It has become a popular opinion, even on Gridiron Now, to blame outsized fan expectations at Ole Miss for the trouble its football program again finds itself in. The theory goes that if Ole Miss were happy simply going to bowl games instead of trying to compete for championships, Rebel boosters, coaches and administrators wouldn’t be so willing to break rules, compromise their ethics and look the other way when a dilemma faces them which pits football success against morality.
While I will never defend breaking NCAA rules, or the personal behavior Hugh Freeze has been accused of, I will defend the football aspirations of Ole Miss.