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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Set to Square Off Against Georgia Saturday
6/21/1999 | Football
November 17, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels will look to get back on the winning track and solidify their post-season hopes Saturday when they travel to Athens, Ga., to take on the 15th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Kickoff from Sanford Stadium is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CST.
Ole Miss (6-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) was off this past week after suffering a 34-0 loss at Arkansas on Nov. 7. Georgia (7-2, 5-2 SEC) is coming off a 28-17 win at Auburn this past Saturday that vaulted them to No. 15 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.
"We had a good open date of practice last week after a disappointing loss to Arkansas," said fourth-year Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville. "The thing we wanted to do was give our players some time off to get back and concentrate more on their classes, and get their legs back."
The Bulldogs feature the versatile Champ Bailey, who doubles as both Georgia's starting left cornerback and as a wide receiver. Bailey has accounted for 1,040 all-purpose yards, leading the team in receptions with 40 for 664 yards, and averaging 23.6 yards per kickoff return, and 12.3 yards per punt return. Freshman quarterback Quincy Carter has thrown for 2,080 yards, on 149-of-236 passing with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
"We are getting ready to play the best team we have played all year in Georgia," Tuberville said. "They are talented. They are also young in many areas, but they have made tremendous improvement throughout the year.
"Their two losses came to the two best teams in our conference. They have played well, and it starts with Quincy Carter, their quarterback, who I would say is one of the top two or three athletes in our conference. He throws the ball well and he makes plays. Add Champ Bailey, a tremendous athlete, and an experienced offensive line and that makes for a good football team."
Ole Miss made some position changes in its secondary last week as sophomore wide receiver Ken Lucas and freshman H-back Maurice Flournoy moved to cornerback. Junior Timothy Strickland also switched from cornerback to safety.
"Ken Lucas has moved to corner," Tuberville said. "He practiced there last week and will play there this week, and he will play some at wide receiver. We need some depth at defensive back. Flournoy has also moved to cornerback. We are just trying to find some stability and get some consistency in that area. We are trying to find the right combination to get more speed and more football experience on the field."
Offensively, Ole Miss will look to get the running back tandem of sophomore Deuce McAllister and freshman Joe Gunn going. McAllister had a string of three-straight 100-yard rushing games snapped against Arkansas. For the season, McAllister has gained 796 yards on 150 carries with seven touchdowns, ranking fourth in the SEC. Gunn has added 532 yards on 119 attempts with six touchdowns.
Sophomore quarterback Romaro Miller became just the fifth quarterback in school history to go over 2,000 yards passing in a single-season with his 207-yard performance against the Razorbacks. Miller has thrown for 2,007 yards, completing 165-of-291 passes with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
"Romaro has made more improvement than anyone on the team this year," Tuberville said. "He had a good game going at Arkansas. The problem we had at Arkansas was that we didn't get the ball over the goal line."
Junior Cory Peterson leads Ole Miss in receptions with 37 for 551 yards and four touchdowns, followed by junior Grant Heard with 35 catches for 496 yards and three scores. Junior tight end Rufus French ranks fourth in the nation among tight ends in receptions with 30 for 334 yards and a touchdown.
Georiga leads the all-time series against Ole Miss 23-12-1, however, Ole Miss has won two of the last three, including the last meeting in Athens, 31-27 in 1996. The Bulldogs captured last year's meeting 21-14 in Oxford.
