.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Opens SEC Play
6/21/1999 | Football
Sept, 7, 1998
After opening the 1998 season with a 30-10 win over Memphis, the Ole Miss Rebels will open Southeastern Conference play this Saturday by hosting the Auburn Tigers. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field in Oxford. FOX Sports South will televise the game. Auburn dropped its season-opener to No. 12 Virginia, 19-0 last Thursday night in Auburn.
OLE MISS-AUBURN SERIES: Saturday will be the 23rd meeting between Ole Miss and Auburn. The Tigers lead the all-time series 16-6. The series first began back in 1928 with the Rebels taking a 19-0 victory in Birmingham. The two teams then met periodically from 1932 to 1985 and have played each other every year during the 1990s. The Tigers own a five-game winning streak in the series including a 19-9 victory last season at Auburn.
Ole Miss' last win in the series was back in 1992 when the Rebels downed the Tigers 45-21 in Oxford en route to a 9-3 record and a win over Air Force in the Liberty Bowl. Saturday's game will only be the fifth meeting between the two in Oxford with Auburn having won the four previous meetings at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, including a 45-28 victory the last time the two met in Oxford back in 1996.
COACHES RADIO SHOW: The "Tommy Tuberville Radio Call-In Show", hosted by David Kellum, airs every Thursday from 6-7 p.m. on most Ole Miss Radio Network affiliates. The show is broadcast from the Downtown Grill on the Oxford Square in front of a live audience. The "Tommy Tuberville Radio Call-In Show" can also be heard on the internet by going to the official Ole Miss website at www.OleMissSports.com.
OLE MISS FOOTBALL WITH TOMMY TUBERVILLE: The award-winning coach's television show, "Ole Miss Football With Tommy Tuberville," is a weekly 30-minute production of the Ole Miss Teleproductions Resource Center. The show, which includes features, highlights and game analysis, is hosted by David Kellum and is produced and directed by J. Stern. The show is aired on a network of television stations throughout the Southeast. Check local cable and network affiliates for broadcast day and time in your viewing area.
OLE MISS' FIRST THREE GAMES TO BE ON T.V.: For the first time in school history, the Rebels' first three games of the year will be on television. Jefferson Pilot televised this past Saturday's season opener with Memphis and will also carry the Rebels' Sept. 19 meeting with Vanderbilt in Nashville. FOX Sports South is scheduled to broadcast this Saturday's game with Auburn. The school record for most consecutive games televised is four, set in 1986 and last season.
REBELS' CURRENTLY SCHEDULED TO HAVE FOUR T.V. GAMES IN '98: Ole Miss currently has four games slated to be on television during the 1998 season. Jefferson Pilot televised this past Saturday's Memphis contest and will carry the Rebels' Sept. 19 game at Vanderbilt. FOX Sports South will televise Saturday's game with Auburn in Oxford, and ESPN will televise the annual season-ending Egg Bowl clash against Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night in Oxford.
The Rebels had a school-record seven games on T.V. last season, including the Ford Motor City Bowl against Marshall in Pontiac, Mich. Ole Miss went 4-3 in T.V. games last season and are 41-48-2 on television overall, dating back to the 1952 Sugar Bowl against Georgia Tech.
NEW REBEL CLUB SEATING AREA TO BE DEDICATED SATURDAY: Ole Miss will officially dedicate its new Rebel Club Seating Area in honor of Guy C. Billups, Jr., of Gulfport, Miss., in a pre-game ceremony prior to Saturday's game with Auburn. Billups began attending Rebel football games at the age of 13 and later graduated from Ole Miss in 1948 and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.
"WALK OF CHAMPIONS" ARCH DEDICATED SATURDAY: The "Walk of Champions" Arch, located at the entrance of the Grove, near the Student Union Plaza, will be officially dedicated Saturday at noon before the Rebels' game with Auburn. The site of the arch is located at the start of the route of the Rebel football team's traditional "walk through the Grove" on game days.
The arch is in honor of the 1962 Ole Miss football team which achieved the only perfect season in Rebel history with a 10-0 record, including a Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas. The names of the coaches, players, trainers and managers are listed on plaques on the arch. Members of the 1962 team will will pass through the arch first and then lead the current Rebel team in their march across campus to the Starnes Center.
OLE MISS IN SEC OPENERS: Dating back to the start of the Southeastern Conference in 1933, the Rebels are 30-30-4 in conference openers. Ole Miss has opened its conference schedule in Oxford eight times and are 5-3 in those contests. The Rebels have opened conference play with Auburn the last eight seasons, and have met the Tigers a total of 10 times in conference openers. Ole Miss has played only Kentucky more times than Auburn for its SEC opener, having played the Wildcats 24 times.
REBELS LOOKING FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT 2-0 START: Ole Miss is looking to start off the year 2-0 for the third-straight season. The Rebels opened 2-0 last season with wins over Central Florida (24-23, ot) and SMU (23-15), and in 1996 with wins over Idaho State (38-14) and VMI (31-7). The last time Ole Miss started 2-0 three consecutive seasons was from 1970 to 1972. The Rebels went on to bowl appearances in both 1970 and 1971 and finished 1972 with a 5-5 mark.
VAUGHT-HEMINGWAY STADIUM EXPANSION: With the addition of an upper deck to the east side of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the stadium's capacity increased from 42,577 to 50,000. The newly constructed upper deck features a Rebel Club Seating area with an enclosed concession and lounge area. In its first game in the newly expanded stadium, Ole Miss drew a record crowd of 46,191 to see the Rebels defeat Memphis 30-10, breaking the previous stadium attendance record of 44,436 set against LSU in 1996.
REBELS TO HONOR EMBRY WITH DECAL ON HELMETS: Ole Miss is honoring Joey Embry, who died in a tragic drowning accident in May, by wearing a circular decal on the back of their helmets with the No. 70 and Joey spelled in block red letters underneath the number.
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 30: Ole Miss has won its last 26 games when scoring 30 or more points dating back to the 1989 season. The last time the Rebels lost a game when scoring 30 or more points was Nov. 4, 1989 when LSU defeated Ole Miss 35-30 in Oxford.
TUBERVILLE VS. THE BOWDEN FAMILY: When Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville looks across the field Saturday, he will see a member of a football coaching family which he has seen often in his coaching career. For the 13th time in his coaching career (assistant and head), Tuberville will be facing a member of the Bowden family. In his time as an assistant coach at the University of Miami from 1986-93, Tuberville met Bobby Bowden's Florida State squad eight times, and the Hurricanes won six of those encounters.
Since taking over at Ole Miss in 1995, Tuberville has faced Terry Bowden's Auburn team three times, but has lost to Tigers in all three match-ups. Last season, Tuberville faced Tulane head coach Tommy Bowden for the first time and defeated Bowden's Green Wave 41-24. Tuberville has a 7-5 record in games versus a Bowden-led team.
TUBERVILLE UNBEATEN VERSUS NON-CONFERENCE FOES: After Saturday's win over Memphis, the Rebels are now a perfect 11-0 in non-conference games in the Tommy Tuberville era. In those 11 non-conference games, the Rebels have averaged 33.5 points per game (369 points), while allowing an average of 15.9 points a game (175 total points) to their opponents. The following chart shows Ole Miss' success against non-conference opponents under Tuberville:
Date Opponent ResultSept. 5, 1998 Memphis 30-10, WDec. 26, 1997 Marshall 34-31, W*Nov. 15, 1997 Tulane 41-24, WSept. 6, 1997 SMU 23-15, WAug. 30, 1997 Central Florida (ot) 24-23, WOct. 26, 1996 Arkansas State 38-21, WSept. 7, 1996 VMI 31-7, WAug.. 31, 1996 Idaho State 38-14, WNov. 4, 1995 Memphis 34-3, WOct. 7, 1995 Tulane 20-17, WSept. 9, 1995 Indiana State 56-10, W* - Ford Motor City Bowl
TUBERVILLE AMONG REBEL COACHING ELITE: Fourth-year head coach Tommy Tuberville's 20-15 career record at Ole Miss ranks him among the Rebel coaching elite for the best start after 35games. His 20 wins are the third most by an Ole Miss coach in his first 35 games at Ole Miss since John Vaught took over the program in 1947. The following chart shows where Tuberville stands among Rebel coaches for victories in their first 35 games (since Vaught in 1947):
Coach Years Record Pct. John Vaught 1947-1950 23-11-1 .657Billy Kinard 1971-1974 22-13 .628Tommy Tuberville 1995-present 20-15 .571Billy Brewer 1983-1986 16-17-2 .457Ken Cooper 1974-1977 16-18-1 .457Steve Sloan 1978-1981 14-21 .400
"THE MISSISSIPPI GAMBLER": Since taking over the Rebel football program, head coach Tommy Tuberville has proven that he likes to take a gamble or two in a game, and that trend seems to have continued into 1998. Ole Miss went for it on fourth down twice during last Saturday's contest with Memphis.
In the second quarter, facing a fourth-and-one, Ole Miss lined-up to attempt to get the first down and drew the Tigers offsides to give the Rebels a first-and-10 at the Memphis 43. That helped set-up the Rebels' first score of the day. Ole Miss later went for it on fourth-and-two during the fourth quarter, but failed to convert.
The Rebels were 12-of-16 on fourth-down conversions for a conversion percentage of .750 a year ago, and are 33-for-51 (.647) on fourth down conversions since Tuberville came to Ole Miss, including being 1-for-2 so far in 1998.
MILLER MAKES RECORD-BREAKING FIRST START: After mostly watching from the sidelines last season as quarterback Stewart Patridge had a record-breaking season, sophomore Romaro Miller (Shannon, Miss./Shannon) made his much anticipated starting debut in grand fashion Saturday. After throwing an incompletion in his first passing attempt, Miller completed four straight passes to go 4-for-5 for 49 yards in his first career drive as a starter.
For the day, Miller completed 26-of-40 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns. The 332 yards passing was the best showing by an Ole Miss signal caller in his first career start, breaking the previous high of 324 yards set by Russ Shows on Sept. 8, 1990, also set against Memphis.
MORE ON MILLER: Romaro Miller's 332 yards passing was the ninth-highest single-game total in school history. Miller also accumulated 355 yards of total offense as he carried the ball three times for 23 yards, including a long of 20 yards. The 355 yards of total offense ranks as the fourth-best all-time single-game total in Rebel history.
Miller also recorded his first career touchdown pass on Saturday, connecting with junior Cory Peterson (Germantown, Tenn./Germantown) from six yards out to give the Rebels a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. Later in the second quarter, Miller again hooked-up with Peterson, this time for a 77-yard scoring strike, equalling the eighth-longest pass-and-catch in Rebel history.
PETERSON HAS CAREER DAY: Junior wide receiver Cory Peterson had a career-day Saturday against Memphis. The Germantown, Tenn. native set career-highs for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, catching nine passes for 164 yards and two scores. His 164 yards receiving was the fourth-best single-game performance - in terms of yards - in school history, and his nine receptions equalled the fifth-best total in school history.
Peterson's 77-yard touchdown reception was also a career long, breaking his previous long of 44 yards set in last year's season-opener against Central Florida.
RUSHING BY COMMITTEE: The Rebels used four different backs in Saturday's game to churn out 191 yards of rushing against Memphis. Sophomore Deuce McAllister led the attack, gaining 73 yards on 15 carries, including a career long 37 yard run. Redshirt freshman Joe Gunn tallied 54 yards in his collegiate debut on 10 carries, including a 35-yard rush on his first career carry in the first quarter, and senior Tony Cannion carried 10 times for 38 yards. Freshman Charles Stackhouse also saw action and scored his first career touchdown on a three-yard run to round-out the scoring.
The Rebels finished the day averaging 4.9 yards per rush on 40 carries and the 191 yards rushing marked Ole Miss' best rushing output since gaining 193 yards rushing against Tulane last season.
PILING UP THE YARDS: With their 523 yards of total offense Saturday against Memphis, it marked the first time that the Rebels had accumulated more than 500 yards of offense in a regular-season game since 1995. The last time Ole Miss gained over 500 yards in offense was Sept. 9, 1995 when the Rebels tallied 504 yards of total offense in a 56-10 win over Indiana State. Ole Miss registered 511 yards of total offense in its 34-31 win over Marshall in the Ford Motor City Bowl.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED TABS FRENCH PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA: Junior tight end Rufus French (Amory, Miss./Amory) was named a preseason first team All-America by Sports Illustrated magazine in its annual college football preview issue, dated August 31. Last season, French was a second team All America selection by Football Digest and was a third team selection by The Associated Press as he hauled in 43 passes for 345 yards and two scores. His 43 receptions was tops among SEC tight ends and finished third in the nation in receptions among tight ends.
FRENCH GARNERS SEVERAL OTHER PRESEASON ACCOLADES: Being named a first team preseason All-America by Sports Illustrated was just the latest of preseason accolades for Rufus French. Widely considered one of the nation's top tight ends heading into 1998, French was also named a preseason first team All-American by The Sporting News and was a second team All-America pick on the Street & Smith's/Walter Camp team. In addition, French was named a second team preseason All-America by Lindy's, Athlon, Football News, Bob Griese's College Football and Sport magazines.
French earned preseason All-SEC selections by Lindy's, the Birmingham News, Football News and Athlon. The Birmingham News tabbed French as runner-up for the best receiver in the Southeastern Conference.
FRENCH ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP RETURNING TIGHT ENDS; ANOTHER PRODUCT OF TIGHT END U.: The football experts have called Miami "Quarterback U." They say Penn State is "Linebacker U." Well, with the recent success of Rebel tight ends, the Ole Miss football program could be known as "Tight End U.," and junior Rufus French is carrying on the tradition.
A starter in 10 of the Rebels' 11 regular season games last season, French led the Ole Miss receiving corps in number of receptions with 43 and was fifth in receiving yards with 345. French finished the year ranked third among the nation's tight ends in receptions and finished eighth in receiving yards. Heading into the 1998 campaign, French is the nation's second-leading returning tight end in receptions and is fifth among returning tight ends in receiving yards The following chart shows where French rates against the top returning tight ends:
1998 Pre-Season National Returning Tight End Leaders(compiled by the Ole Miss Sports Information Office)Statistics are from last season, year listed is for 1998.
Receptions1. Ibn Green (Jr.), Louisville 552. Rufus French (Jr.), Ole Miss 43 3. Ron Teat (Jr.), Arkansas State 30 4. Jerame Tuman (Sr.), Michigan 295. Julian Hooker (Sr.),Wyoming 26
Yards Receiving Yards1. Ibn Green (Jr.), Louisville 7312. Jerame Tuman (Sr.), Michigan 4373. Ron Teat (Jr.), Arkansas State 4304. Jason Gavadza, Kent State 382 5. Rufus French (Jr.), Ole Miss 345* The weekly tight end leaders will be updated every Sundayevening and will be available at the official Ole Miss websiteat www.OleMissSports.com.
WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSE?: While the Rebels offensive exploits highlighted Saturday's win, the Ole Miss defense had a fine outing as well. The Rebels held the Tigers to 235 yards of total offense, including just 21 rushing yards on 20 attempts. The 21 yards of rushing was the fewest Ole Miss has limited an opponent since holding Georgia to one-yard on 26 carries back in 1993. The school-record for the fewest rushing yards allowed was set in 1992, when Auburn recorded minus-16 yards on 34 carries.
RICE DRAWS FIRST CAREER START; RECORDS SEVEN TACKLES: Junior linebacker Al Rice (Hattiesburg, Miss./Hattiesburg) drew his first career starting assignment Saturday against Memphis. Having played in a special teams and reserve role the past two seasons, Rice led the Rebel defense with seven tackles Saturday, including two solo.
STRONG, SIMS RECORD FIRST CAREER SACKS: True freshman Eddie Strong (Batesville, Miss./South Panola) and redshirt freshman Anthony Sims (Memphis, Tenn./Fairley) both recorded their first career sacks Saturday. Strong entered the game on the fourth play of the contest and sacked Memphis quarterback Kenton Evans for a nine-yard loss late in the second quarter. Strong finished the game with four tackles. Strong also forced a fumble midway though the fourth quarter on a completed pass to Darrius Blevins, which junior cornerback Timothy Strickland (Memphis, Tenn./Hamilton) recovered at the Memphis 44. Sims registered his sack late in the fourth quarter, sacking Evans for a seven-yard loss. SPEARMAN NOMINATED FOR BUTKUS AWARD: Junior linebacker Armegis Spearman (Bruce, Miss./Bruce) is one of 68 nominees for the 1998 Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top linebacker. Rated as one of the top young linebackers in the SEC, Spearman was selected to the second team 1998 Birmingham News pre-season All-SEC team. Spearman recorded four tackles Saturday against Memphis, including one solo.
In his first two years playing in a part-time role and on special teams, Spearman recorded 102 tackles, including 63 solo. Last season, he appeared in all 12 of the Rebels' games, including the Ford Motor City Bowl. Spearman tallied 43 tackles, with one tackle for loss and one quarterback sack. He also forced one fumble, broke up three passes and had three quarterback pressures. In the bowl game against Marshall, Spearman had five tackles, including one for a three-yard loss. Spearman is one of 12 SEC linebackers to be nominated for the Butkus Award.
The preliminary list will be trimmed down to 10 semi-finalists on October 15. The three finalists will be announced on November 12 and the award will be presented December 11 at the Butkus Award Gala, sponsored by Joyner Sports Medicine Institute, Inc., at Universal Studios Florida.
THIGPEN TO WEAR CHUCKY MULLINS' NO. 38: Senior cornerback Gary Thigpen (Cleveland, Miss./Cleveland) was chosen last January as the winner of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award. The award goes to the outstanding defensive player who, in turn, earns the right to wear the late Chucky Mullins' jersey number 38.
In Saturday's contest with Memphis, Thigpen recorded four tackles, including one solo, and intercepted a pass. The interception was his fourth career interception. Thigpen, who wore number 30 up until this year, started his career at Ole Miss as a walk-on. He played in all 11 games his freshman year, starting the last six and earning a scholarship after the season. He has since been the starting right cornerback the past two seasons, but moved to the left corner position in the spring.
Thigpen finished last season with 45 tackles, seven pass break-ups, one caused fumble, one fumble recovery, one sack and an interception.
LOOKING AT THE POLLS: Following Ole Miss' 30-10 win over Memphis Saturday, the Rebels picked up 55 votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, ranking 10th among "Others Receiving Votes." Ole Miss was ranked No. 23 in both the Athlon and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) preseason polls.
OLE MISS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN SEC WEST: The Rebels are picked to finish third in the SEC's Western Division behind LSU and Auburn, according to a preseason poll of 45 media members conducted at the SEC Media Days. LSU is the favorite in the West, receiving 44 of a possible 45 first-place votes, followed by Auburn. Mississippi State is picked to finish fourth behind Ole Miss, with Alabama fifth and Arkansas sixth. Florida has been tabbed to win the East, receiving 41 of the possible 45 first-place votes. Tennessee is picked to finish second, followed by Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Florida is also the favorite to win the overall SEC title.
SCOUTING THE AUBURN TIGERS: Auburn opened its season last Thursday night with a 19-0 home loss to No. 12 Virginia. The Tigers were ranked No. 22 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and were No. 24 in the preseason Associated Press rankings. Auburn dropped out of the coaches poll following Thursday's loss.
Sophomore quarterback Ben Leard completed 11-of-25 passes for 146 yards and was intercepted once Thursday night during his starting debut. Sophomore receiver Clifton Robinson caught four passes for 86 yards and redshirt freshman fullback Heath Evans caught three passes for 36 yards. Robinson also tallied 131 all purpose yards as he returned two kickoffs for 45 yards.
Sophomore Demontray Carter was the Tigers' leading rusher with 17 yards on seven carries. Defensively, Auburn was led by sophomore strong safety Rob Pate with 11 tackles and junior free safety Brad Ware tallied 10 tackles. Junior right end Leonardo Carson recorded one sack for five yards.
EXTRA POINTS: Sophomore receiver Ken Lucas (Cleveland, Miss./East Side) recorded career-highs for receptions and receiving yards in Saturday's game, catching five passes for 72 yards. Freshman kicker Donald Juneau (Daphne, Ala./Daphne) notched his first career-field goal at 8:34 of the third quarter during last Saturday's win over Memphis. Juneau's field goal was from 38 yards out. Juneau also made three-out-of-four PATs ...
Sophomore punter Reagan King (Ackerman, Miss./Ackerman) blasted a career-long 57-yard punt during the fourth quarter Saturday. His former career-long went for 53 yards against Auburn last season ... True freshman quarterback David Morris (Mobile, Ala./McGill Toolen) played in the final 1:38 of the game. Morris is a freshman walk-on.
