Conference Championship Week Discussion

Ole Miss Shuts Florida Down 27-21!



Mississippi pressure proves too much for Tebow to handle.

Coach Macc's season at Ole Miss has been an up and down battle. First a loss to underranked non-conference opponent Stanford and then key rivalry loss to Arkansas left the Rebels wondering if they would even play again before their Bowl Bid. Having just found out their schedule was increased a game in what would be one of the best games in college history... the Rebels couldn't be happier.

The Rebels defence kept the pressure on Tebow all day. Blitz packages and zone coverage lead to FOUR Tebow interceptions on the day, more than enough to put the ball in the hands of Mississippi offence to run valueable clock down. SS Derrick Herman who was #2 on the depth chart at the beginning of the season has since replaced Johnny Brown in the starting role for the team had a MONSTER game. Herman earns the game ball after a HUGE preformance with two timely interceptions, 7 tackles 1 TFL.

"Man I just can't believe it. I decided to come to Ole Miss because it's a good school with great tradition and I felt like I'd have the opportunity to get some exposure playing young. But what Coach Macc's done with this team - he's creating history. We've had such a rollercoaster of a season and to go from looking outside into this game to now being the SEC champions, nobody thought we'd do it after the Arkansas loss. I've been studying Tebow since the minute they became a lock for the championship and I guess it paid off," Herman said as the mob of Ole Miss fans stormed the field after the final play of the game.

Herman, standing only 5'10 185.lbs has earned his starting job with hard work and dedication. He's slowly became a leader of the Ole Miss offence and he was the X Factor in todays win. The Rebels gave up two touchdowns in the first quarter adjusting to Florida's style and on their second it appeared like they had the momentum having forced two straight three and outs for the Rebels offence. Dexter McCluster quieted the sell-out crowd at the Georgia Dome showing he's the best return man in the country with another kick return touchdown knotting the score at 14.

When the Rebels D took the field again, the Gators began marching right down. It looked as if they had a first down conversion on 2nd down but it was Herman who came up clutch, breaking coverage and making the stop just short of the line. Herman laid a blow that would end Jeff Demps season indefinitely. This seemed to spark the Miss D and Herman himself because on the very next play Tebow threw it up for TE Aaron Hernandez and Herman went up and literally ripped the ball out his hands for his first INT on the day.

The Rebels settled for a field goal on the ensuing drive to make it 17-14. Dejavu would strike again as the Gators were on 3rd and 15 trying to convert from their side of the 50. On a screen pass to backup HB Chris Rainey, it would appear as if the Gators converted until Herman comes flying through making the stop just short of the line. Florida figured if they couldn't convert the short 4th down play, the field position would require them to make a stop within 20 yards.

On the 4th and short play, it would be the ball hawking Herman coming through with another INT (literally SICKEST diving catch INT I've EVER seen in this game) that had the Ole Miss sideline JACKED. The Rebels ended the half with a field goal taking a 20-14 lead.



Derrick Herman after his second interception on the day

"Derrick has been by far the most impressive player in terms of progression I've ever seen at this level. Johnny is a huge part of our D and having him go down in the Arkansas game really made the coaching staff wonder if we'd have trouble replacing him. Derrick stepped up to the challenge and has played outstanding. He's been the 2nd half defensive MVP for us, quite possibly for the entire year after todays game. People forget this kid played in 7 games for us this year but still recorded 55 tackles, 11 going for loss, 5 sacks and 3 INTs. I shudder when I think we've got the opportunity to keep this kid on our team for another two years. As for today's game, I couldn't be more proud of my boys. They played their hearts out today and silenced one of this countries best QBs. They worked their tails off and executed our gameplan to PERFECTION," Macc said.

OFFENSIVE STATS
QB Ray Cotton 127.2 Passer Rating 17/27 Pass Completions 191 Yards 1TD 1INT
HB Brandon Bolden 16 Rushes 66 Yards 5 Receptions 33 Yards
WR Dexter McCluster 8 Rushes 55 Yards 1TD 3 Receptions 39 Yards 166 Kick Return Yards 1TD 279 All-Purpose
TE Ferbia Allen 7 Receptions 91 Yards 1TD