Historic Ole Miss football season all about “family”
The 2021-22 Ole Miss football season isn’t over, but the Rebels did just complete a historic regular season never before seen in Oxford.
The Rebels locked the Vaught with ease, finishing with their first-ever 7-0 home record. They had an average margin of victory of 17.5 points.
Then there was Thanksgiving night, when the Rebels won their second-straight Egg Bowl over in-state rival Mississippi State to secure another first.
A 10-win regular season.
There are a lot of factors and variables at play to have the year Ole Miss is still in the midst of. However, one thing that seemed to be a common factor across the board from head coach Lane Kiffin and the players was off the field.
It all comes down to family.
“I kind of call them a blended family,” Kiffin said following Thursday’s game. “It just kind of gets put together. Some have been here six years from the beginning, and some have been here one year, and they’ve come from all over the place.
“It’s really cool to see them pick each other up. Every coach always says, ’This team’s a family.’ And they say that every year, and that’s not really true. So this is one of those unique years. They really are (family), and they protect each other like that and they play for each other like that.”
The sentiment rings true to any player asked the same question.
Following the Outback Bowl win in Tampa last January, most of the those who could return for another year, or their extra COVID-granted season, did.
It sparked discussion of how good could the team be. The offense would be back with quarterback Matt Corral and most of his weapons minus Elijah Moore. The defense was the biggest question mark, but the Rebels mostly answered with drastic improvement in myriad areas.
All of those things combined with the sense of family inside the Ole Miss locker room has created a special season.
For players such as Sam Williams, it is the first season of its kind in his career.
“No one likes to be a loser. Me, personally, I’ve been a loser all my life, honesty,” Williams said. “I’ve never been 10-2. From high school to JUCO. Like, this is my first season that I actually have a winning season.
“It’s just different. We’re not losers, you know?”
The culture, the mindset and the on-the-field performance has been drastically changed. Two seasons ago, Ole Miss was 4-8 and in the beginning stages of their second coaching search in as many years.
Nearly two years ago to the day of Kiffin’s arrival in Oxford, the Rebel “family” is awaiting their New Year’s Six bowl destination.
