Feeling nostalgic? You've come to the right place.
Over the next three weeks, The Grove Report is taking a look back at the Ole Miss Rebels' football seasons from 2003 to the present day. Why begin with 2003? I'm glad you asked.
For one, it provides a nice 20-year baseline (give or take) from the 2023 season that just concluded. It also happened to be the senior year of Eli Manning, providing a nice look at multiple eras of Ole Miss football in the process.
Yesterday, we took a look at the 2005 season, and today, we turn the page to 2006.
Setting the Stage
Ole Miss had gone a combined 7-15 since the departure of Eli Manning, but they had a new gunslinger in town in 2006 who hoped to right the ship.
Brent Schaeffer had transferred to Oxford from the Tennessee Volunteers, and he along with Seth Adams were set to be the primary quarterbacks for the Rebels in Year 2 of Ed Orgeron's tenure.
Year 1 of this era had gone poorly, but maybe the left-handed and mobile Schaeffer could help things turn around...
Opening Scene
Like years prior, Ole Miss opened the year against the Memphis Tigers, this time at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and the Rebels came away with a 28-25 win. Once again, Ed Orgeron had started the year at 1-0 with a win over the Tigers from the North.
Following that, however, the wheels fell off in the remainder of September, seeing Ole Miss fall at Missouri (34-7), at Kentucky (31-14), vs. Wake Forest (27-3) and vs. No. 10 Georgia (14-9). The Rebels would enter the month of October with a 1-4 record and dim chances of reaching the postseason once again.
Middle Chapters
The Rebels would pick up their first conference win of the season on Oct. 7, taking down the Vanderbilt Commodores 17-10 for homecoming in Oxford. From that point on, however, October was a struggle with the following results:
at Alabama (L 26-23 OT)
at No. 15 Arkansas (L 38-3)
vs. No. 7 Auburn (L 23-17)
The Rebels were officially eliminated from bowl eligibility with the loss to the Tigers at home, and the calendar had yet to hit the last month of the regular season.
Closing Act
November was (technically) the best month of the season for Ole Miss as it picked up wins over FCS (1-AA) Northwestern State (27-7) and Mississippi State (20-17) while dropping a 23-20 overtime game at LSU.
A few pieces of trivia regarding these games: Ed Orgeron spent his collegiate playing days at Northwestern State, and the win in the Egg Bowl over MSU marked the Rebels' fourth win in the series over the last five years.
Despite struggling in his first two seasons at the helm, Orgeron had demonstrated an ability to play close games against seemingly-superior opponents since he arrived in Oxford, as demonstrated by the Auburn and LSU losses. Those losses count the same as blowouts, however, and time was ticking for him to turn these heartbreakers into wins.
Year In Review
The Rebels continued to sputter on offense despite the addition of Schaeffer to the lineup, but they did manage to pick up an extra win compared to the 2005 campaign.
If it wasn't already evident, the Orgeron era at Ole Miss was going to have its fair share of growing pains, if there was to be any growth at all, and the '06 season was another indication to that end.
Probably the most "exciting" wins for Ole Miss came in the opener and finale, narrowly securing a win over Memphis and relying on a missed field goal from Mississippi State to avoid overtime in the Egg Bowl. The Rebels managed to take down some geographic rivals in the Tigers and Bulldogs, but other than that, the 2006 season was another failure, missing a bowl game for the third straight year.
Final Record: 4-8 (2-6 SEC)
Biggest Win: vs. Mississippi State
Worst Loss: at Arkansas
Key Stat: Combined record of defeated opponents: 13-34*
* four of these wins were tallied by Northwestern State over non-FBS opponents.
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