In a perfect world, David Cutcliffe would stay at Ole Miss, Eli Manning would wait to turn pro until after his senior year, Cathedral product Von Hutchins would make a critical play in a big game and an interviewee could read my notes back to me verbatim.

Three out of four ain’t bad.

Sometimes I think if I had the chance to interview Jesus Christ, he’d have this to say after I take notes from his response to my first question:

&uot;Man, you can actually read that?&uot;

Ah, but this column isn’t about me.

It’s about the Rebels, who showed everybody Friday night in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., they can play defense, they can stop the run and they can beat a marquee program the caliber of Nebraska, although the Cornhuskers’ loss ended one of the more disappointing seasons in Lincoln in quite some time.

And after it was all over, Cutcliffe answered the questions again &045; the only place he’s going is his own home and maybe the homes of potential recruits before returning to the sidelines next season in Oxford.

&uot;I answered that last week,&uot; he said. &uot;I don’t know where all that talk comes from.&uot;

Manning wasn’t as blunt in his questions as to whether or not he would turn pro, but his vague responses didn’t give anyone an indication he would do so.

&uot;I’m going to look into things and see how it all works out,&uot; said Manning, who threw for 313 yards in the contest to set the school’s all-time record for passing yardage. &uot;I really don’t know. I’ll go home, sit down and talk to my dad. I’ll start from there and see how it goes.&uot;

Pretty vanilla, huh?

But Manning was more precise in his response to a question of what was the turning point in the game &045; and it wasn’t a defensive stand, the fake punt or when Nebraska was forced to pass.

&uot;I would say the turning point was when Von Hutchins got that interception,&uot; Manning said. &uot;To that point we weren’t really getting much done offensively, and then that play got us real good field position with a great chance to get on the scoreboard. We were able to go down and score, and that broke the ice for us.&uot;

Hutchins made the pick off of the Jammal Lord overthrow early in the second quarter after Nebraska had taken a 10-0 lead. Hutchins came up with the ball at about midfield and returned it down to the Nebraska 27.

From there Eli and the Rebels needed six plays to get on the scoreboard and send a jolt through the crowd.

&uot;We needed a big play to switch the momentum,&uot; Hutchins said. &uot;The ball was in my favor. I don’t know if it was the turning point. The offense made great plays. But I definitely gave them the opportunity to make plays.

&uot;I was playing man coverage, and I saw the ball come off. I really wanted the ball in my hands. I just made a play on the ball.&uot;

Hutchins, a junior who shares his No. 5 with starting running back Ronald McClendon (Why in the world is that? There’s no No. 15 on the roster. Just give Hutchins a 1 to limit the confusion, huh?), made the first big play for a defense that has struggled at times earlier in the year.

But as Cutcliffe said in the press conference, it was as if the Rebels improved their game just preparing to play Nebraska.

The Rebels started out the contest in a bend-but-not-break mode, but by the time the game was over they were in more of a don’t-give-them-an-inch mode.

&uot;You try to practice and simulate the speed of the (option) game, but they were just so much quicker than our look team,&uot; Cutcliffe said. &uot;We made the adjustment, and as the game went on we got off their blocks pretty well and minimized the damage. Their quarterback is a pretty outstanding athlete who is going to make you look bad at times. Defending their scheme takes a great effort, intensity and team football, and we got all that from our guys today.&uot;

The tune-ups came in the second half as the Cornhuskers couldn’t put it in the end zone.

&uot;In the third quarter I could tell they weren’t as physical running the football, and I knew we had a chance to get the upper hand,&uot; linebacker Eddie Strong said. &uot;We were able to get them in several third-and-long situations, which is not their preference, and we had a big advantage there.&uot;

Strong and Hutchins had plenty of reason to smile after the game, not only because people thought Nebraska would hand it to the Rebels but also because the defense had been a spot of criticism earlier in the year.

The defense had problems &045; Vanderbilt scored 38 on them, while Alabama and Arkansas followed each with 40-plus points. But something clicked in the LSU game, a 14-13 loss, and the Rebels found an identity of sorts.

&uot;I feel like as the season went along we jelled as a team,&uot; Hutchins said. &uot;Nebraska realized they had to come out and play hard. We played hard, especially in the second half. The games against LSU, Mississippi State and Nebraska, we could have won all those games. Beating somebody of the strength of Nebraska and Florida gives us momentum going into next season.&uot;

Hutchins will be there. And by preliminary accounts, so will Cutcliffe and Eli.

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at (601) 445-3632 or by e-mail at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com.