Every October something interferes with that perfect Saturday mid-afternoon sail on the reservoir. This year I was glued to the TV watching the Mississippi State-Auburn game.
As much as I detest trading an indoor activity for an outdoor activity, this was a historic event and I was compelled to watch.
I recently wrote a column wondering if Mississippi’s tragedy football era was coming to an end. After four victories for Mississippi, I have an answer to that question.
The ESPN power rankings, arguably the most sophisticated of the polls, has Mississippi State No. 1 and Ole Miss No. 2. Unbelievable.
With the exception of the Alabama game, State and Ole Miss simply looked unstoppable against their opponents.
There were many interceptions, fumbles and bad plays. That’s football. But for these two teams, it doesn’t matter. They are that good. They win anyway.
Experts are predicting both Ole Miss and State will make the playoffs, even if they drop a game along the way.
Anything can happen in football, but looking at the schedules and the compelling nature of our victories, there is a very real possibility that Ole Miss and State could end up tied for No. 1 at the end of the year.
How could this happen? Easy. Ole Miss and State could be undefeated heading into the Egg Bowl. Let’s say State beats Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. With only one loss to the No. 1 team, Ole Miss would still make the playoffs. If Ole Miss then beats State in the national championship, then both State and Ole Miss would each have only one loss — to each other. That would be, in essence, a tie for the year.
You may consider this farfetched, but we are clearly well into the realm of unreality, so why stop now?
I am reminded of several adages: Every dog has his day in the sun. Good things come to those who wait. Hope springs eternal. Nothing is impossible. You get what you pay for. Truth is stranger than fiction. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. If at first you don’t succeed try and try again. Can’t never could. It’s always darkest before the dawn. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Revenge is sweet. That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Patience is a virtue. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Build it and they will come. Seeing is believing. And, lastly, all good things come to an end.
It is only halfway through the season, but the SEC West is on track to be the greatest division in college football history. In fact, the 2014 SEC West win margin is double that of the 2009 SEC West, the current all-time greatest division.
Who in their right mind would have predicted the greatest division in football history would be led by State and Ole Miss? This is just unreal.
Being human, we always look for a rational explanation for the inexplicable. The Wall Street Journal recently had an excellent article arguing that the TV royalties from SEC football are so great that even Ole Miss and State now have enough money to compete with the big boys.
Polls show Mississippi is the most football-intense state in America. We’ve always had the great players, even with our small population. If we can pull off this phenomenal run, recruiting will fundamentally change. Our best boys will be staying home instead of going to Alabama, LSU, Auburn and the like.
Two ESPN Game Days in a row! Our gleaming new stadiums and beautiful campuses were there for the rest of the nation to see. The PR boost for Mississippi is incalculable, not to mention the millions and millions in new revenue to our universities. Football is a great fundraiser for the university as a whole.
I am delighted to see Ole Miss grads rooting for State and vice versa. There is so much food on the table, nobody has to be greedy. There is only one day of the year for that kind of in-state rivalry — Egg Bowl game day. Every other day, we should be rooting for each other.
We are a small state. Let’s put a stake through the heart of bitter rivalry. Let’s be fun and light-hearted about this.
Let’s also enjoy, not idolize, football. A wise old friend told me when he was young he lived for the football games. He asked me to write about 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love for the Father is not in them.”
