Ole Miss fired head football coach Matt Luke Sunday night. Speculation was that new Ole Miss chancellor Glenn Boyce was not happy with how Luke handled the Elijah Moore unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the final seconds of the Egg Bowl.
Ole Miss will owe Luke and his staff almost $15 million in contract buyouts. Luke was only 6-18 in SEC play and 15-21 overall in his three years as head coach. This year, the Rebels (4-8, 2-6) were plagued by close losses to Memphis, Cal, A&M, Auburn and MSU. Luke was stuck with NCAA hardships and loss of scholarships and a bowl ban because of the Rebels’ football program violations under Hugh Freeze.
WHO IS NO. 4?
Most of the college football world is probably ecstatic that there will be no Alabama for this first time since 2014 in the College Football Playoffs. We know that LSU, Ohio State and Clemson are likely in the CFP. The No. 4 spot will between Utah, Oklahoma, Baylor or Georgia, depending on this weekend’s Conference Championship games.
SAINTS CELEBRATE
The New Orleans Saints did not play their best game but still feasted on the Atlanta Falcons Thanksgiving night to win their third straight NFC South title. This week the Saints will host the S.F. 49ers in a key matchup that could determine home field advantage throughout the NFL playoffs. Both teams enter the game with 10-2 marks.
1,000 POINT CLUB
Quitman native Shonte Hailes scored 15 points and joined USM’s 1,000-point club as she led the Southern Miss Lady Eagles over VCU. The Lady Eagles are off to a 6-1 start; their only loss was to Mississippi State. The Lady Bulldogs (6-1) lost for the first time this year, a five-point loss to then No. 3 Stanford in a game played in Victoria, British Columbia.
Dale McKee is a native of Waynesboro and has been writing sports in Mississippi since 1973. His column appears in several weekly papers throughout the state. You may contact him at ddmckee18@yahoo.com
