2013 Compass Bowl: Ole Miss legion sacks Birmingham

There were 26 true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on Ole Miss’ bowl two-deep. This team was error-prone and inconsistent in 2012, but of course it was. One could see rather dramatic improvement in 2013, which is scary considering this team was already pretty darn good late in the season. The Rebels came within six points of winning at LSU on November 17, whipped Mississippi State on November 24, and handled Pittsburgh with relative ease in Birmingham. Throw in some stud freshmen, and you’re looking at a 2013 team that is still quite young (and probably error-prone), but with immeasurable upside. Should be fun to watch.

38.8. Ole Miss’ average starting field position. In my preview, I mentioned that the Rebels were pretty awful at the field position game in 2012, but they were not on Saturday. They gained just 387 yards (4.5 per play) for the day, but they significantly leveraged the field in their favor, starting each drive an average of 11.5 yards further upfield than Pittsburgh. Over the course of 13 drives for each team, that basically added about 150 yards to Ole Miss’ yardage margin. That adds up.

The win pushes Ole Miss to 7-6 for the 2012 season, their first winning season (and bowl win) since 2009.

Pitt has now participated in the last three BBVA Compass Bowls, defeating Kentucky in 2011 before losing to SMU in 2012 and Ole Miss in 2013.

1. Because we’ve only got three games left in the season. Sigh.

3. Because Pitt is better than you think. For the most part, we stopped paying attention when the Panthers lost by 14 to Youngstown State on September 1. But following a 24-point loss to Cincinnati the next week, Pitt began an impressive turnaround. There were still setbacks (a 24-17 loss at UConn, to name one), but post-September Pitt was decent and post-October Pitt was actually rather strong; the Panthers almost beat Notre Dame on November 3, whipped Rutgers on November 24 and whipped South Florida on December 1. The Panthers haven’t allowed more than 24 points in regulation since an October 13 loss to Louisville, and the offense has been steadily decent as well.

The Rebels earned a trip to the bowl game with a 41-24 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 24, and despite finishing the season with just three wins in their final eight games, have a chance to start the year on a high note. Ole Miss is headed to the postseason for the first time since 2009, with first-year head coach Hugh Freeze signing a contract extension to stay with the Rebels.

Pittsburgh found its way into the Compass Bowl with two straight wins to end the season, including a 27-6 win over No. 18 Rutgers. The Panthers have survived for much of the season with a strong and sometimes dominant defense, while the offense has been average at best. Cardiac Hill is worried about the loss of receiver Cam Saddler, who was suspended last week and might not play against Ole Miss.