Hotty Toddy! 4 Interesting Storylines Surrounding This Weekend
For the first time, GameDay hits The Grove this weekend to preview #11 Ole Miss taking on the 3rd ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. And while their coaches, players, & faculty are dealing with the circus that is ESPN, The Tide is quietly preparing for their business trip to Oxford, Mississippi. Here are 4 interesting storylines surrounding this 'rivalry':
I. THE HISTORY OF OCTOBER 4TH
Saturday will be the 62nd meeting of The Alabama Crimson Tide and The Ole MissRebels Black Bears. Alabama holds a ridiculous lead in the series winning 51-8-2 record. These 2 teams have met on October 4th 3 times previously:
1930- Bama 64 Miss 0
1969- Bama 33 Miss 32
1975- Bama 32 Miss 6
So we do have the history of October 4th in our corner.
II. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ADAM GRIFFITH!!!
Bama kicker Adam Griffith has been busy making up for the painful end to the 2013 season. With almost perfect accuracy, he's proven he can deliver game in and game out. Saturday will be a very special day for Adam as it's the 8th anniversary of him coming to America. Before that, he was known to others as Andrej Dembrowski & his home was a Polish orphanage. When he arrived in America with his new family, he couldn't speak a single word of English. With soccer being a favorite past time in his native country, he was instantly drawn to kicking when he learned about American Football. And like Bear Bryant many years before, the first game that he saw was the first one in which he played...
III. HUGH FREEZE DOESN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER
I have great respect for what Hugh Freeze has built at Ole Miss. I admire the drive he's shown throughout his career. When he was just 22, he made a detour to Knoxville while on his honeymoon. He & his bride broke into Neyland Stadium & it was there that he promised her he'd be a head coach in the SEC one day. And in a manner reminiscent of Coach Mal Moore's courtship of Nick Saban, Freeze flew to Miami when he found out Ed Orgeron would be Ole Miss's next head coach. Determined to be hired to the newly assembled staff, Freeze basically stalked Orgeron until he landed a position. And when Orgeron was fired, Freeze took the initiative to text Archie Manning regarding the coaching vacancy, "Archie, I have tremendous love for Ole Miss. I would love to serve as their next head coach. Any consideration would be greatly appreciated". Granted, he sent it to the wrong number, but you gotta appreciate the effort! Coach Freeze along with the entire Rebel, Black Bear, Hotty Toddy nation have acknowledged that beating Bama Saturday will be the biggest win in the history of the program. Don't ever sleepwalk on a man with that kind of determination...
IV. ESPN GAMEDAY POPS MISSISSIPPI'S CHERRY
ESPN GameDay makes their first trip ever to The Grove this week. Let that sink in for a second. They've been to podunk North Dakota.... Twice. Yet they've never deemed the University of Mississippi football program worthy of their presence till now. Forget about Bo Wallace's hot arm, Blake Sims gimpy shoulder, O-Line questions, Secondary concerns... This will most likely be the very reason that The Tide Rolls Saturday. Even a storied program like The University of Alabama fell victim to the spotlight in 2011 when ESPN came to town touting the LSU-Bama match-up as 'The Game of the Century'. Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant famously said, "Act like you've been there before"... But in Ole Miss's defense, how can you when you, in fact, have not been there before?
Bama won't be able to sleepwalk thru Saturday. I imagine it'll take several hot toddies to get my nerves in check. I am actually enjoying Ole Miss fans exuding so much confidence this week. Let them eat cake. Just know they'll be in a diabetic coma Saturday evening. And when everything is said and done, we'll remember the age old quote:
Ole Miss may not win every football game... But they never lose a party. Party on, Hugh! Party on, Bo!
I. THE HISTORY OF OCTOBER 4TH
Saturday will be the 62nd meeting of The Alabama Crimson Tide and The Ole Miss
1930- Bama 64 Miss 0
1969- Bama 33 Miss 32
1975- Bama 32 Miss 6
So we do have the history of October 4th in our corner.
II. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ADAM GRIFFITH!!!
Bama kicker Adam Griffith has been busy making up for the painful end to the 2013 season. With almost perfect accuracy, he's proven he can deliver game in and game out. Saturday will be a very special day for Adam as it's the 8th anniversary of him coming to America. Before that, he was known to others as Andrej Dembrowski & his home was a Polish orphanage. When he arrived in America with his new family, he couldn't speak a single word of English. With soccer being a favorite past time in his native country, he was instantly drawn to kicking when he learned about American Football. And like Bear Bryant many years before, the first game that he saw was the first one in which he played...
III. HUGH FREEZE DOESN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER
I have great respect for what Hugh Freeze has built at Ole Miss. I admire the drive he's shown throughout his career. When he was just 22, he made a detour to Knoxville while on his honeymoon. He & his bride broke into Neyland Stadium & it was there that he promised her he'd be a head coach in the SEC one day. And in a manner reminiscent of Coach Mal Moore's courtship of Nick Saban, Freeze flew to Miami when he found out Ed Orgeron would be Ole Miss's next head coach. Determined to be hired to the newly assembled staff, Freeze basically stalked Orgeron until he landed a position. And when Orgeron was fired, Freeze took the initiative to text Archie Manning regarding the coaching vacancy, "Archie, I have tremendous love for Ole Miss. I would love to serve as their next head coach. Any consideration would be greatly appreciated". Granted, he sent it to the wrong number, but you gotta appreciate the effort! Coach Freeze along with the entire Rebel, Black Bear, Hotty Toddy nation have acknowledged that beating Bama Saturday will be the biggest win in the history of the program. Don't ever sleepwalk on a man with that kind of determination...
IV. ESPN GAMEDAY POPS MISSISSIPPI'S CHERRY
ESPN GameDay makes their first trip ever to The Grove this week. Let that sink in for a second. They've been to podunk North Dakota.... Twice. Yet they've never deemed the University of Mississippi football program worthy of their presence till now. Forget about Bo Wallace's hot arm, Blake Sims gimpy shoulder, O-Line questions, Secondary concerns... This will most likely be the very reason that The Tide Rolls Saturday. Even a storied program like The University of Alabama fell victim to the spotlight in 2011 when ESPN came to town touting the LSU-Bama match-up as 'The Game of the Century'. Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant famously said, "Act like you've been there before"... But in Ole Miss's defense, how can you when you, in fact, have not been there before?
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Bama won't be able to sleepwalk thru Saturday. I imagine it'll take several hot toddies to get my nerves in check. I am actually enjoying Ole Miss fans exuding so much confidence this week. Let them eat cake. Just know they'll be in a diabetic coma Saturday evening. And when everything is said and done, we'll remember the age old quote:
Ole Miss may not win every football game... But they never lose a party. Party on, Hugh! Party on, Bo!
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