Memphis HATE WEEK

Do we have to do this?

Until about four years ago, the Ole Miss Rebels had begrudgingly played Memphis for decades. We'd spend a season opener a mid-September game in the Liberty Bowl in exchange for allowing Tigers fans the privilege to spend a reciprocating Saturday in the Grove. And to the Grove they'd come, cargo jorts, faded DeAngelo Williams and all, and generally make a damn mess of wherever it is they'd drag themselves about.

And what sucks about that the most is that, for close to a decade or so, the game was actually competitive. Tommy West put together some pretty talented squads together in the early and mid-2000s which, when coupled with David Cutcliffe's propensity to coach down to competition and Ed Orgeron being employed by Ole Miss, meant that there were a few nailbiters and a couple of Rebel losses sprinkled in there for a good while. They actually got to come to Oxford and watch their team win.

This year won't be like that, however, as this team is too talented and too well coached to struggle in this contest as perhaps their predecessors would. But just knowing that this series is back on the schedule - the merits of which I'm sure we're bound to debate here - is sure to rile up some of those old frustrations felt by Ole Miss fans when dealing with Memphis.

But, really, hating Memphis is a pretty well established Ole Miss tradition. We're good at it, and we kinda like it. So it's not too much of a stretch for me to announce that...

We are at war with Memphis. We have always been at war with Memphis.