Ole Miss Live Blog - First Half

I'm glued to the radio like a Brooklyn Dodgers fan circa early 1900s, so I'm going to do my best to do some live blogging without any visual element here whatsoever... Feel free to drop in, refresh constantly, and interact via comments at the bottom. All times below are Central Daylight Time.

-- 5:00: Missouri loses coin toss. Ole Miss elects to receive. Mizzou without the ball on first possession.

-- 5:04: BenJarvus Green-Ellis already has two carries for 23 yards. Two first downs already for the Rebels.

-- 5:07: Mizzou forces Seth Adams to scramble on 3rd and long. Maclin fair catches punt a MU 9-yard line. Mizzou takes over for first drive.

-- 5:09: Just heard the first instance of two different things I expect a lot of this broadcast: an MU first down, as well as an in-game promo for Budweiser.

-- 5:13: Mike Kelly at his finest [paraphrased]: "Daniel throws deep over the middle, caught by Perry and no, dropped."

-- 5:15: Mizzou fails to convert on third down. The Tigers were 2-of-3 on third down for the drive. Crossett's punt bounces into end zone. Daniel goes 6-of-9 for 38 yards on the drive.

-- 5:21: Seems like a long commercial break for a game that isn't being televised...

-- 5:23: See above.

-- 5:25: Turns out KMOX made me miss an entire Ole Miss drive. Thanks guys!

-- 5:26: And now Missouri is punting. Isn't the lack of television awesome?

-- 5:29: Mike Kelly tells me to trust a local internet provider for high-speed service. Can the service ensure that KMOX doesn't skip over two minutes of football?

-- 5:34: The new weapon emerges: Martin "Mr. T-Ruck" Rucker breaks a tackle on a first down run. Kelly says an Ole Miss defender is hurt. Rucker pities the fool.


Photo credit Columbia Tribune

-- 5:39: Jeremy "X-factor" Maclin gets the ball on a reverse, then on a short pass from Daniel. The more Maclin, the better. Mizzou is inside the 10. Can they punch/finesse it in?

-- 5:44: First quarter ends. Missouri still knocking on doorstep. Couple of thoughts:
- Love Rucker running the ball
- Maclin may be the closest thing to Percy Harvin in the Big 12
- Mizzou already has 10 first downs, Daniel has already thrown 16 passes. What are the odds Mizzou finishes with 40 first downs and 64 pass attemps?
- Scoreless first HAS to favor Ole Miss.

-- 5:46: Will Franklin scores and "The Helicopter" has arrived. Mizzou goes 55 yards in 10 plays.

-- 5:52: Seth Adams third down scramble falls short of first down. Ole Miss offense is still on field, but radio cuts away. Does Ole Miss test its luck on fourth down?

-- 5:54: Ole Miss burned a timeout to review the spot. The spot was upheld and Mizzou receives the ball a the 27 after an Ole Miss punt.

-- 5:57: Two friends of mine check in from Oxford. I'm told the student section at Ole Miss is rather impressive. I trust this perspective because one of the aforementioned friends is a diehard Notre Dame fan.

-- 5:58: Above note includes fan involvement, football knowledge, and, of course, female attractiveness.

-- 5:59: My attention is being drawn more and more to Texas A&M-Fresno State. Fresno trails the Aggies 29-22, but is inside the Aggie 5 with :24 seconds left.

-- 6:01: My attention is back. Franklin burns Ole Miss DB Terrell Jackson deep for his second TD of the day. 14-0 Tigers.

-- 6:05: Kelly makes a good point. The Mizzou lead should help force the game into Seth Adams hands and away from Green-Ellis' legs.

-- UPSET WATCH: Fresno scores on 4th-and-goal with :05 seconds left. Fresno and Texas A&M tied at 29. Would a loss to Fresno mean there's no way the Aggies are ranked when they come to Columbia? Are you Tiger fans pulling for the Big 12 in this situation?

-- 6:08: Green-Ellis has already carried 10 times for 76 yards. Ole Miss first-and-goal at the MU 9. The Rebel offense finally seems awake.

-- 6:09: Van Alexander and Brock Christopher pursue Green-Ellis, force and recover a fumble. Kelly says Terrell came up with recovery. Big stop for Mizzou, especially if the Tigers turn it into points.

-- 6:11: Tony Temple busts a big run for 33 yards. I curb my enthusiasm about halfway between "Temple vs. Illinois" and "Temple vs. Oregon State."

-- 6:14: Kelly: "Caught, dropped by Franklin."

-- 6:15: T-Rucker: 40-yard reception for a TD! Missouri is embarassing the Rebel secondary. Rucker pities those fools (don't expect this to stop). Missouri went 91 yards in six plays in only 1:54.

-- UPDATE: Texas A&M up 3 in OT, but Fresno State is first-and-goal on its possession.

-- 6:19: I look back and Ole Miss is right outside of the Missouri red zone. Already?

-- 6:20: Green-Ellis runs down to the MU 9. He's carried 15 times for 110 yards.

-- 6:21: Pig Brown with consecutive tackles on 2nd and 3rd down. While Ole Miss ponders 4th down play, Kelly says announced attendance is over 50,000.

-- UPDATE: I know I'm going to get ripped apart for straying form MU coverage, but this Fresno-Texas A&M game is absolutely nuts. The officials just overturned a play they just upheld. A recovered fumble on the play should have ended the game, but a roughing the passer penalty kept the Bulldogs alive. Consider me captivated...

-- 6:25: Ole Miss going for it on 4th down. Ole Miss converts on a reverse after a missed tackle by Stryker Sulak.

-- 6:26: Shay Hodge receives the pass from Seth Adams on a slant for an Ole Miss touchdown with 1:09 remaining in the half. 71 yards in 8 plays taking 3:07 off the clock. Remember, Mizzou gets the ball back to begin the second half.

-- 6:28: Maclin's 30-yard return puts Mizzou on their own 45. The Tigers may be able to add some points before the end of the half. As I type, MU converts for first down.

-- 6:29: Coffman down to Ole Miss 21.

-- 6:30: Tigers go five-wide and Franklin gets out of bounds after an 11-yard gain for a first down.

-- 6:31: Pass complete to Maclin, MU timeout stops clock with seven seconds left. Check that, officials reset clock to nine seconds - enough time to take a shot at the endzone.

-- 6:32: Empty backfield, fade pattern: touchdown Mizzou! Coffman scores with :04 seconds left in the half, despite defensive pass interference. 54 yards in 8 plays for a 28-7 lead. Again, MU gets the ball back in the second half.

UPDATE: Fresno scores a touchdown in second OT to lead Texas A&M. The Aggies must score to force another OT. If Texas A&M loses, do you think Mizzou vaults into the Top 25 if they win impressively in Oxford?

-- 6:35: Halftime after a 28-point 2nd quarter by Missouri, tying a record for a Gary Pinkel Missouri team. The breakdown of the defense towards the end of the half may be a concern, but otherwise, things looking (er, sounding) excellent. Not to mention, the half only took about an hour and a half. Seems like it would be early second quarter if this was the Illinois game.

ETS Note: I'll be blogging from a new post for the second half. This one got long quickly.