Ole Miss Football: 5 overreactions from Rebels’ loss to Cal

Ole Miss football lost a tough contest against Cal on Saturday night, but what were the biggest overreactions?

Traveling to Berkeley, Calif., for a tough Week 3 matchup against a 2-0 Cal Golden Bears team wasn’t exactly what Matt Luke would have called an “ideal” situation. The Rebels were still trying to build confidence as a young team and heading out west for a #Pac12AfterDark contest is never a great feeling.

And just like that, the Rebels fell victim to a tough loss at the hands of the Golden Bears. Luke’s team looked lost in the second half as the Golden Bears took a 16-7 halftime deficit and turned it into a 27-16 victory. It was the Rebels’ first loss of the young season, but there’s plenty to learn from it.

Here are the five biggest overreactions from Ole Miss fans, and from around the nation, following the Rebels’ Week 3 loss to Cal.

5. Jordan Wilkins now worthy of starting role

As a freshman in 2014, Jordan Wilkins looked like the real deal. He accounted for 361 yards and a touchdown on 6.9 yards per carry. However, it was such a small sample size that it was tough to tell if he could carry that over into his sophomore year.

Wilkins carried over some of that success to his sophomore year, rushing for 379 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. However, he was ruled ineligible for his junior year before getting glowing reviews from then-head coach Hugh Freeze this past spring.

Heading into his senior year, there were high hopes for Wilkins as the team’s top running back, but after the Cal loss, it might be time for him to take a back seat. If we are in the business of overreacting, it seems as if Wilkins is not living up to expectations.

Should he be benched after putting up just 38 yards on 11 carries vs. Cal? Probably not, but his leash is getting shorter. He’s averaging just 3.7 yards per carry this season.