg]

I mean, hell, they've already got three BCS National Championships. **

[deltadawg99]

Aschoff forgot to mention that RN had more personal fouls than sacks last year.

[jumbo]

UM will not be horrible, but they won't be good either.

Their offense will be worse than last year. The o-line lost a lot of guys, they lost the deep threat WR, and they still don't have a RB that makes you respect the play-action. Maybe Bo's arm will be a little stronger. Maybe the other receivers will step up, but I just don't see it being enough for significant improvement.

That said, their D is legit and has a lot of talent. If these guys would spend less time screwing around and beating up other students, they would be scary. The other thing is I think they are overly aggressive and there are opportunities for a smart game plan to exploit them.

Alabama is a complete team. Even if they are replacing parts, the replacements are 4 year starters on most other teams. LSU is just reloading. Auburn won't have the schematic advantages of last year, but they are loaded. A&M still has a lot of talent. We have the most complete team we have had since 1998/1999. In fact the parity of some of the top teams could set us up like 1998. We'll see.

Dark horse candidate, my ass.


their schedule eases up like ours does. I'd say they are looking at 8 wins, 9 at best. with 6 being worst case

[Goat Holder]

All ESPN sees is that 2013 recruiting class in their second year.

But the thing about that class is that it was headlined by a few (Nkemdiche, Conner, Treadwell, Tunsil) then the typical Ole Miss class. So they'll be a tad bit better due to that but they were 7-5. That's 4-5 more wins against SEC foes. Yeah Auburn did it, but there's been more consistency at Ole Miss than Auburn, so a huge leap up like that likely isn't in the cards. Auburn last year is an anomaly, and the short-term tunnel vision media doesn't understand that.

If Ole Miss wants to make a huge leap up, they are going to have to inject more immediate talent via JUCO or transfer. And I just don't see that. Tee Shepard, Fahn Cooper, Christian Russell, Akeem Judd, Jeremy Liggins? I don't see a once a decade Cam Newton type talent in there. I saw they got a lineman transfer from UCLA, but none of those guys are superstars. They are just typical 3/4 star JUCOs.

Even if they beat Boise and start 4-0, they have Alabama, @ Texas A&M, Tennessee, @ LSU and Auburn in 5 consecutive weeks. They'll lose 2 of those. That would knock them out of the SECW race most likely. Their open dates are at terrible times. Then they end with @ Arkansas and MSU back to back. Chris Wilson and Donte Moncrief ain't walking through that door up in Oxford on Thanksgiving weekend. 10-2 is absolute best case scenario and won't even get them to Atlanta.

[dawgindothan]

Auburn won't have the schematic advantages of last year

Why not??