1 - Ellisvillereb
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Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
BRAD LOGAN / FOR THE CLARION LEDGER
Progress is happening at Ole Miss. You just can't see it on the scoreboard
Here's why I think Matt Luke will get another year at Ole Miss
When the final whistle blew inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium last Saturday night, head coach Matt Luke and the Ole Miss Rebels walked off the field with yet another close loss.
That night, the victor was Texas A&M. The previous week, Ole Miss lost to Missouri in a winnable game. Earlier in the season, the Rebels lost a close one to Cal. Maybe worst of all, the Rebels lost to Memphis — a game Ole Miss had to have.
Sensing a pattern here?
Sure, the defense has improved drastically from a season ago under new defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre. The unit is ranked No. 34 in the nation in rushing defense, one season removed from being nearly dead last. Offensively, freshmen Jerrion Ealy and John Rhys Plumlee have proven the future is bright.
On the other hand, Ole Miss is 3-5 this season and only 2-3 in conference play with Luke as head coach.
Currently the Gulfport native is 14-18 overall and 6-15 in the conference during his time in Oxford. What’s more troubling is his record in the SEC West. Heading into the back half of the season, Luke is just 3-12 with two wins over Arkansas and one over Mississippi State.
The case for Matt Luke in 2020.
While the numbers are sobering, I do not expect Ole Miss to remove Luke as head coach, no matter the fallout from this season.
Luke is recruiting at a high level, and I believe he should be granted another season to see the fruits of his labor. Second of all, the start of the 2020 season is absolutely brutal.
The Rebels' first seven games are against Baylor, Southeast Missouri, Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Vanderbilt and Florida. If Ole Miss decided to terminate Luke, imagine a new head coach facing this gauntlet with a depleted recruiting class and a new coaching staff?
Luke is an incredibly nice person, bleeds red and blue, and has his players excelling in the classroom. Should those be the main reasons he is brought back, even if the losses continue to pile up?
No, but they do factor in.
He took over a program that was at its lowest point in school history following an NCAA investigation and a head coach leaving under unflattering circumstances. As for off-the-field issues, they simply are non-existent and you can credit Luke and his staff.
Ole Miss is heading in the right direction, unfortunately for Luke, you can’t see the progress on the scoreboard.
Originally Published 6:55 a.m. CDT Oct. 25, 2019
Last edited by Ellisvillereb (10/25/2019 7:03 am)
- MeridianOMRebel
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
Man, that read like something that would have been written by Luke's agent. They are sticking to their guns of saying we can't fire him due to this recruiting class.
Logan completely ignored Luke's horrible game decisions throughout the years and is acting like we're pulling in a top 5 recruiting class. It's hard to take him seriously when he puts out articles like that.
If Luke is retained for another year, watch ticket sales drop even further. Ole Miss is losing money by continuing this failed experiment.
- Semper
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
If you look behind the fluff, the current recruiting class is really not that great at all--something like 10th in the SEC. That's NOT a reason for retaining Luke as HC. Some people are now twisting themselves into pretzels to try and "convince" us that we can't fire Matt Luke after this season. They suggest the "cost would be too great" overall. When people have to make themselves look silly to present their position, it never gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
- Ellisvillereb
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
It's like weighing 800 pounds and saying, I lost 700 pounds. But you just can't tell it by the scale. Lol
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Thread Starter- Themob
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
the ledger singing luke's potential praises is all I need to know.
- MeridianOMRebel
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
Themob wrote:
the ledger singing luke's potential praises is all I need to know.
It's so frustrating seeing all of the GOB network going full out with the most idiotic of excuses to keep Luke. If Boyce had any sense in that porn-stache, he'd do exactly what we did when Freeze was hired - form a committee to begin immediately looking for our next HC. No sense in even waiting on the next AD hire before starting the process. Let's start now where we don't have to rush things and get a damn good HC.
- Sooper_Rebel
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
Luke is recruiting at a high level
"We can either have a free society, or we can have a biomedical security state." - Ron DeSantis
- catfishboy
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
Information for this article must have been supplied by a group of GOBs led by the leader of the Spirit. Luke will not and cannot get better. He is a failure and the sooner the Ole Miss Athletic Department and fans realize this fact, the better for getting him out of his current position as Football HC at Ole Miss. Next year is a brutal schedule, so along with holding the recruiting class together, there are two excuses for Fluke to use. Someone needs to open their eyes and focus on winning with qualified coaches instead of hoping and wishing for things to get better with Luke. Face the fact, Luke is not a Power 5 football HC.
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- BlueChipReb
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
I’m really just apathetic to it. Either he will be fired this year or he will be fired next year. Either way, he’s getting fired. We can give him ten years and his results will be the same. As catfish said, this is a failed experiment. It all comes down to how much egg on the face do the GOBs want to endure. They sure look foolish.
- catfishboy
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Re: Progress is happening at Ole Miss. - Clarion Ledger Article
The realistic Rebel fans need another Forward Rebels movement to get thing right at Ole Miss. It took a movement like this to get Pete Boobe out of the AD. Having to use public pressure to make Ole Miss yield to the true wants of the realist fans shows the control of the GOBs.
In the 50s and 60s Ole Miss was a powerhouse in football. Going into the 70s Ole Miss had a chance to remain a powerhouse, but got behind in all aspects of being a football champion. This trend had continued for almost 50 years. There is a reason for this failure to being held back to be a championship team and that reason is the meddling of the self-serving, selfish, its about me, GOB!!!
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