Snead, Rebels Only Looking Forward

Jevan Snead believes better days are ahead.

The junior quarterback doesn't need to read a newspaper or watch television to know what's being said about Ole Miss' disappointing performance last Thursday against South Carolina. Snead looked skittish in the pocket and didn't throw the ball with much confidence in a 16-10 defeat that proved the Rebels' No. 4 ranking nationally wasn't merited.

"It's one of those things where you have to take what you can from it," Snead said Monday.

"You watch the film and see what you did wrong and see what you can correct and then move on. It's tough not to be down, especially the couple of days right after the game. I feel like everyone is responding really well and everyone is doing what they need to do -- which is to continue to work as hard as they possibly can to not let that happen again."

Ole Miss, which tumbled to No. 21 in the rankings, looks to rebound Saturday at Vanderbilt.

Of course, all eyes will be on Snead and his offensive line that features three new starters from last season, including sophomore left tackle Bradley Sowell. Sowell has struggled in replacing first-round NFL draft choice Michael Oher, receiving the bulk of the criticism in the aftermath of the Rebels' defeat.

There are other pieces to the puzzle, however.

Snead, for one, still appears uncomfortable, and it showed in the pocket against the Gamecocks. He finished 7-of-21 for 107 yards and a touchdown and was sacked four times.

Overall, Snead ranks seventh in SEC passing efficiency and ranks 65th nationally, completing 35-of-71 passes (49.3 percent) for 491 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Snead entered the season with a career completion percentage of 56.2 percent.

Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt said Snead must trust his offensive line, acknowledging that Snead might be anticipating pressure in the pocket after being pressured so often early on this season. Snead has been already sacked seven times.

"We don't want him to see ghosts, don't expect something to collapse or don't feel like you have to concentrate on what is below you," Nutt said.

"We want his eyes down field like he did last year. Just play the game like he is capable of playing. When he does that, we move the football when that happens."

Nutt said he doesn't expect to make any personnel changes up front in preparation for the Commodores, who beat Rice last Saturday but, like the Rebels, are desperate for an SEC win. Snead, meanwhile, stressed that he trusts his offensive line. He also is getting accustomed to new starters at fullback and tight end.

More importantly, Snead, who last season finished as strong as any quarterback in the country and entered this season under Heisman Trophy consideration, admitted he must have a better short-term memory.

"I know there are some times where I had pressure on the previous play and I let that affect the next play when maybe I didn't have as much pressure," Snead said.

"If something bad happens or if you get pressure on the previous play and something bad happens, you have to forget about it and execute on the next play. I definitely still trust (the offensive line). It wasn't all offensive line, by any means."

Nutt remains confident that Snead will regain his late-season form from a year ago.

"The best thing that Jevan has is he has a year under his belt," Nutt said.

"He has to trust. He has to trust his teammates, trust what we're doing and play the game that we're laying out for him. We're going to have a good, nice, simple plan, and he just has to execute it. He's done it before. We feel like we have the things that he can do. This guy, when we lay it out and rep it, he can handle it. There are some plays this year that he's made, but you have to be consistent. I have all the faith in the world in him."

Nutt also has faith that his team has learned from the pressure and notoriety that accompanied its first top-5 national ranking in nearly 40 years. The Gamecocks also snapped the Rebels' eight-game winning streak dating back to last season -- and extended their losing streak to six games in SEC openers.

"We didn't handle that one good," Nutt said.

"The thing about the top five is that it is really hard to tell a team that is in this position for the first time in over 40 years, to forget this and that. Every single day they see it. That's hard. It's hard to put that away and say it is blocking, tackling, executing, throwing to our guys and it's playing together. That is what's hard.



"Deep down inside, I probably knew that, that we weren't No. 4 or No. 5. But I'm not going to go say we're not No. 4 or No. 5 when (the media) tells me that we are. That is just the way it is. We have to do a better job. They were uncharted waters and I knew that. I can't control the media and I can't control where we are picked.

"If you notice, there are a lot of teams in the same shoes that we are in. You see it every Saturday and you are going to see it again (Saturday) This is the toughest conference in America. You've got to be ready to go. It is the team that plays the best during those three hours. The one that makes the fewest mistakes and takes care of the ball -- that is the team that is going to win."