BARNEStorming: Tre Harris sets an Ole Miss record and other thoughts around the college football world
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss fans, just imagine the great wide receivers who have come through Oxford. D.K, A.J., Feed Moncrief, to name but a few.
Yet Saturday, something was accomplished by a Rebels’ receiver that has never been done before.
Transfer Tre Harris caught four touchdown passes in his first game at Ole Miss. No Rebel receiver in school history has ever caught four TD passes in a game. His first three receptions went for touchdowns.
The Kleenex aisles must be empty in Ruston, La., since Harris transferred from Louisiana Tech.
KUDOS FOR NEBRASKA:
Last week, Nebraska loaded Memorial Stadium with a sellout crowd. That is nothing new since the Cornhuskers have done that since I have been alive.
But this one was for women’s volleyball. Seriously. Over 92,000 fans for a volleyball match against the University of Omaha.
92,003 in attendance.@HuskerVB breaks the world record for the largest crowd ever at a women’s sporting event 👏 @espnW | #ThatsaW pic.twitter.com/ChyhUCvaAZ
— ESPN (@espn) August 31, 2023
I am not shocked. I once covered a football game in Lincoln. It was my sister’s birthday and not only were the tailgaters nice, one snuck me into the bookstore to get my sister a birthday present. The line outside of the front door was like a mile long, so she got me in the back way. I got my sister a Johnny Rodgers bobble head doll. November 25, 1971, Rodgers ran back a punt for a touchdown to provide the winning points to beat Oklahoma. It was Thanksgiving and my sister watched that game with me.
About an hour after it ended, we got the call my nephew was born in Newport News, Va. Each time we saw that highlight, my sister would remind me it was the day Michael Shane was born.
That night after I flew back to Montgomery, Ala., I gave that gift to my sister. She simply said, “I remember that day.”
What I remember most about that trip were the Nebraska fans. They treated me at a tailgate and after the game I got a bigger surprise. A kid from Troy had broken his leg during the game. I was coming out of the locker room for the postgame press conference and someone in the Nebraska crowd yelled my name. I recognized her from the tailgate area and went over to her.
She asked how the Troy player was doing. I told her he broke his leg. She asked me to go back inside and get his parents’ number. She wanted to call them to let them know he was okay.
That is the kind of fans that are in Nebraska.
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE TEAM OF THE WEEKEND:
Easily it was Florida State; although, Coach Prime and Colorado are right there with them after beating TCU this weekend. But the Seminoles drubbed No. 5 LSU in Orlando. And here is the thing. The ‘Noles did everything they could to kill themselves.
Penalties, dropped passes, missed tackles, they should add up to a loss.
But no, FSU won the game by three touchdowns. They were far more physical than LSU. If the Seminoles can clean up their own mistakes, FSU might be bound for the college football playoffs.
SEC WHO?! 👂🏼 FLORIDA STATE IS RUNNING OVER LSU 😳😤 #LSUvsFSU
pic.twitter.com/SNecS7CyHo— Saturday Cadence Podcast (@SaturdayCadence) September 4, 2023
OKAY, THIS HAPPENED:
Yes, this is the final season of the PAC-12. But talk about going out with a bang. In the first full weekend, the conference is undefeated.
No Pac-12 team has lost yet.
That will change, but it is impressive the manner in which the league is fading into the past.
KUDOS FOR THE ORIGINAL PIRATE:
Last year, the college football world had to bid farewell to Mississippi State coach Mike Leach. He was simply known as the Pirate. This week, the whole world had to say goodbye to the original Pirate, Jimmy Buffett. He went to college at Auburn and then Southern Miss, but in his autobiography, he said he should have gone to Ole Miss.
Rest In Peace, Jimmy. pic.twitter.com/4VUhQoXIOG
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 2, 2023
On numerous campuses around the country Saturday, Buffett was honored as school bands played his most notable song, “Margaritaville.” The crowds all sang in unison for his memory.
The only classier act was Buffett himself. His last decision was to donate two of his aircraft to the Battleship Memorial Park in his hometown of Mobile, Ala.
I have traveled over Mobile Bay many times and always remember it is where Admiral Farragut said, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
I will never go over that body of water again without saying, “Damn the torpedoes, I love Jimmy Buffett.”
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
