Red Cup Rebellion Presents: Math

by Ivory Tower on Sep 27, 2009 12:06 AM EDT

Ole Miss fans saw this moment - and this post - coming a mile away. Below are five team profiles. Some of the teams won; some of them didn't. If you can pick who is who without looking at CBS Sports first, you're a smarter person than I.

Profile 1

209 total yards of offense; 1-11 on third downs; 2 turnovers

Profile 2

263 total yards of offense; 2-13 on third downs, 0 turnovers

Profile 3

207 yards total offense; 3-15 on third downs; 2 turnovers

Profile 4

248 yards total offense; 1-13 on third downs; 1 turnover

Profile 5

305 yards total offense; 8-16 on third downs; 4 turnovers

The only winner among the group is Profile 2, which, as you might have guessed, is LSU. The other teams are, in order, Miami, Cal, Ole Miss, and Penn State. I won't be making any observations about the media interpretations of these teams and their wins/losses because media interpretation plays positively no bearing on conference standings. One interesting note, however, is a debate about numbers themselves, which can be manipulated. Examine, for a moment, the difference between Profile 2 (LSU) and Penn State (Profile 5). Third down conversion rates are a statistic that numbers guys flock to - and Penn State's was actually good tonight.

And how different, honestly, are the statistics of LSU and Ole Miss - besides the fairly distinction that South Carolina is a demonstrably better football team than Mississippi State? How did LSU score 30 points on that statistical resume while Ole MIss scored only 10? Whatever the answers are to those questions, I think the conclusions drawn from the questions themselves should either totally destroy your faith in your objective ability to determine whether or not a team is good or it should make you feel much better, in comparison, about the state of the Rebels.

Another thing it ought to do is make us feel lucky. In the wake of the carnage that has been this football weekend, we - performing equally as poorly as Miami and California - came away with a respectable final score. Perhaps it's not luck; perhaps it is landshark. Here's one thing I feel confident about though: when I turn in my blogpoll ballot, it will be based on resumes and, consequently, will feature the Rebels pretty far down, if at all. But, when objectively compared to other teams that are supposed to be "good," I am ... uplifted.

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How did we score 30 with that resume?

One pick six, one punt return for six. Throw in our rushing yards if you really want to make it look bad.

by artiger on Sep 27, 2009 12:16 AM EDT reply actions

no offense

but any other team in the SEC woulda punched it in from half a yard out

that being said, your boy deflecting the pass was a HELL of a highlight

Terrence Cody drinks your milkshake!

by Wallacewade04 on Sep 27, 2009 2:09 AM EDT up reply actions

I mean, Chad Jones...

…damn. Can we normal humans just slow down and talk about this for a second? Where did he come from? What does he eat? What kind of music does he listen to before/during/after games? What are the sequences of his DNA base pairs? Can he also fight terrorism?

by Rh0d3$t@r on Sep 28, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions

not that this "improves" our resumé...

but it sure makes things look better for us…

lets just hope and pray we find our mojo against vandy

CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL YAKNAWIMEAN?

by smeargle on Sep 27, 2009 12:51 AM EDT reply actions

Just relax everybody....

Today was a great day for all the other teams that think we suck… yeah have a slice of humble pie..worry about your own team, you have plenty to be worried about.. for the Rebel faithful a few points:

1. That is the worst we will play all year
2. That game will make us better
3. The Rebels have a championship defense and that’s how we will win.

Just pound the rock, if we get stopped on offensive drives flip the field with special teams, and let the defense take over games. While our O-line may be shaky on pass protection, they can run block. Get Dexter the ball

This team will get better, especially on offense. Snead IS a good QB, I think this is a loss the Rebels learn from and make them better, both players and coaches.

As far as the Bradley Sowell comment, lay off the kid. I think he was was trying to find something positive to say in a devastating loss that caught everyone off guard and it just came out the wrong way. Nobody wants to win more than these guys…yeah they get benefits of playing football ( chicks, etc.) ,but there is a LOT of sacrifice too.. Nobody is there to cheer when their out running doing conditioning drills, squats and cleans or mandatory study hall.

let’s regroup, get behind these guys and win the west
GO REBS

by hotstove97 on Sep 27, 2009 1:43 AM EDT reply actions

That was reminiscent of the letter the Apostle Timothy wrote to the Floridians.

“Youwill never see a team play harder than we will play the rest of the season.”

Exactly one year ago today.

by Hunter C. on Sep 27, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions

I feel alot better after today.

The only team in the SEC west who is as good as I thought they were is Bama, and maybe Auburn. Really happy about the LSU state game. LSU proved they sucked without giving State any kind of momentum.

by Knob Creek Reb on Sep 27, 2009 2:14 AM EDT reply actions

Ole Miss plummets to no. 21

in the AP poll. At first I thought that the Rebels’ 17-place drop might be an AP poll record, but if it was, it was quickly surpassed by no. 6 Cal’s 18-spot fall to 24. And LSU is the new no. 4, probably the most overrated no. 4 team since . . . well, you know.

Ivory Tower says, that the cited game stats (not poll rankings) “should either totally destroy your faith in your objective ability to determine whether or not a team is good or it should make you feel much better, in comparison, about the state of the Rebels.”

Oddly, his observations (coupled w/ the new poll rankings) do BOTH – my faith in my ability to objectively recognize a good football team is destroyed AND I feel better (by comparison) about the state of Ole Miss football.

Of course, given that my faith in my ability to objectively determine football prowess has been destroyed, I don’t know how much credence I should give my relative feeling that the state of Ole Miss football is sound.

I didn't come here to be nice.

by No Quarter on Sep 27, 2009 1:25 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

Penn State loses, falls to #15 – 10 spots. #4 Ole Miss loses, falls to #21 – 17 spots. Just shows how biased & irrelevant the polls are.

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats. - H. L. Mencken

by BimBamOleMissByDamn on Sep 27, 2009 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions

And Penn St lost at home, not on Turdsday

Rankings are very unfair. Still, it’s an early loss on the road, Your season is not unrecoverable (is that even a word?).

It does set a bad precedent. If we slip up, we are going a long way down.

by artiger on Sep 27, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions

LSU will get the benefit of a doubt...

Lose this week to a ranked UGA team on the road and you will likely fall out of the top 10, yes, but not see a tumble like we experienced. Beat UGA, but then fall to UF at home, then likely still top 10. All depends on who, when and where.

by RebelBarrister on Sep 27, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Simple -

Penn State, though overrated, apparently wasn’t as overrated as Ole Miss was. AP voters probably felt a little queasy at having voted the Rebs as high as they had. When OM let THEM (the voters) down by losing, voters exacted revenge – how dare the Rebels fail to live up to voters’ expectations??

Note Va Tech’s steady climb back to the top tier (or near it) where they began the season. Of course, it was a lot harder to get to No. 6 this time – it took wins over Miami & Nebraska, but Hokies still can’t pass and, ironically, are now overrated for the second time this season. When they stumble again (and they will), pollsters will murder them. Even JoPa won’t get a second reprieve.

OM can now labor in relative obscurity while it decides whether it really wants to be a good team or not.

I didn't come here to be nice.

by No Quarter on Sep 27, 2009 4:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

One thing this shows

Is how huge big plays are to a football game. LSU was the only team that won. They were the only team without turnovers. You don’t have the stats here, but I’m guessing they are the only team that forced 4 turnovers. Then you throw in 3 40+ yard passes, a pick six, and a punt return for a touchdown, and big plays saved LSU. I didn’t watch all of the other games, but from what I saw, the losing teams had almost no big plays.

As far as LSU being overrated, I don’t know if you can say that yet. They are 4-0. The past games have no bearing on the future games unless they are motivating and point out things LSU needs to work on. It won’t matter that LSU needed a goal line stand to beat MSU if they go beat Georgia next week. Have they played like a typical #4 team? No, but as Lou Holtz loves to say, you don’t have to be the best team in the country, just the best team in the stadium.

by Ianoka on Sep 27, 2009 9:11 PM EDT reply actions

"Have they played like a typical #4 team? No."

That’s exactly what the media used to rake our Rebels over the coals so I sure as shit am going to use it to flame LSU.

Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.

by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Sep 27, 2009 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Haha that's fine

but they’ve won all of their games. OSU didn’t really play like the #1 team in 2002, or whatever year it was they won it all. LSU didn’t kill everyone in 2007, and Florida had some really lucky escapes in 2006. What I’m saying is if LSU looks unimpressive the whole year, but wins every game, then they would deserve the #1 spot. As soon as they lose, you can say “I told you so” but for now they are undefeated, which is all you can ask.

by Ianoka on Sep 27, 2009 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions