Red Raiders Raided: Ole Miss Stomps on Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl

I was wrong.

I truly thought that Ole Miss was going to get its butt handed to it by Texas Tech at the Cotton Bowl.

For me, Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree were no-brainers against Jevon Snead and his rag-tag Ole Miss offense.

But in the end, the sore butts belonged to those wearing black, as the Rebels crushed the once title-hopeful Red Raiders, 47-34.

Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss' wide receiver turned running back for the day, was unbelievable, running through the Red Raiders' defense with ease in a 97-yard, one touchdown performance—on 11 carries. It was quite incredible. Oh, and he also had six catches for 83 yards.

Don't get me wrong though—this game was an absolute classic—kinda like the other game they had here during the regular season (45-35, anybody?).

Both sides decided early on that conventional defense was not going to be their strongest point. Ole Miss gave up 469 yards while Tech surrendered 515 yards, all in a game that you simply couldn't take your eyes off (unless you were a Big 12 fan—then you'd seen it all before!).

Snead was excellent, throwing for 292 yards and three TDs in a superb performance, while Harrell had 364 yards and three TDs.

But while Snead only had the one interception, Harrell had two, and both of those proved fatal.

Ole Miss' aggressive secondary grabbed two Harrell interceptions, taking them back to the house from 45 and 65 yards, respectively, in front of a packed house in Dallas. It also crushed the vaunted quarterback for a game-ending safety.

In his celebration, Houston Nutt should make a call to former head coach Ed Orgeron, who recruited McCluster. Both of them should celebrate giant offensive lineman Michael Oher, who's going to the NFL—possibly as the top pick. Harrell will also be drafted.

And how about Snead and McCluster for the future? Don't bet against it.