 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
DALLAS - The Ole Miss Rebels are not the Miami Dolphins.
But just as the Wildcat formation helped bring the Dolphins a division title this season in the NFL, the Wild Rebel formation helped No. 25 Ole Miss to a 10-3 finish with a 47-34 win over No. 7 Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Placing a speedy running back in shotgun formation behind the center while the quarterback usually lines up as a receiver, the Miami Dolphins' Wildcat formation seems to be raising eyebrows around the NFL football world. Ole Miss has its own version of the formation named the Wild Rebel, which the Rebels can run any number of plays from.
Tech saw the Rebels' Dexter McCluster line up in shotgun formation while quarterback Jevan Snead was at receiver. From this, the Rebels ran a number of plays that helped them get out of tough situations or get first down imperative to winning the game.
Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, who is heading into his second year, said throughout the 2008 season he has tried to use Wild Rebel eight or nine times a game depending its flow.
He also said if he uses it multiple times, he tries to spread the attempts throughout the game to prevent the defense from catching on.
As a focal point in the formation, McCluster had 180 all-purpose yards and one touchdown against Tech. His ability to thrive in the offense earned him All-Southeastern Conference honors for the 2008 season and his ability to do the same against Tech earned him the Sanford Trophy as the Cotton Bowl's best offensive player.
"It's not just his ability to make people miss and how good he is in space," Nutt said of McCluster. "You have to have ball skills and ball-handling skills. You have to have a little moxie about you. You can't be flustered being put in that situation out in space like that. You have to have the intangibles to be able to be in that personnel group and in that formation and he's got it."
It's not so much a tough 3rd and long when he uses it, but Nutt said Wild Rebel is used more to catch a defense off guard.
Whether it was a reverse, deep pass or simply putting the ball in one of their top playmakers' hands, the Rebels found ways to make the formation useful against Tech similar to how they have all season.
Ole Miss ran the Wild Rebel formation a total of seven times against Tech in the Cotton Bowl for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Although the formation accounted for a small percentage of the 515 yards Ole Miss gained, some of the plays ran from it came when the Rebels needed it the most.
Ole Miss needed a score to stay within reach after an early 14-0 deficit in the first quarter. On 1st and 10 at Tech's 45-yard line, Nutt called for the Wild Rebel and a reverse pass that started in McCluster's hands and ended in Snead's.
Snead threw a 29-yard bomb to receiver Markeith Summers, putting the Rebels at Tech's 11-yard line.
The play led to an 8-yard touchdown pass from Snead to Gerald Harris to cut into Tech's led.
Also in the Wild Rebel formation, McCluster received a direct snap in the fourth quarter to run for a four-yard score, increasing the Rebels' lead to 47-28. The score effectively put the game out of reach while ending Tech's chances of making any comeback.
Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said in the end, the Wild Rebel did not do much damage, but McCluster's ability to make plays was a factor in the loss.
"Just go out there and keep teams off balance like that and all the speed we have," the 5-foot-8, 165-pound McCluster said, "and coach Nutt knows what plays to call and coach (Kent) Austin and the line is so physical. By me being a little guy, I need a little hole and I'm out of there."
The formation may be receiving a little attention now, but Nutt said it has been around since Pop Warner.
Nutt said he, along with his brother Danny Nutt, used the formation previously at Arkansas when Darren McFadden and Felix Jones headlined the backfield. He said McFadden was the one taking the direct snap because of his speed and ability to make plays.
Now heading into his second year as Ole Miss' coach, Nutt said he has running back Brandon Bolden and McCluster as weapons in the formation for 2009.
He said where the Miami Dolphins' use of the formation comes from is their quarterbacks coach David Lee, who worked under Nutt at Arkansas in 2007 when the Razorback went 8-4.
Players seem to have a lot of fun with the formation and look forward to its use next season, as Snead said he hopes to see a little more action at receiver when Wild Rebel is called.
"I actually caught a pass in it. I wish they'd throw it to me because I'm always open," he said jokingly. "When we need something to get us going, it's always been there for us."
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