SEC Nation Rolls into Oxford and the Grove
Oxford, Miss. – The SEC Nation crew will be live from the Grove on Saturday as No. 10 Ole Miss plays host to Texas A&M. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.
On Friday, Laura Rutledge and Marty Smith met with members of the media about the crew coming to Oxford and offered their thoughts on the Rebels’ game vs. the Aggies.
Rutledge was asked about the hype around Ole Miss this season climbing to a No. 10 ranking in the College Football Playoff poll.
“I think the hype is well deserved,” Rutledge said.
“This has been a really fun team to watch throughout the season. One of the things I would credit coach (Lane) Kiffin and his staff is a balanced offense that has given them a ton of success lately. I think early on maybe a little to pass-heavy now with a little more of the run game when you have Quinshon Judkins and Jaxson Dart has been in impressive.”
Laura Rutledge on the Rebels
This season the defense has improved noticeably under defensive coordinator Pete Golding. “They have been great,” Rutledge said. “I think what we have seen with Golding this year is a lot of Alabama fans criticized him — maybe rightfully so in their case — but Lane Kiffin said I am going to get him over here and see what we can do.”
Rutledge added that the book on Ole Miss has been that the offense has been great and Kiffin knows how to scheme up an offense. People wondered about the defense, and she notes there has been a massive improvement.
Rutledge also talked about being in Oxford for one of the best college gameday atmospheres in the country. “We love being here. This is one of our favorite Nation stops,” she said.
“To have our sets right in the Grove, especially for a Noon eastern game, you just get the atmosphere that is Ole Miss and Oxford. People all the time ask me where is the best tailgating and the bucket list that you need to go to, and it always has something to do with Ole Miss for me because I think it is so special.”
Laura Rutledge on Oxford and Ole Miss
Marty Smith talked about the Ole Miss’ running backs this season.
“They are elite,” Smith said. “We all expected it to be the Judkins show because he was so great last year. Even though people look at Ole Miss and think they are spinning it around the yard all the time, everything was predicated on the run with him last year on how they attacked defenses offensively,” he explained.
“Then we started this year, and that just wasn’t the case,” Smith said.
“As the season has progressed it’s become more and more Quinshon Judkins and it should. Because he is not just elite in the conference, he is elite nationally.”
Marty Smith on Quinshon Judkins
Smith added that Judkins is a very special athlete and going to be a very early-round draft pick when the time comes. “As long as he stays healthy, he is going to have a big-time future too.”
Gameday schedule
SEC Network will be televised live from the Grove starting at 8 a.m. with Marty and McGee leading into SEC Nation with Rutledge, Tim Tebow, Jordan Rogers, Roman Harper and Paul Finebaum at 9 a.m. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. inside Vaught-Hemingway.
(Featured image and videos by Adam Brown)
Adam Brown
Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.
