For the fourth week in a row, a top 5 ranked team has fallen. What a way to open the 2009 college football season!

In week 1, BYU made some noise for non-BCS conferences in taking down then number 3 Oklahoma by a final of 14-13. This of course when Heisman hopeful Sam Bradford injured his shoulder and still is questionable to play. BYU jumped from 20th to 9th after their big win and suffered their first loss at home to Florida State last weekend.
Week 2 brought more shock as the 5th ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys were dropped by Houston in a shootout 45-35. The Cowboys were coming off a big showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs. Houston is now 3-0 and ranked 17th in the nation.
Last week we all witnessed number 3 Southern Cal get upset as a rising Washington team hit a field goal as time expired to win 16-13. It was bound to happen as SC has lost at least one Pac-10 road game in the last three years, and it was advantageous to happen this early in the season because they have plenty of time to climb back up in the polls.
Finally, last night the number 4 Ole Miss Rebels took a beating at South Carolina 16-10. For the those of you who did not watch the game and just saw the final, the game seemed pretty close; however, may I invite you to look closer. South Carolina made 5 trips to the red zone. 1 trip ended in a touchdown, 3 ended in a field goal, and the Gamecocks turned it over once. The field goals came from 26, 20, and 30 yards out which means all came from inside the 13 yard-line. South Carolina simply could not convert inside the red zone. This game could have easily been 31-10. Which brings me to me to say that Ole Miss is not a good football team. But where did all of the high expectations and hype come from?

It all starts back in the 2008 bowl season. Texas Tech finished the regular season 11-1 and was 'rewarded' to play in the Cotton Bowl against Ole Miss who finished 4th in their conference with an 8-4 record. To put it simply, Texas Tech did not want to be in that game, whereas this was the biggest game in Ole Miss football since the '70's. Ole Miss rolled and was given so much hype for the 2009 season, and all of the hype was favorable for one reason - their schedule. Ole Miss plays four non-conference games against Memphis, Southeastern Louisiana, UAB, and Northern Arizona. 4 automatic wins right there. In conference play, Ole Miss avoids Florida and Georgia and plays LSU and Alabama (probably their toughest competition) at home.

Ole Miss now has their hands full. Their defense is good enough to keep them in ball games, but the key is quarterback Jevan Sneed. Sneed was a dark horse in the heisman race this year, but after his performance against South Carolina last night, (completing only 7 passes for 109 yards) he and the Rebels have a long way to go. They still play every team in the SEC West who, besides Mississippi State, have all exceeded expectations. I see Ole Miss losing at least 3 more games, and getting into a bowl with their 4 non-conference games to fall back on.