Last year's final game for the Ole Miss Rebels pretty much summed up their performance throughout the season. It wasn't the fact that they were lacking in talent because that was not the case. It just seemed as though they were flat, and couldn't make the plays when they needed to.

It clearly did not help things that transfer quarterback Jeremiah Masoli tried to do everything himself all the time. But even with Masoli trying to carry the Rebel squad on his shoulders throughout the season, the Rebs scored points.

They just couldn't stop other teams from scoring on them, and it was quite a dismal feeling leaving the gates of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium that cold November evening knowing that the Ole Miss Rebels ended in disappointment, and ended the season two games shy of bowl eligibility.

Coming off of two straight AT&T Cotton Bowl wins, the Ole Miss Rebels were hoping for something more in the 2010 season, and their fans were just as hopeful. It is evident that the 4-8 finish was a major disappointment for the entire Ole Miss family.

Now we are in 2011. Less than 60 days away from kickoff, the Ole Miss Rebels are ready to turn things around. Changes have been made all over the place in head coach Houston Nutt's program in Oxford.

From replacing some of the coaching staff to bringing in high ticket recruits,Coach Nutt is ready to get back playing the type of Ole Miss football the fans are looking for.

Nutt is the one who upon accepting the Ole Miss coaching job a few years back stated, "Where I'm from, fun is spelled W-I-N."

Many changes have been made in the Rebel football program, besides the staff changes and good recruiting class. Coaches have instilled a system to keep the players out of trouble when around town with a buddy system and it seems as though there is a lot less disciplining going on and more coaching as their should be. The staff members have definitely cracked down on many things after the disappointment that came at the end of the 2010 season.

Fans are optimistic about this upcoming season, and Rebel fans are eager, as always, to fill the Grove on Sept. 3.

The Rebs will have some new faces including a new assistant on the offensive side of things, Gunner Brewer, who comes over from Oklahoma State. Remember, the Brewer family has ties to Oxford and to Ole Miss, as Billy Brewer was the head coach at Ole Miss in the '80s and early '90s.

Some of the other new faces to Oxford are the following recruits:

1. (WR) Collins Moore from Madison, Alabama    
2. (LB) Keith Lewis from Tampa, Florida       
3. (LB) CJ Johnson from Philiadelphia, Mississippi  
4. (CB) Denzel Nkemdiche from Lithonia, Georgia
5. (WR) Nickolas Brassell from Batesville, Mississippi

Clearly not all the recruits have been listed, but these are some of the names that I think will make a impact in a big way for the Red and Blue in the coming years.

Ole Miss will begin full pad practice the first week of August in hopes of being more than ready come Sept. 3 when they take Jerry Hollingsworth Field for a 3:45 kickoff time on ESPN against the Brigham Young Cougars inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

It should be another tough season for the Rebels in SEC action with power houses LSU and Alabama each seeking another conference championship. Houston Nutt's gang will have to get through those two rival teams if they want a realistic chance at their first conference title in years.