2010 Football Preview: Top 5 wins in the Nutt Era

1. Ole Miss 31 Florida 30, 2008: In his first year at Ole Miss, Houston Nutt needed a “signature win” to help the Rebels – downtrodden under former coach Ed Orgeron – gain confidence. No one could have guessed this breakthrough would come against the mighty Florida Gators, especially in Gainesville. But the upstart Rebels got enough big plays from Jevan Snead, Shay Hodge and Dexter McCluster to keep things close.

Kentrell Lockett blocked a Florida extra point and Marcus Temple tackled Tim Tebow on fourth down to shut down the eventual national champions.

2. Ole Miss 47 Texas Tech 34, 2008: Once again, the Rebels were up against harsh odds. Texas Tech had made a living in ’08 with quarterback Graham Harrell directing the Red Raider’s prolific offense.  Things looked great for Texas Tech early on with a two-touchdown lead in tow, but the Ole Miss defense went to work and stymied the Red Raiders’ attack after that. From there, Mike Wallace, Jevan Snead and Dexter McCluster went on the offensive, shocking previously one-loss Texas Tech.

3. Ole Miss 31 LSU 13, 2008: Ole Miss fans have been quick to single out LSU as the Rebels’ true rival as of late, but until this victory over the Tigers, the series was skewed in favor of the purple and gold. In the inaugural “Magnolia Bowl,” Nutt’s squad assaulted LSU in Baton Rouge.

Jevan Snead passed for a couple of scores to Mike Wallace and the Ole Miss D-line shut down an LSU power-running game that had been effective throughout most of the season. Not only did the Rebels beat the Tigers, but they beat them real bad.

4. Ole Miss 42 Tennessee 17, 2009: The Rebels entered 2009 with expectations not seen since Johnny Vaught roamed the sidelines in Oxford. But everything came crashing to the ground when Ole Miss fell to South Carolina in Game 3 and then lost to Alabama and Auburn. While, the Rebels never lived up to the hype, this demolition of the visiting Volunteers will always be remembered in the annals of Ole Miss football history. Dexter McCluster ran wild, snatching the Rebels’ single-game rushing record from Duo Innocent and squashing Deuce McAllister’s all-purpose mark.

5. Ole Miss 45 Mississippi State 0, 2008: By the end of the ’08 season, the Rebels looked like world killers and Ole Miss’ dismantling of the Bulldogs to end the regular season put the cherry on top. Mississippi State played three quarterbacks in the game, but Peyton Manning wouldn’t have been effective on a day that the Rebels’ defensive line set a school record with 11 sacks. Afterwards, Sylvester Croom “resigned” as coach of the Bulldogs.

Honorable Mentions: Ole Miss’  victories over Arkansas, Nutt’s former employer, in both 2008 and 2009. Couldn’t wait to get rid of him, eh Razorbacks?