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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Manning Leads Blue Squad To 17-13 Victory
4/1/2000 | Football
April 1, 2000
Postgame Quotes | Box Score | Play By Play
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Manning completed 12-of-19 passes for 157 yards and led the Blue squad to a come-from-behind 17-13 victory over the Red team in the 2000 Grove Bowl, before an estimated crowd of 16,800 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field. The crowd was the largest to see a spring game at Ole Miss since 1978 when an estimated 25,000 was on hand for then-Rebel head coach Steve Sloan's first spring contest.
Manning's game-winning touchdown toss came with 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter on a five-yard pass to L.J. Taylor. The score completed an 11-play, 70-yard drive in the final 2:35 of the game.
"I felt comfortable out there," said Manning of the game-winning drive. "It was a two-minute drill. Our receivers made some big-time plays, and our line did a great job of blocking."
Overall, Rebel head coach David Cutcliffe was pleased with his team's performance on Saturday.
"We were competitive which was what we wanted to see," Cutcliffe said. "We saw a lot of players make plays on both sides of the ball. It was a good evaluation of where we are now and where we are headed."
Deuce McAllister, who played on the Red team, led all rushers with 79 yards on 11 carries, while Joe Gunn led the Blue squad with 35 yards on 10 rushes. Romaro Miller, the Red squad quarterback, went 7-of-14 for 64 yards passing and one touchdown, while David Morris, who played on both squads, combined for 9-of-15 passing for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Shawn Johnson led the Blue team with six tackles, while Derrick Burgess recorded two sacks. Justin Coleman led the Red team with seven tackles, and Desmon Johnson had three pass break-ups.
"I was proud to see our defense rise up today," said Cutcliffe. "Our defense tackled well. Our offense executed and had positive plays, but our defense really tackled well which is what we wanted to see."
The first half proved to be a defensive struggle, with the Blue team scoring the half's only points on a Grant Heard 41-yard touchdown pass from Morris with 2:13 left before intermission. Lee Rogers added the extra point for a 7-0 Blue squad lead at the break.
After halftime, the scoring picked up, as Rogers increased the Blue team's advantage to 10-0 on a 42-yard field goal on the opening, second-half drive. The Red team then responded with a nine-play, 70-yard scoring drive which ended in a Miller 28-yard touchdown pass to Ross Barkley. The two-point conversion failed for a 10-6 Blue team lead.
The Red team took its first lead of the game with only 2:35 left in the fourth quarter when Morris threw a 24-yard scoring strike to Robert Williams for a 13-10 advantage. The score set up Manning's heroics in the final two minutes.
Although Cutcliffe was proud of the way his squad played on Saturday, he still discussed the improvements the Rebels need to make before the 2000 season kicks off in September.
"We've got to solidify the offensive line and defensive front," Cutcliffe said. "We also need to get healthy and get our defensive backs going. I was most pleased that we used the last six or seven practices the way a good team does. We learned how to utilize practice."
The Rebels open the 2000 season on Sept. 2 with a home game versus Tulane.
