Boy Was I Wrong

From everything I had been told and had been reading Frank Cignetti was a lock for us. It appears UNC made a better effort to get him there. It appears they have offered him the head job should their current coach fail. Who is on our short list now, I have no idea. But I said earlier we had to have a new O.C. by the first of the year to have a good recruiting class. Things are not looking good as of now. We better have a quick back up plan, we waited and waited on Cignetti to play his bowl game and now when it comes time for the game to be over, he goes somewhere else. I have no idea where to go from here. Any suggestions??

Update

It appears Cignetti will be on campus this weekend after the Liberty Bowl. All signs are pointing that this is an all but done deal. It is between us and North Carolina. Cignetti is definately leaving for one of the two schools. We have been here before with "all but done deals", but this one looks good for the Rebs.

Shocked

The ending of last nights Michigan-Nebraska game was absolutely amazing. It was something that rivaled the Cal-Stanford. Do the words "The Band Is On The Field" ring a bell. The ending of the game was something I had never seen before. Usually a couple of the pitch backs might work, but never have I seen a play take this long and get as far down the field as this one did, before a tackle by the Nebraska player. I have yet to understand what the SunBelt officials were doing. At no time did they ever make a signal during the play, not once was a whistle blown, a baggie thrown, or a motion made by the officials. Not even at the end of the game, when the Michigan player was tackled did the official wave the play dead.

Why the Michigan lineman did not lateral the ball back one more time, I have no idea, they had pitched it seven times already, why not eight. Two Michigan players were open for the pitch and could have scored the touchdown. Who knows what the officials would have done if the ball had crossed into the endzone.

Bottom line is conference officials like those from the SunBelt do not need to be officiating games between big conferences. Players from conferences like the Big Ten, Big Twelve, SEC, ACC, etc. are much better athletes than those in conferences by the SunBelt. They are not used to games like these. NCAA officials need to look into the way they place their referees in bowl games.

This play goes down in my book as the most amazing play I have ever seen.

All Signs Point Here

I have posted a short bio before, but I am posting a full bio on Frank Cignetti. Looks to be a prime candidate to be announce O.C. within the next week. Take a look, its pretty impressive.

Coaching Career: Entering his fourth year as offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs ... believes in applying the base principles of the West Coast system with an attention to detail and proper preparation ... in 2004, the Bulldogs offense thrives, averaging 40.2 points per game, fifth-best average in the nation ... the Dogs averaged 52.8 points per game over the last six games and became the sixth team in NCAA history to score 50 or more points in four consecutive games ... Fresno State led the WAC in average yards per carry, 5.4 while scoring 65 touchdowns ... Fresno State's red zone offense was amazing in 2004, scoring touchdowns in 42-of-53 attempts for 79.2 percent ... was instrumental in the development of 2002 WAC Freshman of the Year Paul Pinegar, a fourth-team Freshman All-American who two seasons ago led the nation's freshmen QB's in passing efficiency, passing yards and touchdowns ... Pinegar's 23-of-36, 235-yard, five-touchdown performance was the key reason why the Bulldogs claimed an upset win over 18th-ranked Virginia in the MPC Computers Bowl ... had one running back (Bryson Sumlin) total 1,000 yards last year and another (Wendell Mathis) come just five yards short of 1,000 ... in fact, a Bulldog RB has rushed for at least 1,000 yards all three years Cignetti has been offensive coordinator ... in 2003, was masterful last year in helping piece together an offense despite the loss of the team's top two offensive lineman and the loss of Pinegar for the opening half of the season ... in 2002, coordinated a Fresno State offense that averaged 27 points per game and saw the quarterback (Pinegar) pass for nearly 3,000 yards and the running back (Rodney Davis) establish a new school single-season rushing mark with 1,586 ... helped lead the Bulldogs to a sixth consecutive bowl game ... has been a part of successful teams at all levels. In the NFL, he was a coach on teams that won a division championship and a playoff game ... has been a part of three bowl victories, and on the Division II level - at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - he reached the national championship game twice and the semifinals four times ... been a member of the coaching staff in the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine games ... came to Fresno State from the New Orleans Saints, where he served as quarterbacks coach during the 2000 and '01 seasons ... with the Saints, he was part of the 2000 NFC West champions and the franchise's first playoff win ... the Saints' offense ranked 10th in the NFL in both 2000 and '01 ... in 2000, he guided quarterback Jeff Blake to a career-high 82.7 rating before Blake suffered a season ending injury ... in 2001, quarterback Aaron Brooks was an alternate for the Pro Bowl ... with the Saints, he coached current Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme, who led his team to the Super Bowl last year, current Rams QB Marc Bulger and the retired Billy Joe Tolliver ... coached with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999 as an offensive assistant and quality control coach ... was responsible for game analysis and opponent information ... in 1999, the Chiefs' offense ranked 12th in the NFL ... that year, Kansas City finished 9-7 and second in the AFC West ... while with K.C., the Chiefs' quarterbacks were Elvis Grbac and nine-time all-pro Warren Moon ... from 1990-98, he was a coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania ... from 1990-92, he coached receivers ... he moved to secondary coach in 1993 and '94 ... from 1995-98, he handled the quarterbacks ... his last two years at IUP, he served as the team's offensive coordinator ... started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh for Mike Gottfried ... the Panthers went 9-3 and defeated Texas A&M in the Sun Bowl ... has coached for 16 years, working with NFL offensive coordinators such as Mike McCarthy (New Orleans Saints) and Tom Rossley (Green Bay Packers), as well as Jimmy Raye (Oakland Raiders).

Athletics Career: Played at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, from where he graduated in 1987 ... was an all-conference safety ... played in the school's first ever appearance in a national playoff game in 1987 against Central Florida.

Personal: Born Oct. 4, 1965 ... born in Pittsburgh ... his father, Frank, is currently the coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and owns a lifetime record of 219-78-1 ... his father was also the head coach at West Virginia from 1976-79 ... his brother, Curt, is the quarterbacks coach at North Carolina State ... he and his wife, Ellen, have two daughters, Alyssa (4) and Gabrielle (2) and are expecting a third child in October.

Jamal Is Out

Jamal Pittman is the latest Rebel to leave the team as of yesterday. The decision by Pittman will not affect the Rebel football team at all in my opinion. With Ben Jarvus Green Ellis and Mico McSwain in the backfield I do not believe Pittman would have been used alot. Pittman a highly touted signee out of high school suffered several injuries to his knees while at Ole Miss. These injuries kept Pittman from ever having an impact in the offense for the Rebels. There is no reason to get upset about Pittman's departure it works out good for both of us.

Add Another One To The List

A new name has come out for the offensive coordinator position. George Cortez, the offensive coordinator at Cal has surfaced as a new candidate for the job. He sounds like a good person to fill in the open position.

George Cortez, who offers 28 years of professional and college coaching experience to Cal's football staff, is entering his fourth season as the school's offensive coordinator. Working in tandem with head coach Jeff Tedford, Cortez has made a dramatic impact on the Bears' offense. As one of the most balanced units in the nation - averaging 256.8 yards rushing and 235.7 yards passing - the 2004 club ranked No. 5 in total offense (492.4 ypg), No. 6 in rushing offense (256.8 ypg) and No. 7 in scoring offense (36.8 ppg) nationally. Under his direction, the Bears featured two Heisman Trophy candidates in running back J.J. Arrington and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and a returning All-America wide receiver in Geoff McArthur. Arrington, the Pac-10 rushing champion with 2,018 yards, ranked No. 1 nationally in total rushing yards and broke Chuck Muncie's school season rushing record last fall. Rodgers, meanwhile, ranked No. 8 nationally in passing efficiency while throwing for 2,566 yards, 24 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. And McArthur crowned his illustrious career by setting Cal all-time marks for receptions (202) and receiving yards (3,18 . Cortez has paid a prominent role in Cal's offense posting three of the four highest scoring seasons in school history over the 2002-04 campaigns, and also claiming Pac-10 rushing titles in each of the past two seasons - the first time the Bears have led the conference in rushing since 1958.

Marroons Make A Decision

Evidently all you have to do is beat Ole Miss to get a contract extension. No way in the world I would give an extension to a coach with back to back losing seasons with 3 or 4 wins. Some of you will argue we gave Barnes an extension, but at least he took us to the tournament and we made a run while we were there. Does anyone have an explanation as to why they would do this??

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football coach Sylvester Croom received a contract extension that will carry him through the 2009 season, the school announced Sunday.Terms were not announced. Croom made about $900,000 in his previous contract, with $180,000 coming from state funds and the balance from the private Bulldog Foundation.

Could It Actually Happen

As I was driving down Old Taylor Road, I noticed something different. It appears work has begun on getting a new scoreboard. I noticed a couple of trees in the outfield had been cut down to make way for the new scoreboard. While it is in the very beginning stages of getting the new scoreboard in place, I am glad to see it happen. I doubted the athletic department would get the scoreboard put up in time by the first game in February, but it is beginning to look like this might actually happen. Now if we could just get the geniuses at city hall to agree with us on the need for a renovated stadium we will be where our stadium needs to be. I am still amazed at how our city does not cooperate with our university leadership.

Another One For The Good Guys

The Ole Miss men's basketball team chalked up another W on the season improving there record to 6-2. No one stood out for the Rebels as both Todd Abernathy and Londrick Nolen led the team with eleven points. The Rebels looked lazy and tired for most of the ball game and were just going through the motions. I really can not blame these guys with the schedule they have had and with Memphis on Saturday. It was good to get some younger guys in there playing tonight. Freshman Marquis Young(modern day equivalent of the former Rebel baller J.J. Sims) banged around down low and got several points and a couple of rebounds. Poor performance tonight goes to Brian Smith who ball-hogged the ball in the final minutes and tried puts some points on the board for himself instead of passing it to walk on Patrick Spachs. Only on the last possession with five seconds left did Smith pass the ball to him.

The crowd tonight was by far the worst I have ever seen in my years attending. ONLY 1100 were in attendance. I understand we have alot of games recently and this was not a good opponent but 1100 is ridiculous for an SEC team. Something has got to change, and Rebel fans need to support their team. There are plenty of fans within a 50 minute drive that should come to some of these games.

Rebels will play the thugs of MEMPHIS STATE and the sleezeball Coach Calipari on Saturday. The Tigers are ranked in the top five and will bring alot of gross fans with them to watch the game. So if you are at home and have nothing else to do please come out and support the Rebels, they need our help.

Lady Rebs Defeat Scarlet Knights

I decided to go out and support the Lady Rebs tonight in a big time game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. I was glad I decided to attend. The Rebs led the whole game and continued to improve its record winning 67-57. The Lady Rebs are now 7-1 and have defeated two top twenty teams this season. I look for the Rebs to get a little recognition in the polls next week. The Scarlet Knights did not seem like the number seven team in the nation, but the Rebels played very well and were led by Ashley Johnson and Arminte Price with each scoring twenty two. I hope the Rebels can continue their streak and I look for them to make a run in S.E.C. play. At any rate, congrats to the Coach Carol Ross and her Lady Rebs, looks like it will be another good season.

Rebs Rebound

After a tough and dissapointing loss at Illinois Chicago the Ole Miss Rebels rebounded to defeat St. Louis 77-62 in front of a "non packed" Tad Pad as part of "Pack the Tad Pad" week. The Rebels returned to Oxford and came out shooting very well from all parts of the floor except the free throw line. The guy I was most impressed with today was Trey Hampton who came out on fire and finished with a game high 14 points. If he could average around 9-10 points a game for us that would be excellent. St. Louis had a big foreigner down low that dominated the whole game for the Billikens but the Rebels fought well defending him with DeWayne Curtis. We played well and fought hard. Here is what the St. Louis coach had to say about the Rebs.

"I told Coach Barnes they out-toughed us tonight. I can't believe they lost as many guys from last season and still look like they did. Ole Miss has a lot to be optimistic about. I was impressed."


"This was a tougher game for us than North Carolina. We were able to get to the basket easier against North Carolina than against Ole Miss. We were lucky to be down only 10 at halftime. They make their free throws and we're down 18 or 19 at that point. I like Coach Barnes and how his teams play."



On another note, if you have never been to a game at the Tad Pad when school is not in session, it is one of the saddest sights you will ever see. The whole atmosphere is ridiculous. It really shows just how bad our marketing department is in games like this. Everything from the graphics on the jumbotron to the music being played to the promotions in the stands. I have never understood why we do not just hand out tickets to the Boys and Girls clubs or local elementary schools on games like this to try and get more people in the stands.

Also, the half court shot attempt by Eric Jernigan at half time was the most awful shot I have ever seen from anyone in my entire life. Jernigan, please never step foot on a basketball court again.

The Rebs return to the court to take on Nichols State on Thursday.

Full of Disappointment

I was very disappointed after watching Coach Barnes and his Rebels yesterday lose to whoever the flames were. Thanks to the satellite of a fellow worldcalssglass contributor we were privileged enough to watch the first SEC ever to lose to Illinois-Chicago. The Rebels trailed by a few points for most of the first half before regaining the lead right before half time. They continued this lead for the majority of the second half, even up by twelve at one point. Within the final minute UIC made a three point to tie the game and never looked back.

There are several questions that need to be asked about this game. My one concern was why were we in a zone with less than one minute to go. Ole Miss a team that traditionally plays a tough man to man, goes into a zone and leaves a UIC shooter WIDE open to make a game tying three point basket. In normal fashion our final shot was a throw up by Londrick Nolen. Once again proof we should have hired and X and O asst. coach.

Dewayne Curtis led the Rebels with 20 points. Our guard play was miserable in my opinion. We have got some searching to do if we are going to be a decent team. Playing Memphis on national t.v. as the fourth game in seven days is going to be ugly. But wait we have two games to suffer through before then. Come Tuesday we will see if this loss had an effect on this team because a good St. Louis team rolls into Oxford.

Whose Left???

Ole Miss will open spring football practice in three months with one less option at the quarterback position.Ethan Flatt, a junior who started the last three games of a frustrating 3-8 season, will not return for his senior season, team sources confirmed Friday night.Flatt is scheduled to graduate in May with a degree in business and had been planning to attend law school after his college career ended.
Flatt declined to comment when reached on his cell phone Friday. Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron did not return phone messages.Flatt apparently informed Orgeron of his decision on Thursday, when the team met for a season-ending banquet. Flatt's departure leaves a hole in the pocket.
(Clarion Ledger)

The Longest Yard

Found this from the Clarion Ledger, another state player headed to the farm. Does anybody know if Marcus Bullard is still in jail??

For now, Mississippi State football star Pig Prather waits in the Tippah County Jail at Ripley.Soon, Prather will be transported to the State Penitentiary in Parchman, where he is scheduled to being serving a 10-year sentence, with six years suspended and four to serve. He is eligible for parole.Last Thursday, Prather pled guilty to selling less than one gram of crack cocaine (roughly $100 worth) on Nov. 23, 2004. His arresting officer, investigator Chris McCallister, said Prather was picked up in Benton County during part of drug roundup conducted by the Third Judicial District Narcotics Enforement Team.Prather (MSU 1998-2001) will join former teammate Dontae Walker, who is serving time on a drug sentence, at Parchman. Prather was an All-SEC safety in 2000 and 2001 and played briefly in the NFL.

Khayat On C-SPAN

In the wee hours of the morning I was flipping through the channels and saw Dr. Khayat testifying before a committee concerning the BCS. Khayat was representing the SEC and was joined by presidents from other conferences and bowls. The last thing college football needs is Congress getting involved in the debate over the traditional college football bowl season. I found the meeting on Capital Hill interesting. Some of the congressmen knew what they were talking about, but others could use their talent somewhere else. Especially this fool from Texas, I can not remember his name but he made some stupid points and would not let down on his "bright" idea of a playoff system. It seemed that the majority of the congressmen could not get it throught their brains a playoff for football would be extremely difficult on the players and the cities that host these bowls. Things are going fine now, if it was up to me we would go back to the old bowl system. I was glad to see Dr. Khayat representing the SEC and hope he will be looked to more often for his views on this subject, he made some very good points.

Slow Week Around Town

It is a slow week around town. The only news around town was about the recruits we had in town. I am not up to speed on the recruiting process as it took place last weekend, I was in Memphis seeing my friend Mick and Keith play with their band. I understand Coach O and his staff did not pressure any of the recruits to commit this weekend, that is the reason there were not many commits. I hope this different strategy works. It seems most of those that visited really enjoyed it.

The only other topic on campus right now is who will be the next offensive coordinator. I have no clue. There are three names being thrown around, and I would be surprised if we got any of them. I do not look for a new coach to be named before the end of the bowl season. Listed below are the three names along with a link to their bio's. I do not have a preference over any of them, let me know who you like.

Hue Jackson - Receivers Coach Cincinnatti Bengals
http://www.bengals.com/team/coach.asp?coach_id=14

Frank Cignetti - Offensive Coordinator Fresno State
http://gobulldogs.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/cignetti_frank00.html

Steve Sarkisian - Asst. Head Football Coach/Quarterbacks - Southern Cal
http://usctrojans.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/sarkisian_steve00.html