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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Notes
10/24/1999 | Football
Oct. 24, 1999
GAMEDAY INFO
Date: Saturday, October 30, 1999
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Stadium: Tiger Stadium (80,000)
TV: Pay-per-view by TeleSouth Communications, contact local cable company for information (Bill Wahlberg, play-by-play, Walker Jones, color analyst)
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play, Pete Cordelli, color analyst, Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter)
Records: LSU is 2-5 overall, 0-5 in the SEC, after losing 17-16 to Mississippi State in Starkville this past weekend. Ole Miss fell to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC after dropping a 30-24 decision to Alabama on Oct. 16 in Oxford.
Coaches: The 1999 season marks Ole Miss? first full season under first-year head coach David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe took over the Rebel program last Dec. 2 and led the Rebels to a win over Texas Tech in the Sanford Independence Bowl. This is Cutcliffe?s first collegiate head coaching position, and he has a record of 6-2 ... LSU head coach Gerry DiNardo is in his fifth year at LSU and his ninth year overall as a college head coach. He is 32-21-1 at LSU and has a career mark of 51-46-1. DiNardo is 4-4 in his career against Ole Miss. He is 2-2 versus the Rebels as head coach at LSU, and was 2-2 against Ole Miss while serving as head coach at Vanderbilt from 1991-94.
Series Info: This year?s meeting will be the 88th between Ole Miss and LSU in a series that dates back to 1894. It is the Rebels? second-most played rivalry, with Ole Miss only having played Mississippi State, 95 times, more. The Tigers hold a 48-35-4 advantage in the all-time series, including a 34-22 lead in games played in Baton Rouge. The Rebels are 5-4 against LSU during the decade of the 1990s including going 2-2 in four trips to Tiger Stadium. Ole Miss has won the last two meetings, winning 36-21 over then No. 8 LSU in Baton Rouge in 1997 and defeating the Tigers 37-31 in overtime last year in Oxford. The Rebels haven?t won three straight from LSU since winning six consecutive over the Tigers from 1952-57. Ole Miss hasn?t won two straight in Baton Rouge since winning in 1966 (17-0) and 1968 (27-24).
Scouting LSU: The Tigers are averaging 299.0 total yards of offense and 20.1 points per game. Sophomore QB Josh Booty has completed 101-of-219 passes for 1,142 yards with 3 TDs and 12 INTs. Booty?s favorite target has been freshman SE Jerel Myers, who has caught 40 passes for 538 yards. Senior TB Rondell Mealey is LSU?s leading rusher with 484 yards on 132 carries with six TDs. Defensively, the Tigers are yielding an average of 328.3 yards and 23.4 points per game. Sophomore FS Ryan Clark and senior SS Clarence LeBlanc are LSU?s leading tacklers with 61 and 60, respectively.
1999 Ole Miss Schedule/Results(5-2, 2-2 SEC)Sept. 4 at Memphis W, 3-0SEPT. 11 ARKANSAS STATE W, 38-14SEPT. 18 VANDERBILT* (JP) L, 34-37 (OT)Sept. 25 at Auburn* (JP) W, 24-17 (OT)Oct. 2 at South Carolina* W, 36-10OCT. 9 TULANE (HC) W, 20-13OCT. 16 ALABAMA* (CBS) L, 24-30Oct. 30 at LSU* 7:00 p.m.NOV. 6 ARKANSAS* 1:00 P.M.NOV. 20 GEORGIA* 1:00 P.M.Nov. 25 at Mississippi St. (ESPN)* 7:00 p.m.HOME GAMES IN CAPS *- SEC Game(HC) - HomecomingAll Times are Central and are subject to change.
1999 LSU Schedule/Results(2-5, 0-5 SEC) SEPT. 4 SAN JOSE STATE W, 29-21SEPT. 11 NORTH TEXAS W, 52-0SEPT. 18 AUBURN* L, 7-41Oct. 2 at Georgia* L, 22-23OCT. 9 FLORIDA* L, 10-31Oct. 16 at Kentucky* L, 5-31Oct. 23 at Mississippi State* L, 16-17OCT. 30 OLE MISS* 7:00 P.M.Nov. 6 at Alabama* 2:00 p.m.NOV. 13 HOUSTON 7:00 P.M.NOV. 26 ARKANSAS* 1:30 P.M.HOME GAMES IN CAPS *- SEC GameAll Times are Central and are subject to change.
IN THE POLLS:Ole Miss is ranked in one of the two major college football polls for the fourth consecutive week as the Rebels are ranked No. 25 in this week?s Associated Press Top 25. Ole Miss was No. 25 in last week?s AP poll as well after falling three spots from No. 22 following a 30-24 loss to then No. 11 Alabama on Oct. 16 in Oxford. This is also the Rebels? third consecutive week in the AP Top 25.
Ole Miss also received 65 votes in this week?s ESPN/USA Today Top 25 to rank third among ?Others Receiving Votes.?
REBELS LOOK FOR SECOND STRAIGHT 6-2 START:Ole Miss will aim for its second straight 6-2 start Saturday night against LSU at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Getting the sixth win would also make the Rebels bowl eligible for the third consecutive year and give the Rebels their third straight season with at least six wins for the first time since going 6-5 three years in a row from 1975-77.
OLE MISS AIMING FOR THIRD STRAIGHT SEC ROAD WIN:In addition to going for the all important sixth win, Ole Miss will also be looking to win its third straight SEC road game. The last time the Rebels won three straight conference road games in the same season was back in 1990, when Ole Miss defeated Georgia (28-12), Vanderbilt (14-13) and LSU (19-10). The Rebels did win three consecutive conference road games over the course of the 1997 and 1998 seasons, defeating LSU (36-21) and Mississippi State (15-14) in 1997, and beating Vanderbilt (30-6) in their first SEC road contest of 1998. This season, Ole Miss has defeated Auburn (24-17, ot) and South Carolina (36-10) on the road in conference play.
CUTCLIFFE?S START AMONG BEST BY OLE MISS COACHES: First-year head coach David Cutcliffe?s 6-2 record ranks among the best eight-game starts by a coach in Ole Miss history, tying John Vaught and Billy Kinard for the second best eight-game start in school history. Harry J. Mehre owns the best eight-game start in Rebel history when he guided his first team to a 7-1 start in 1938. The following chart shows the top-five eight-game starts by a head coach in Ole Miss history and what that particular coach did in their ninth game at Ole Miss:
Coach W-L-T Pct. NextHarry J. Mehre (1938) 7-1-0 .875 WDavid Cutcliffe (1999) 6-2-0 .750 ?Billy Kinard (1971) 6-2-0 .750 WJohn Vaught (1947) 6-2-0 .750 WWilliam Driver (1913-14) 5-3-0 .625 W
SETTING THE STANDARD: Junior QB Romaro Miller (Shannon, Miss.) passed for 217 yards against Alabama to record his 12th career 200-yard passing game to break Kent Austin?s school record of 11 career 200-yard passing games (total does include bowl games). It was also Miller?s fifth 200-yard game of the season to become the only Ole Miss quarterback to record five or more 200-yard games in back-to-back seasons (see the Rebel Record Book on page 4).
ALL-PURPOSE McALLISTER: Junior RB Deuce McAllister (Morton, Miss.) recorded a career-high 269 all-purpose yards against Alabama, gaining 63 yards rushing on 13 carries with two TDs, catching three passes for 54 yards and returning six kickoffs for 152 yards. McAllister?s previous career-high was 181 all-purpose yards set against Vanderbilt on Sept. 25. The six kickoff returns and 152 return yards by McAllister against the Crimson Tide were both career highs, and he also had a career-long 46-yard return on his first kickoff return of the game.
McAllister also attempted and completed his second career pass against Alabama, connecting with senior Cory Peterson (Germantown, Tenn.) for an 18-yard pickup in the second quarter.
In six games this season, McAllister has recorded 794 all-purpose yards for an average of 132.3 yards per game, ranking second in the SEC and 27th nationally.
PETERSON RECORDS BIG DAY AGAINST ALABAMA: Cory Peterson recorded 137 yards receiving on eight catches against Alabama to register his fifth career 100-yard receiving game and second of the season. Peterson had 125 yards receiving on seven catches at Auburn on Sept. 25. The eight catches against the Crimson Tide was one shy of his career-high of nine set last season against Memphis.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Cory Peterson?s eight catches moved him up two spots on Ole Miss career receptions list and into fourth-place with 122, surpassing J.R. Ambrose (1984-87) with 118 and Michael Harmon (1979-82) with 119. Peterson needs 17 catches over the Rebels? final four regular season games to tie Ta?Boris Fisher (1993-96) as the Rebels? career receptions leader with 139. Peterson is also climbing the school?s career list for receiving yards as he passed Eddie Small (1990-93) and into fifth-place on the school?s career list for receiving yards with 1,706, one-yard shy of tying Floyd Franks (1968-70) for fourth-place with 1,707. Willie Green (1986-89) is the Ole Miss career leader in receiving yards with 2,274.
PETERSON CLOSING IN ON ANOTHER MILESTONE: With seven more receptions Cory Peterson can become just the second Ole Miss player to record at least 40 receptions in three consecutive seasons. The only other Rebel to do so was Ta?Boris Fisher (1993-96), who caught 41 passes in 1994, 45 in 1995 and 40 in 1996. Peterson talllied 40 receptions in 1997, 41 in 1998 and currently sits at 33 in 1999.
GUNN AMONG SEC LEADERS: Despite being held to 45 yards rushing on 11 carries against Alabama, sophomore RB Joe Gunn (Amory, Miss.) still ranks second in the SEC in rushing, averaging 97.4 yards rushing per game. Gunn has rushed for 682 yards on 135 carries for an average of 5.1 yards per carry and has scored three TDs. He also ranks fifth in the conference in all-purpose yards with an average of 117.7 yards per game (see SEC/NCAA Statistical Leaders on page 4).
ONE-TWO PUNCH: Through the first seven games of 1999, RBs Joe Gunn and Deuce McAllister have combined to rush for 988 yards on 195 carries - an average of 5.1 yards per rush - with nine TDs. Last season, the tandem rushed for a combined 1,628 yards to produce the second-highest rushing total by a duo in school history. SACK ATTACK: Ole Miss recorded one sack against Alabama to extend its streak to 18 straight regular season games with at least one QB sack. The last time the Rebels didn?t register at least one QB sack was in the 1997 regular-season finale at Mississippi State.
For the season, Ole Miss has recorded 27 sacks for 163 yards, ranking second in the SEC behind Florida with 28. The 27 sacks by the Rebels this season already surpasses last season?s total of 24. Senior DT Kendrick Clancy (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) leads the team in sacks with 6.5 for 37 yards.
REBELS RANK FIFTH IN THE NATION VERSUS THE RUN: According to the latest SEC and NCAA Division I statistics, Ole Miss ranks fifth in the SEC and fifth in the nation versus the run as the nation?s top five run defenses are from the SEC. The Rebels are yielding an average of 72.3 yards per game. Alabama became the first team to rush for 100 or more yards against Ole Miss in seven games - including last December?s Sanford Independence Bowl - since Mississippi State rushed for 123 yards in last season?s regular season finale.
LOUISIANA REBELS: Ole Miss has four players on its 1999 roster that call the state of Louisiana home, including three from the New Orleans-area: freshman OL Jimmy Courtenay (New Orleans, La.), freshman OL Michael Hollinger (Metairie, La.), freshman QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.), and sophomore LB Jason Partin (Zachary, La.)
MISSISSIPPI TIGERS: According to its 1999 media guide, LSU has eight players on its roster that call the Magnolia state home: sophomore NG Muskingum Barnes (Moss Point), freshman C Jason Cuevas (Purvis), freshman OT Sam Forehand (Ocean Springs), senior OG Alcender Jackson (Moss Point), junior DE Kareem Mitchell (Moss Point), junior FB Robert Tyler (Cleveland), junior FL Roger Williams (Bay St. Louis).
EXTRA POINTS
* Ole Miss is 64-46 (.582 winning percentage ) during the 1990s, marking the Rebels most successful decade since winning 77 games during the 1960s.
* Ole Miss is 206-186-5 (.525 winning percentage) all-time during the month of October.
* Ole Miss is 19-17 (.528 winning percentage) in October during the 1990s.
* The crowd of 52,122 at the Ole Miss-Alabama game established a new Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field record, surpassing the previous record of 50,577 set against LSU in 1998. It was also the largest on-campus crowd to watch a college football game in the state of Mississippi.
* Since the current overtime procedure was adopted by NCAA Division I-A in 1996, Ole Miss is tied with Oregon for having played the most overtime games at six. The Rebels are 4-2 in overtime games with the four wins also the most in the country since 1996. Ole Miss is 1-1 in overtime contests this season, losing to Vanderbilt 37-34 on Sept. 18 and defeating Auburn 24-17 on Sept. 25.
* The Rebels are 54-44-8 (.547 winning percentage) all-time following an off week.
* Ole Miss is 9-10 (.474 winning percentage) during the decade of the 1990s following an off week.
] * The Rebels have won three of their last four games when coming off an off-week.
* Romaro Miller needs 600 yards passing over the course of the final four games to become the first Ole Miss quarterback to record 2,000 yards passing in back-to-back seasons.
* Junior K Les Binkley (Memphis, Tenn.) missed his first field goal attempt of the year against Alabama on a 31-yard attempt with 12:56 to go in the fourth quarter. For the season, Binkley is now 10-for-11 in field goal attempts.
* Les Binkley converted on all three extra-point attempts versus the Crimson Tide to remain perfect on the season, having hit on all 21 attempts this season.
* Les Binkley has 51 points through seven games, ranking 11th on the school?s single-season list for scoring by a kicker. Brian Lee holds the Ole Miss single-season record in 1992 with 70.
* With his 217 yards passing against Alabama, Romaro Miller passed Stewart Patridge (1994-97) for seventh-place on the Ole Miss all-time career passing chart. Miller now has 3,700 career passing yards and needs three yards to pass Josh Nelson (1994-95) for sixth-place.
* Romaro Miller accumulated 216 yards of total offense against the Crimson Tide to move into fifth-place on the school?s career list for total offense. Miller now has 3,736 yards of total offense and is 183 yards shy of tying Russ Shows (1989-92) for fifth-place with 3,919 yards.
* Romaro Miller ranks second in the SEC in completion percentage at 58.6 percent and is third in the SEC in passing efficiency with a 141.7 rating. His 141.7 rating also ranks 15th nationally.
* Ole Miss is 17th in the latest NCAA statistics in scoring defense, yielding an average of 17.3 points per game.
* Ole Miss is 24th nationally in total defense, surrendering an average of 311.6 yards per game.
* The Rebels are 37th nationally in rushing offense with an average of 170.4 yards per game.
* Ryan Hamilton (Miami, Fla.) recovered the first Rebels? first onside kick attempt late in the third quarter versus Alabama.
* Ole Miss wore blue jerseys against Alabama for the first time since wearing them in a game against LSU on Nov. 11, 1995.
