Not by me. By Sport Illustrated's Andy Staples. Brilliant piece. Read it and forward to as many friends as you can. After work, go grab some tar and feathers from Home Depot. It's time to chase the fools out of Indianapolis.

Okay, that was a little rash. FYI, the Ole Miss Blog is not a proponent of tarring and feathering anybody.

It's been a crazy August. When the month began, Nathan Stanley was the Ole Miss quarterback of the future. A week later, one-time Heisman-hopeful Jeremiah Masoli was a Rebel and Stanley was just about an afterthought. Now, barring a Friday miracle, Stanley's the starter again. Don't think for a second he doesn't feel the disappointment from Rebel fans that Masoli won't be the quarterback this year.

From the outset of the situation with Masoli, Stanley handled himself with the kind of coolness you hope to see from a pocket-style quarterback. After all, pro-style passers like Stanley have to face down giant, violent people trying to inflict physical pain all while finding an open receiver and making a precise pass. It takes nerves of steel. Stanley may have them.

At Meet the Rebels Day a couple weeks ago, a line stretched all the way across the indoor practice facility for Masoli's autograph. Cheerleaders were tapping Masoli on the back and posing for pictures with him. Stanley, on the other hand, sat at the end of the same table, minus the long line and the adoring cheerleaders, dutifully signing posters and caps, and you couldn't help but think he had to be upset with the way the Fall of 2010 was turning out for him. This was supposed to be his year. His chance to try to become a famous SEC quarterback. Many people might have folded under similar circumstances and withdrawn into a shell. In fact, a quarterback by the name of Raymond Cotton had literally withdrawn a couple weeks before, which was the first domino to fall in the Masoli grab.

But Stanley didn't withdraw.

You could tell at the scrimmage later than afternoon. Stanley was all business. He showed poise, precision and a strong arm. He completed nearly every pass. He knew the offense. But it was Masoli who received cheers from the thousands of fans in attendance when he took the field in relief of Stanley. When Stanley had taken the field earlier, the cheers were not noticeable. The fans were anxious to see Masoli. If the adulation of Masoli bothered Stanley you couldn't tell. In fact, the opposite was true. Masoli's presence appeared to elevate Stanley's level of play. He remained focused even after being sidelined for Masoli. There was something about his demeanor on that hot August afternoon. Stanley carried himself like this was still his team. As if nothing had changed when Masoli came to Oxford. When Masoli took the field, Stanley took a knee on the sideline, away from the other players, and watched intently. Focused. Like he needed to be learning on each play, because he expected to be on that field. You could tell, Stanley still thought of the Ole Miss offense as his offense, just like it was supposed to be last spring. After a topsy-turvy month, in all likelihood, this is Nathan Stanley's offense now. Saturday, he has a chance to go stake his claim.

Kenneth Cooper - dismissed from Louisiana Tech for violation of team rules. Graduated. Enrolled at UAB to pursue graduate degree. NCAA granted the waiver.

The Appeal: Because of precedent, Houston Nutt is optimistic Ole Miss will prevail in its appeal of the NCAA's denial of the Masoli waiver. He shouldn't be. Ole Miss has about as much chance of winning the appeal to the NCAA subcommittee as Jacksonville State has of beating the Rebels Saturday - slim to none. If you're an Ole Miss fan, your time will be better spent looking forward to a season without Masoli.

It's not difficult to understand why the NCAA wanted to deny the Ole Miss waiver request for Jeremiah Masoli. The kid did get booted off Oregon for multiple run-ins with the law. However, the NCAA is in the business of making and enforcing rules. In this case, college sport's governing body has a rule that allows athletes who graduate with eligibility remaining to enroll in a graduate program at a different school if that program is not offered at the previous school. That's what Masoli did when he enrolled at Ole Miss. The athletic department requested the waiver. Ole Miss and Masoli followed the rules that are set forth by the NCAA. The NCAA did not like the outcome of this fact scenario, so it's changing the rule. Imagine a world where police officers determine the speed limit on a car-by-car basis and you begin to understand the NCAA's enforcement power.

Here's the NCAA bylaw for graduate student eligibility:

Graduate Student Transfers [Bylaw 14.1.9.1]

For waivers of Bylaw 14.1.9.1 for those student-athletes transferring for the 2007-08 academic year or thereafter, the subcommittee adopted the following information standards:
1. A letter from previous institution (e.g., athletics director, faculty athletics representative, president) stating it does not object to the student-athlete being immediately eligible.
2. Documentation from the appropriate academic authority that the student-athlete has been accepted into a specific graduate program at the institution he or she wishes to transfer to.
3. Documentation indicating whether the specific graduate degree is available at the previous institution.
4. A statement from the student-athlete detailing the reasons for the transfer.

The rule also requires that the transferring player not be suspended from play at the institution he is transferring from. What, you ask? Where's that written in the rule? Weelllll, it's not written. The NCAA made it up yesterday when it denied the waiver request from Ole Miss. Nobody likes to play games where the rules get made up as you go along, and that's what is so distasteful about the NCAA's decision to deny the waiver.

Additionally, the NCAA has essentially just entered into the area of player discipline, and suspended Masoli for the season. It didn't like the fact that Masoli avoided a suspension at Oregon, and so the NCAA has decided that it will enforce the suspension. Will the NCAA now force suspensions for all players who transfer after being dismissed from their previous teams? If the transfer must be for an academic purpose, how does the NCAA explain its decision to allow former Duke basketball player Greg Paulus to transfer to Syracuse to play football? His enrollment at Syracuse was for no purpose other than to play football, and that cannot be denied.

Upset Ole Miss fans aren't the only people who are questioning the NCAA on this decision.

Tony Barnhart says the NCAA got it wrong. ESPN's Ivan Maisel thinks the NCAA is off base. ESPN's Chris Low says the NCAA's ruling is a hard pill to swallow. George Schroeder, a columnist back in Masoli's old stomping grounds of Oregon says the NCAA got it wrong. John Pennington at MrSEC.com questions the NCAA's logic.

Look, what happened here is simple. The NCAA didn't want Masoli to play. The rule it had in place didn't work. The NCAA made up a new rule to make sure Masoli doesn't play. You can do that when you're the NCAA. Or can you?

Ole Miss's request for a waiver allowing Jeremiah Masoli to play football in 2010 has been denied according to al.com. More to come.

UPDATE: The NCAA just announced it is launching an investigation into the Ole Miss staffer who went around telling everybody that getting a waiver for Jeremiah Masoli was "just a formality".

UPDATE 2: While Ole Miss has announced that it is appealing the NCAA's decision to deny the the Masoli waiver request, don't hold your breath. Schools rarely ever prevail on appeal to the NCAA.

UPDATE 3: Ole Miss has called a press conference where it is expected that Pete Boone and Houston Nutt will announce as follows: It turns out getting a waiver for Masoli was not a mere formality. Whoops.

UPDATE 4: Here's a video of Pete Boone explaining why the NCAA denied the waiver and why Ole Miss will be appealing. If you watch it through the end you can see Houston Nutt pop his fist extra hard at the end. To say he's upset would be an understatement.

Here are the reasons Boone said that the NCAA denied the request for Masoli's waiver.

1. Jeremiah Masoli would not have been eligible to play at Oregon in 2010.
2.  A time discrepancy between when the institution says it dismissed Masoli and when Masoli said he decided to transfer.

It's apparent that the NCAA is making up the rules as it goes along here. If ever there was a case for an appeal to be granted, it may be this one, but as stated in update 2, don't hold your breath.

I feel like Clark W. Grizwold right after he found out his Christmas bonus was a one-year membership in the jelly of the month club. Where is cousin Eddie when you need him?!

Ignore the Barak Obama reference. This was the only Grizwold rant I could find on YouTube.

When Ole Miss invades Death Valley in the traditional second-to-last game of the season, it'll be facing an LSU team with a lame duck head coach. You heard it here first: The Tigers will lose to North Carolina in their season opener and that combined with losses to Florida, Auburn, and Alabama will have LSU's one-time BCS National Championship winning coach Les Miles looking for work before his team even faces the Rebels.

By offensive coordinator Gary Crowton and Miles's own volition, as a result of the offensive scheme they run, a return to SEC West dominance can only happen if quarterback Jordan Jefferson has a night-and-day turnaround season. Last year, Jefferson was sacked 33 times, many times because he held on to the football too long. When he did get rid of the ball, it was less that spectacular. I don't think Jefferson will improve much this year. The real shame in it all is that the Tigers have the talent to be dominant. But you can't put a square peg through a round hole, and that's what I see when I watch Miles and Crowton try to run the LSU offense.

Even if LSU survives North Carolina, losses to Florida and Alabama could be enough to keep Miles on the hot seat. LSU fans forgot 2007 in 2008. That's the way it works in Baton Rouge. Either way, the game couldn't set up any better for Ole Miss. Houston Nutt will win his fourth straight game against the Tigers and Rebel fans will be trying to find hotels in Orlando for the Capital One Bowl.The Ole Miss defense should thrive in this game.

Prediction: Ole Miss 28, LSU 17.

Recruiting: Turns out Houston Nutt does know a thing or two about recruiting. Rivals.com has the Rebels current class ranked 10th in the country. If Ole Miss can win nine or ten games this year, and hold on to Nutt in 2011, the Rebels football program may be on the verge of something special.

Masoli: Still no waiver?!

Facebook: Don't forget to stop by the Facebook page and click the "Like" button. It's a great way to stay up to date on postings and other juicy Ole Miss stuff.