It's not necessarily that bad to allow an FCS team to gain 355 yards in a double-overtime game. Except, of course, that it indicates that you were in a double-overtime game with an FCS team. And unless you lead 31-10 at halftime.
And unless 229 of those yards are part of a comeback in the late third and early fourth quarters. Welcome to the latest meltdown sparked at least in part by a Tyrone Nix defense, in this case one of the main reasons -- if not the main reason -- that Ole Miss lost Saturday to Jacksonville State. Any doubt that it's a rebuilding year in Oxford?
Consider: The "other" Gamecocks scored two two-point conversions -- one to tie the game near the end of regulation, and another to win it after a 30-yard pass to the back of the end zone in the second overtime. Beginning halfway through the third quarter, every Jacksonville State drive led to points. Each touchdown drive in the fourth quarter covered at least 59 yards.
The conference-wide impact, of course, is simply to fuel those who like to see the SEC knocked down a peg. (Because the Big XII, Big Ten and ACC haven't all seen teams lose to the FCS. Oh, wait a minute ...) And it was a case that looked fairly strong by Saturday evening, with Florida looking utterly unimpressive if not completely incompetent against Miami (OH). And they are (were?) the preseason favorite in the SEC East.
More specifically, the Rebels' loss might lead to one of the most surprising locations for a hot seat in the SEC this year: Oxford. No one thought Ole Miss was going to be great, but no one thought they were going to be not-great enough to lose to Jacksonville State. One loss probably isn't a reason to fire Houston Nutt -- Tyrone Nix is another story -- but if it sets the scene for the rest of the year, it might be one disappointing season too many.