Given that Ole Miss had led each of its first eight games but had just a 3-5 record entering last Saturday's home game against Georgia Southern, it was hard to fathom the season getting much worse for the Rebels.
Then came the third quarter and the season-ending loss of Chad Kelly.
The Southeastern Conference's top quarterback of the past two years tore the anterior cruciate ligament and the lateral meniscus in his right knee, putting a sizable damper on the 37-27 win over the Eagles. Ole Miss, which began this season with expectations galore and a No. 11 national ranking, is suddenly an 11-point underdog this week at Texas A&M, which will not have the services of starting quarterback Trevor Knight (shoulder).
"Chad came here wanting to rewrite his story, and I have witnessed him do that to a large extent," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said in his weekly news conference. "It is not the ending we wanted, and it is not the last chapter that we wanted to write, but life has a way of doing that. I have watched him. I have been with him daily, and he has changed for the better.
"We all still have challenges in life. We all still have those things that haunt us and the shortcomings we all have, but I have watched him do things and make impacts on people."
Kelly got to Oxford in January 2015 with a checkered past, but he was dazzling in his limited time with the Rebels, throwing for 6,574 and 49 touchdowns and setting 25 records for a program that has included Archie and Eli Manning. Ole Miss averaged 40.8 points a game last season and is averaging 36.0 this year.
More importantly, the Kelly-led Rebels won 10 games last season and for the first time since 1969 traveled to the Sugar Bowl, where they humiliated Oklahoma State 48-20.
"I think he will be remembered as one of the best competitors that ever played here," Freeze said. "He is the quarterback that helped lead us back to the Sugar Bowl, and the Ole Miss people will remember that for a long time."
Ole Miss entered this season having increased its win total each year under Freeze, but that went out the window before Kelly went down. The Rebels are under NCAA investigation and won't know their fate until 2017, with that cloud resulting in a current crop of commitments that 247Sports.com ranks 54th nationally.
Kelly became the fifth season-ending injury for the Rebels, joining cornerback Ken Webster, tailback Eric Swinney, receiver D.K. Metcalf and defensive end/linebacker John Youngblood. They must close against two of the SEC's most improving teams - Vanderbilt and Mississippi State - so sliding to 4-8 is not out of the question.
"When we got here, we were going to set a standard that we were going to be a part of the new Ole Miss," senior defensive tackle Isaac Gross told reporters Saturday. "We're not worried about these last three games. We're worried about making sure the standard is always set here with what the 'Land Shark D' means, what our offense means, and how we treat each other.
"I want to see us on the map forever."
Finding a quality successor to Kelly obviously would help the Rebels achieve further relevance. Redshirt freshman Jason Pellerin, who finished Saturday's triumph, is a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder who has proven to be effective in short-yardage rushes but has completed just 5 of 13 passes and has been intercepted three times.
Freeze could use junior receiver Markell Pack or even senior tight end Evan Engram in change-of-pace roles, but the biggest question is whether he decides to play heralded freshman Shea Patterson, who has redshirted to this point.
Patterson was the No. 1 quarterback nationally in the 2016 signing class according to 247Sports - ESPN pegged Georgia's Jacob Eason No. 1 - and was the MVP of January's U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
"That's a very difficult thing to do with three games left, but all options are on the table," Freeze said. "I am just trying to figure out what is best for individuals and for the team, so that is not something I want to rush to make a decision on. It certainly would be difficult to do that, but I wouldn't quite totally rule it out just yet."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.