Mississippi Rebels

2005 Season Summary

Ole Miss Head coach David Cutcliffe was rewarded for seven consecutive seasons of posting seven or more straight up wins with a pink slip that came after his first losing season in 2004, (4-7 straight up & against the spread). This was just one year after Cutcliffe led Ole Miss to a ten-win season, (10-3 straight up/9-4 against the spread), that culminated with a Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma State.

USC formula

Ole Miss replaced Cutcliffe with Ed Orgeron, who was an assistant coach under Pete Carroll at Southern California during their national championship run. Orgeron had a stellar reputation as a recruiter, which along with his USC pedigree, made him the man that Mississippi wanted.

Cupboard was missing key ingredients

Orgeron inherited his share of challenges at Ole Miss, who was coming off their first losing season since 1996. The cupboard was missing key ingredients, such as a legitimate starting quarterback as Ole Miss rotated signal callers in 2004, unable to replace Eli Manning following the 2003 campaign. The defense was also weak and it was figured that Orgeron, who coached the defensive line at USC, would offer immediate help in that department.

Outlook was bleak

Orgeron inherited a team that was missing the necessary elements to compete effectively in the brutal SEC. Except for the most blind of rebel faithful, the outlook was bleak for 2005.

Ugly win

The Rebels opened the Orgeron era at Memphis, who was also having quarterback problems but was a 3-point chalk nonetheless. Ole Miss scored an ugly win, (10-6), to usher in their new era.

Reality quickly arrived

At upstart Vanderbilt after a bye week, Ole Miss was a 3-point dog and lost a 23-31 decision. This was followed by Orgeron's home debut in a revenge matchup against Wyoming, whose win over Ole Miss in the previous year catapulted them into a bowl. Ole Miss was a 3-point chalk due to their SEC pedigree and being at home seeking revenge but the Cowboys prevailed 24-14 as reality quickly arrived at Ole Miss.

Brief bargains

The poor start made Ole Miss brief bargains as they first hit the road against traditional SEC power Tennessee, where they were a 21-point dog in a 10-27 loss/cover. A 27-7 win over 1-AA Citadel followed.

Another traditional power, undefeated Alabama, came calling next as a 14-point road chalk and Ole Miss lost a squeaker 10-13 for their second straight cover.

Free fall

Ole Miss began the season's second half standing at 2-4 straight up and 3-2 against the spread with close losses to Vandy and Bama. This helped dilute their value as they hosted hapless Kentucky as a 10-point home chalk in their next game, which they won but failed to cover 13-7. A road trip to Auburn followed as Ole Miss lost 3-27 as 21-point dogs to begin their free fall.

Rock bottom

Ole Miss came home for back-to-back home games, first against struggling Arkansas, who was a 1-point chalk. The rebels were outclassed in a 17-28 loss. This was followed by a Senior Day debacle against LSU, who scored a 40-7 win and cover as 17-point chalks. This was the Rebels' fourth consecutive loss against the spread as the team seemed to be regressing under Orgeron.

In the Egg Bowl at archrival Mississippi State the Rebels were 1.5-point chalks but lost 14-35 to hit rock bottom at season's end with back-to-back blowout losses.