Rebel Rewind: Ole Miss Reaches National Relevance in 2008

The Ole Miss Rebels returned to the national spotlight with Houston Nutt's arrival in 2008.

Feeling nostalgic? You've come to the right place.

Over the next three weeks, The Grove Report is taking a look back at the Ole Miss Rebels' football seasons from 2003 to the present day. Why begin with 2003? I'm glad you asked.

For one, it provides a nice 20-year baseline (give or take) from the 2023 season that just concluded. It also happened to be the senior year of Eli Manning, providing a nice look at multiple eras of Ole Miss football in the process.

Yesterday, we took a look at the 2007 season, and today, we turn the page to 2008.

© Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Setting the Stage

The Rebels had moved on from Ed Orgeron following the debacle of the 2007 season, and they said, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Ole Miss opted to hire Houston Nutt of the Arkansas Razorbacks as its next head coach, a team the Rebels had not defeated since 2003. Nutt would inherit Orgeron's roster at Ole Miss, but he also had the added benefit of the now-eligible Texas transfer Jevan Snead at quarterback who would prove to be the program's best signal caller since Eli Manning.

His arrival on the field paired with weapons like Dexter McCluster on offense could make things interesting in '08.

An Up-and-Down Start

The Rebels would not win consecutive games in this campaign until late October and early November, but that doesn't mean that the early portions of the season didn't feature any strong wins.

Ole Miss began things at home against Memphis with a 41-24 win before hitting the road and dropping a heartbreaker to No. 20 Wake Forest (30-28). After a blowout win over Samford, the Rebels lost a 23-17 decision at home to Vanderbilt.

That momentum-killer seemed to bode poorly for an upcoming road trip to the No. 4 Florida Gators, but that day in Gainesville proved to be the signature win for the 2008 season for the Rebels. Ole Miss came away with a 31-30 win over the eventual national champions in The Swamp, and they found themselves on the cover of Sports Illustrated the next week as a result.

Midseason Struggles

Even after one of the biggest wins in recent memory against Florida, Ole Miss was still not a perfect team at this point of the season. The Rebels dropped a homecoming game against South Carolina (31-24) and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (24-20) on the road to fall to 3-4 overall on the season. 

From that point on, however, it was lights out.

A Superb Finish

Ole Miss closed out the regular season with five straight wins in the following fashion:

at Arkansas (W 23-21)

vs. Auburn (W 17-7)

vs. Louisiana-Monroe (W 59-0)

at No. 18 LSU (W 31-13)

vs. Mississippi State (W 45-0)

Ole Miss' win over LSU was its first in Baton Rouge (and first in the series as a whole) since 2001. The Egg Bowl win against Mississippi State was one of the more dominant in series history as the Rebels held the Bulldogs to minus-51 rushing yards, and Snead threw for over 200 yards and four touchdowns.

That set up the Rebels' first bowl appearance since the 2003 season, a date against the high-paced offense of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Texas Tech, led by head coach Mike Leach, entered the postseason ranked at No. 8 nationally and held an 11-2 record. Even so, the Rebels were not to be denied in one of their biggest games in recent memory, coming away with a 47-34 win in the final bowl game played in the namesake "Cotton Bowl" before moving to AT&T Stadium the following year.

Rebel Rewind: Ed Orgeron Era Meets Its End at Ole Miss in 2007

Year In Review

This was a very fast look at a season that was filled with interesting storylines, but the primary takeaway is that Ole Miss had finally revived its pride on the field after four years of mediocrity without Manning under center. Even with some losses that were hard to swallow, the Rebels had once again found a groove, and they would enter the next season highly ranked as a result.

Final Record: 9-4 (5-3 SEC)

Final AP Poll Ranking: No. 14

Biggest Win: at No. 4 Florida

Worst Loss: vs. South Carolina

Key Stat: Dexter McCluster -- 1,280 scrimmage yards