Primetime College Football: Rebels vs Cocks

TALENT

The University of Mississippi’s Rebels have Jevan Snead, plain and simple. The Rebels look to take their strong start and open conference play and lead them to their first victory in a SEC opener since a 24-21 win over Vanderbilt in 2003, six years ago.

Mississippi (2-0) had a short week to get ready for its SEC opener after defeating Southeastern Louisiana 52-6 on Saturday. The victory came after the team spent its bye week recovering from a case of the swine flu that affected more than a third of the roster.

The Rebels amassed 500 yards of offense to win their eighth straight, their longest run since winning 10 in a row in 1971-72. Snead’s play has been instrumental to the school’s winning streak. The junior threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions, extending his school record to eight straight games with multiple scoring passes. The prolific passer threw for 16 passes and two interceptions in his final six games of 2008.

Snead has five TD passes through the first two games of the season, and coach Houston Nutt believes he should have tallied a few more Saturday had his receivers not dropped so many passes. Snead now tries to help the Rebels avenge last season’s 31-24 loss to Steve Spurrier and South Carolina.

Mississippi, forced five turnovers Saturday and stopped Southeastern Louisiana on all 14 third-down attempts. This is on the heels of Mississippi getting back senior star defensive end Greg Hardy back.

The Gamecocks (2-1, 0-1) are coming off their best offensive game of the season, but they haven’t faced a defense as talented as Mississippi’s.

South Carolina compiled 516 total yards in Saturday’s 38-16 win over Florida Atlantic,scoring on three straight possessions to start the second half. South Carolina’s running game got on track, racking up 287 yards against the Owls. The discovery of a running game meant quarterback Stephen Garcia didn’t have to match the 53 passes and 313 yards he had in a 41-37 loss to Georgia. Garcia completed 20 of 27 passes for 222 yards, throwing for one touchdown and running for another.

It likely won’t be that easy to move the ball on the ground against a Mississippi team that limited Southeastern Louisiana to 86 rushing yards on 30 attempts.

In the state of Texas, legends can be made through high school football cause it’s that big, and Snead’s arm helped him reach legendary status playing for Stephenville High School.  In 2006, I made it a point of emphasis to witness Snead in person for myself at the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.  Snead finished the game throwing for 147 yards and two touchdowns and a believer I became. This pick is personal.

PICK: University of Mississippi Rebels