| 21 September 2010
As I sit here racking my brain about what to write for this post, I now realize how monumental Houston Nutt's task is this week. I feel like I should be writing about Fresno State and it's players and what to expect this weekend, but all I can think about is the losses to Jacksonville State and Vanderbilt and the problems that led to them. You're probably doing the same. Nobody can blame us. We've witnessed a couple monumental, embarrassing losses that were equivalent to sucker punches. Now we're sitting on the couch trying to figure out how they happend. Meanwhile Pat Hill's BCS-conference-busting Fresno State Bulldogs are coming to town Saturday. Although it may feel like it, time didn't stop when Larry Smith scored that fourth touchdown last weekend. As bad as Ole Miss has played so far this year, it's still an SEC team, and you know Hill is licking the tips of his long moustache at the idea of notching a win against a school from the best conference in college football. Fresno State's never beaten an SEC team, but it's beaten somebody from just about every other conference. The Bulldogs want this one.
Nutt faces the unenviable task of convincing his team to put Saturday behind them and be ready to play this weekend. And not just ready. READY. The Bulldogs are the best team the Rebels have played yet. But even though most people will admit Fresno State is tough, it's still just another team Ole Miss should beat. It's hard to get excited about playing them or even beating them. And that's the exact mindset Nutt must fight this week. He's got to get the team to learn from its mistakes, forget the past and get excited about playing another team that it should beat, but could easily lose to. Tough job. But vital. Lose this game and you have to worry that the season might start to snowball. Win, and maybe the Rebels can turn the proverbial corner. At least the hope will still exist. At this point turning the corner just means a respectable season. The definition of respectable has become a moving target, but I'd call six wins or more respectable. Lose Saturday and you can throw respectable out the window. This could be the most important week of Nutt's career. It's certainly going to take the best coaching job of his career.
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