Rebel Roundup - October 11, 2011

UM's big task: beat Alabama | The Clarion-Ledger
It's a tall task that I imagine our players aren't taking lightly. A nighttime ESPN broadcast against a team legitimately garnering hype as a BCS national title contendor is something to get excited about. Even though Alabama will be incredibly tough, I do expect a high level of emotion and effort out of our players.

Nick Saban previews Ole Miss; Houston Nutt says Ole Miss ‘took advantage of the open week’ to prepare for Alabama | Capstone Report
We took advantage of the open week to prepare for Alabama? I can't believe my ears! /sarcasm
And we can prepare for this game for three or four weeks but, considering the size, strength, and athleticism of this Alabama team, good coaching can only take their opponents so far.

SECond down: Ole Miss Rebels relish underdog role | The Commercial Appeal
What else are we to do? Hate the underdog role? Depending on how you look at it, though, the underdog role isn't necessarily a great thing to relish. There is the idea that it places a chip on one's shoulder, giving them motivation to work harder to succeed, but it can also breed complacency because "hey, we weren't supposed to win anyway, right guys?"

Midseason review: Ole Miss | SEC Blog - ESPN
As ESPN.com's SEC Bloggers point out, our Ole Miss Rebels have done a fine job of making the easiest parts of our most recent seasons' schedules look much harder than they actually were.