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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss to Kick Off 1998 Season with Memphis
6/21/1999 | Football
August 31, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss Rebels are set to open the 1998 season Saturday against Conference USA-rival Memphis. Jefferson Pilot will televise the game with kickoff scheduled for 11:37 a.m. from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field.
The Rebels are coming off an 8-4 season, including a 34-31 win over Marshall in the first-ever Ford Motor City Bowl, and finished 1997 ranked No. 22 by The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.
According to Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville, the Rebels are ready to get the season started.
"We need to play somebody else other than going against each other in practice," Tuberville said. "It's time we line up and see where we are at offensively and defensively and also see who will execute when you turn the lights on. We'll find some good things, and we'll probably find some things that won't work. That's going to happen when you have a young team, and it's also going to happen--whether you are young or not--because it's the first game of the season."
Ole Miss enters the 1998 campaign with only five seniors and a new quarterback in sophomore Romaro Miller.
"Romaro has had his good and bad days in practice," Tuberville said. "He's going to be a much better quarterback when we play Alabama or South Carolina or even Auburn. He's going to make his mistakes being a young guy, but hopefully they won't be mistakes that will cost you anything. He's been everything we thought he would be, but that's been in practice. Now we have to put him in a game."
Last year, Memphis posted a 4-7 record and finished fifth in Conference USA with a 2-4 mark. The Tigers return 18 starters from last year's squad, including All-C-USA second team selection Gerard Arnold, the team's leading rusher a year ago. Memphis also returns its top two receivers, junior Damien Dodson and senior Richie Floyd.
"You are always leery about the first game no matter who you play," Tuberville said. "I think this is going to be a pretty evenly matched game. I think they are going to be strong on defense. They have a lot of experience coming back."
This is the first meeting between the Rebels and the Tigers since 1995, when Ole Miss defeated Memphis 34-3 at the Liberty Bowl. Saturday's game will be the 50th meeting between the two schools with the Rebels holding a 39-8-2 edge in the series. However, Memphis has taken two of the last three contests.
