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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football to Face LSU in Oxford Saturday
6/21/1999 | Football
October 26, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss football team will return to Southeastern Conference action when it hosts the LSU Tigers Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field. The game is set for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff and is a complete sellout.
Ole Miss is 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC after defeating Arkansas State, 30-17, last Saturday. The Rebels are off to their best start under fourth-year head coach Tommy Tuberville, it is their best start since 1991.
"Although we did win the game, it wasn't a good performance," said Tuberville. "I was disappointed in several areas, fortunately for us, our kicking game was much improved. Field goal kicker, Carlisle McGee, came in and did an excellent job and our special teams blocked two punts. That really set the tone for us in the game."
The tandem of Deuce McAllister and Joe Gunn led a Rebel rushing attack that piled up 268 yards on the Indians. The duo accounted for all three Ole Miss touchdowns and 246 of the team's 268 rushing yards. McAllister gained a team-high 124 yards on 15 carries, while Gunn rushed for 122 yards on 12 carries. It was the second straight game in which McAllister has rushed for more than 100 yards. Gunn's 122 yards increased his season total to 467 yards, which is a new Ole Miss freshman single-season rushing record.
"We have really improved our rushing attack," said Tuberville. "We're averaging close to 200 yards per game rushing. That should help us in the next four weeks, playing teams who are favored to beat us."
LSU enters Saturday's game with a 4-3 overall record and a 2-3 conference mark. The Tigers snapped a three-game losing steak by defeating Mississippi State, 41-6, in Baton Rouge this past Saturday. Tailback Kevin Faulk became the LSU all-time leading rusher with 123 yards on 24 carries. He now has 4,079 career rushing yards, breaking Dalton Hilliard's old mark of 4,050. The LSU defense limited MSU's James Johnson, the SEC's leading rusher, to just 76 yards, while Tiger quarterback, Herb Tyler, threw for three touchdowns, completing 10 of 18 attempts for 162 yards.
"LSU is getting better and better each week, although their record is not as good as they would have hoped at this time," said Tuberville. "They've got excellent players. Anytime you have a senior tailback and a senior quarterback, with the talent that they have, it's dangerous to the opposing ball club." The Tigers lead the 102-year old series 48-34-4, but the Rebels upended LSU last year in Tiger Stadium, 36-21. The two teams have split their eight meetings this decade. The Rebels and Tigers have met six times on Halloween. LSU holds the advantage with a 3-2-1 record against Ole Miss on Oct. 31.
"It should be a fun game," said Tuberville. "It'll be the first time that we've played in Oxford in front of more than 50,000 people. We are looking forward to it."
