FanPost

'Bama vs. Braveheart

Trivia question:

Which current SEC player currently holds his school’s records for career completion percentage, pass completions in a season AND total offense in a season?

If you guessed William Robert Wallace, you would be correct. You might know him better as "Sunshine" or Bo Wallace, the Ole Miss Rebels starting quarterback. (Why someone with the name of William Wallace would go by "Bo" is beyond me, but to each his own.) Given that it’s Ole Miss, one might have thought such records would belong to the Mannings (Archie and Eli), but the long-haired Wallace has made his stamp on the Rebels’ record book as well.

Tide fans like to poke fun at Wallace – especially after he said the Rebs could "put points on anybody," including the Tide, and then was stymied in a 25-0 shutout last season – but the two-year returning starter has put up some decent numbers during his career in Oxford:

2013: 283/437, 3,346 yards, 18 TD, 10 INT, 355 rushing yards (6 TD)

2012: 235/368, 2,994 yards, 22 TD, 17 INT, 390 rushing yards (8 TD)

The Past

Wallace has been the trigger man in Hugh Freeze’s HUNH offense that orchestrated a huge turnaround for Ole Miss in 2012 (from 2-10 to 7-6), followed by a bit of a plateau season (8-5) last year. After beginning his career at Arkansas State (where he redshirted), the Pulaski, Tenn. native went to East Mississippi Community College before finally landing at Ole Miss (choosing the Rebs over the likes of Mississippi State and Baylor). In 2012, Wallace performed admirably for a first-year starter in the SEC. His low-water mark that year, though, came against the Tide (15/26, 123 yards, 2 INT, -14 rushing yards).

Last year, Wallace’s numbers improved in almost every category, though consistency was an issue. He played well in the Rebels’ wins over Texas and LSU (30/39 against the Tigers), but was pedestrian against the Tide (17/31, 159 yards; sacked for a safety – not only did the Rebels not put any points on the board, but the Tide defense outscored the Ole Miss offense) and pretty awful in the Egg Bowl vs. Clanga (3 INT and a fumble in overtime that sealed the Bulldogs’ upset).

The Present

Wallace comes into his final year hoping to help the Rebs take the next step in Freeze’s renovation of the program. Perhaps by default, several publications selected him to the preseason All-SEC second team. Apparently, he has battled some shoulder injuries the past two seasons that seem to have been healed in the offseason. Some prognosticators have Ole Miss as a darkhorse candidate to win the SEC West (which would be a first). Several people in the forums here at RBR have pointed to the October 4 game with the Tide as a potential upset special.

The Future

Tide fans’ concern over the early October trip to Mississippi is not unfounded. Due to the SEC expansion in 2012 and the resulting weird scheduling quirks, the Tide will travel to Oxford for the first time since the 2011 season. No doubt the Grove will be hopping as Ole Miss hopes to score its first win over the Tide since 2003 (Though it could be said about other opponents, historically, the Tide has utterly dominated the Rebs. Series record: 51-8-2). To do so, Wallace will probably need to have a "Stephen Garcia" (or Trevor Knight) day against the Tide. Before dismissing such talk, it should be noted that the Rebs have the weapons to cause some discomfort for the ‘Bama defense. Wallace has one of the top returning receivers in the conference to throw to in sophomore Laquon Treadwell and his blindside is protected by stud left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Wallace’s game, however, has thus far obviously been ill suited to fare well versus the Tide. We all know the damage inflicted by HUNH offenses like Auburn’s and Texas A&M’s over the past two seasons. One major difference with Wallace, however, is his relative lack of mobility when compared to Nick Marshall and Johnny Football.

If there is a game that should give us pause, though, it would be Trevor Knight’s performance in the Sugar Bowl. Knight did very little running for the Sooners that night, but he effectively operated OU’s HUNH attack and had the game of his life. If Wallace can follow a similar blueprint (presumably one that Saban and Co. have worked feverishly to address this offseason), it could make for an interesting game in a hostile setting.

It might help that the Tide has a bye week the week before the Ole Miss tilt, (Then again, team records coming off bye weeks are not altogether convincing) which might mean the Tide can devote more attention than usual for preparing for Wallace and the Rebels’ O. Without a doubt, Wallace will be hoping for redemption against the Tide. This his third rodeo in the SEC. He’s been in the battles and had some success, but his two games against ‘Bama have been two of his biggest low lights.


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