Turn up the Heat

The pressure is on Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead. Can he deliver?

by Doctor S
October 7, 2009

Two quarterbacks could decide their teams' games on Saturday. But only one of them will be playing.

Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead will have to play well if the No. 20 Rebels are to upset third-ranked Alabama.

Southern Miss will have to find a way to beat Louisville without quarterback Austin Davis.

As Snead goes, so goes the Rebel offense. And Snead has been uneven this season. In last week's victory at Vanderbilt, Snead was sharp in the first half and he finished the game with 237 yards passing and two touchdowns. But the euphoria was muted by Snead's three interceptions. That included two on back-to-back possessions in the second half.

"I thought it went really well, especially the first half," Snead said at a news conference Monday. "I thought we did a good job of coming out and playing the way we know we can, just executing and performing to our standards. Personally, I struggled a few times with some turnovers, but other than that I feel like as a team we did a great job."

UM coach Houston Nutt said he liked parts of Snead's performance better than others. In the second half, Nutt said, "Jevan was feeling pretty good and probably thought he could force a couple of balls and get them caught. I think he learned.

"I was really proud of the way that Jevan played. I really thought he executed very well especially in those first two quarters and the first two drives of the second."

The Rebels' offensive line played its best game of the season against Vanderbilt.It seemed like Snead spent most of the South Carolina game running for his life.

Alabama has won four straight against Ole Miss by a total of 13 points. If the Rebels can protect Snead and mount a credible running game, Ole Miss has a chance on Saturday.

USM lost two straight games, which was bad enough. Things got worse when USM lost Davis for the season after he tore a ligament in his left foot in last Thursday's loss at UAB.

Redshirt junior Martevious Young will start at quarterback for the Golden Eagles at Louisville on Saturday. Young has played in four games for USM and started a game in 2007 before suffering a season-ending broken leg. He and Davis battled for the starting QB's job in 2008 before Davis won it.

USM coach Larry Fedora insists he won't change his offense much for Young.

"Martevious has a stronger arm and more velocity on his ball," Fedora said at his new conference on Monday. "Other than that, there are a lot of similarities (to Davis). That's why we don't have to change what we do. Martevious has done a great job of preparing himself week in and week out."

The Eagles will get a boost from the return of running back Damion Fletcher and receiver DeAndre Brown. Both missed last week's game because of injuries. Young will need all the help he can get.

Louisville appears to be a winnable game for USM. The Cardinals are 1-3 and have lost three straight. But can a quarterback starting his first game in two years lead the Golden Eagles to a road victory over a BCS team?

What We Learned
Ole Miss 23, Vanderbilt 7: The Rebel defense looks ready to face Alabama. The offense is questionable.
Georgia Tech 42, Mississippi State 31: MSU coach Dan Mullen said he had never been in a game where his team didn't punt and lost. Welcome to Starkville, Dan.
UAB 30, Southern Miss 17: USM isn't good enough to win without two of its main weapons.
Jackson State 22, Southern 14: Trae Rutland and the Tigers finally get it done. Things get easier from here for JSU. Mississippi College 54, Louisiana College 44: MC quarterback Adam Shaffer (three touchdowns passing, two running) can play, can't he?
Belhaven 29, Faulkner 10: Quarterback Alex Williams and the defense both had big games for the Blazers.
DePauw 29, Millsaps 27: The Majors ran out of time. Quarterback Chris Graves had a brilliant second half.
New Orleans 24, New York Jets 10: The Saints defense can score, too.

This Week's Winners
If your team isn't on this list, your team is going to lose: Mississippi State, Millsaps, Alcorn State, Jackson State, and Delta State.

posted by J.T. on 10/09/09 at 02:32 PM