Same old result, new reaction for Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi players have gotten used to the feeling of a close loss over the last five seasons.

It was all new for Houston Nutt, and he didn't like the experience of yet another near miss for the Rebels after Saturday's 30-28 loss to No. 20 Wake Forest.

``Boy, that was a tough one to get over,'' Nutt said.

Sam Swank's 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds left sent Ole Miss to its 13th loss by seven points or less in the last five seasons. They're always hard to take, but over time the Rebels have become accustomed to the disappointment.

``Shaking off a loss like that is going to be hard,'' wide receiver Shay Hodge said. ``We're kind of used to it, though. We've got to get unused to it. We've got to know that we're going to win one of these close games or more than one of these close games.''

Rather than wallowing in self pity, though, the Rebels are responding to the heartbreak differently under Nutt. The coach said players were as buoyant as they could be during practice as they prepare for Saturday's game against Championship Subdivision opponent Samford in Oxford.

Sometimes, a loss isn't really a loss.

``It is always better when you can win a game like that because now they know they can do it,'' Nutt said. ``But really what this game has actually given us is a lot of hope and a lot of confidence that we can play with the top 20-some teams in the country.''

That may seem quite the vertical leap in logic from 3-9 to top-20 talented? But Nutt said the proof was in the game film when coaches went back over it.

``That's when they realize, boy, this game should have been ours,'' Nutt said.
And it could have been. Nutt believes the outcome of the game was decided on about 15 plays, including two late penalties on the defense that helped the Demon Deacons get in position for the winning kick.

The trick is getting his players to believe. Hodge believes Nutt has the team headed that way.

``I think we're almost right there,'' Hodge said. ``New coach, new attitude. You could tell because usually we wouldn't even make the touchdown at the end of the game to even go up at the end. You can tell the difference.''

They'll get a chance to put lessons into action several times this season. The Rebels will play at least three more opponents likely to be ranked Florida, Auburn and LSU.

What will be the difference? Quarterback Jevan Snead said the team is now full of true believers.

``We do see now we can play with people, we can play with anybody I feel, and I think everybody on the team feels the same way,'' Snead said.