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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss-Kentucky Game Notes
9/24/2000 | Football
Sept. 24, 2000
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Game 4 - Kentucky Wildcats (2-2, 0-1 SEC) at
Ole Miss Rebels (2-1, 1-1 SEC)
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Saturday, September 30, 2000
TIME: 6:00 p.m. (CDT)
SITE: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field (50,577)
TV: Tape delayed on Comcast (Bill Wahlberg, play-by-play, Walker Jones, color analysis).
RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play, Pete Cordelli, color analyst, Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter, Gary Darby, pre-game host.).
RECORDS: Ole Miss is 2-1, 1-1 in the SEC, after defeating Vanderbilt, 12-7, in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 16. Kentucky is 2-2, 0-1 in the SEC after dropping its conference opener, 59-31, at Florida this past Saturday.
RANKINGS: Ole Miss is unranked in neither of the two major college football polls. The Rebels did receive 20 votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, and garnered 23 votes in last week's Associated Press Top 25. Kentucky is unranked.
COACHES: David Cutcliffe is in his second full season as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. He is 11-5 at Ole Miss and has guided the Rebels to victories in the 1998 and 1999 Sanford Independence Bowls. He made his Ole Miss debut and recorded his first career win in the Rebels' 35-18 win over Texas Tech in the 1998 Sanford Independence Bowl. Ole Miss is Cutcliffe's first career head coaching assignment. This will be Cutcliffe's first meeting as a head coach against Kentucky and Wildcat coach Hal Mumme ... Hal Mumme is in his fourth season at Kentucky and his 12th season as a collegiate head coach. He is 39-28-1 with the Wildcats and 85-46-1 in his career, including head coaching stops at Iowa Wesleyan (1989-91) and Valdosta State (1992-96). This is Mumme's first game as a head coach versus Ole Miss and Cutcliffe.
SERIES INFO:
Ole Miss leads 23-12-1
Last meeting: 1993, Kentucky 21-0 in Lexington.
In Oxford: Ole Miss leads 5-2
In Lexington: Kentucky leads 9-8-1
Other Sites: Jackson, Miss. (Ole Miss leads 5-1), Memphis (Ole Miss leads 5-0).
Largest UM win: 37-7 in Memphis, 1956
Largest UK win: 47-0 in Oxford, 1949
Longest UM win streak: 8, 1956-63
Longest UK win streak: 2, 1949-50, 64-65, 78-79.
NOTES: This is the first meeting since 1993 ... The last time the two schools met in Oxford was 1992, with Ole Miss winning 24-14 ... The Rebels were 3-1 versus the Wildcats in the 1990s, winning in 1990, 1991 and 1992 ... The last six meetings, dating back to 1986, have been decided by an average of 17.8 points ... The Rebels are 13-7 against the Wildcats in night games, including 1-0 in Oxford ... The lone tie in the series came in 1952, 13-13 in Lexington.
DEUCE WATCH:
* Heisman Trophy candidate Deuce McAllister totaled 215 all-purpose yards (143 rush., 47 rec., 23 PR, 2 KR) on 26 touches and scored one TD against Vanderbilt on Sept. 16.
* With his 215 all-purpose yards, McAllister surpassed the 4,000-yard mark in career all-purpose yards. In 35 career games, he has totaled 4,008 all-purpose yards.
* In the win over Vanderbilt, McAllister set new Ole Miss career records for rushing attempts and 100-yard rushing performances. McAllister now has 502 career carries to break Dou Innocent's (1991-92, 1994-95) record of 494. The 143-yard effort was his 11th career 100-yard rushing game to break Innocent's record of 10.
* With his 50-yard TD run in the first quarter, McAllister has now scored 18 TDs in Ole Miss' last nine games, including last December's Sanford Independence Bowl.
GAME NOTES TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE: Approximately 1,000 endzone tickets are still available for Saturday's Ole Miss-Kentucky game, scheduled for 6:00 pm at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field. Ticket are $12 each. Fans can purchase tickets at the Tad Smith Coliseum Ticket Office, or by calling the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 662-915-7167. Mississippi residents can call toll free in-state at 1-888-732-8587.
REBELS AIM FOR 3-1 START: Ole Miss will look for its fifth straight 3-1 start, and its sixth in the last eight years Saturday night against Kentucky. The Rebels have gone on to post a winning record and earn a bowl berth the last three seasons after starting 3-1. The 1996 squad started 3-1 but went 2-5 over the last seven games to finish the year 5-6.
REBELS IN SEPTEMBER: Ole Miss will aim for its fifth consecutive winning record in the month of September Saturday versus Kentucky. The Rebels have posted 3-1 records in September each of the past four seasons. The last time Ole Miss failed to finish the first month of the season at at least .500, was in 1988 (1-2). All-time, the Rebels are 128-56-7 (.688 winning percentage) during the month of September.
DEUCE LISTED "DAY-TO-DAY": Senior RB Deuce McAllister is listed as day-to-day after sustaining a grade-one AC-joint sprain to his right shoulder in the Sept. 16 game against Vanderbilt. McAllister had x-rays taken on Sunday following the game, and were negative on any further damage.
DEUCE VS. FORMER HEISMAN TROPHY RUNNING BACKS: Six former Heisman Trophy-winning running backs, and seven total former Heisman winners rank among the NCAA career leaders in all-purpose yards (2000 NCAA Record Book, page 47). While Ole Miss senior RB Deuce McAllister doesn't rank on that list (he needs 1,578 more all-purpose yards to do so), he does have more than the 375 minimum all-purpose touches to qualify for the record of yards per play.
When comparing McAllister's career average of 6.7 yards per play to the six Heisman Trophy-winning running backs that rank on the NCAA's career list for all-purpose yards, only Ohio State's Archie Griffin is equal, as he also averaged 6.7 yards per play for the Buckeyes from 1972-75. The six former Heisman Trophy-winning RBs on that list include the last two winners: Texas's Ricky Williams (1998) and Wisconsin's Ron Dayne (1999). The others: Pittsburgh's Tony Dorsett, Southern California's Charles White, Georgia's Herschel Walker and South Carolina's George Rogers.
The other Heisman Trophy winner that ranks among the NCAA's career all-purpose yards leader is Nebraska's Johnny Rodgers (1970-72), who is listed as a WR by the NCAA in its award section.
The following chart shows how Deuce's average yards per play (or touch) ranks against the six former Heisman Trophy-winning RBs on the NCAA's career list for all-purpose yards:
Player, School YPPDeuce McAllister, Ole Miss 6.7Archie Griffin, Ohio State 6.7Ricky Williams, Texas 6.6Charles White, Southern California 6.0Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh 5.9George Rogers, South Carolina 5.9Ron Dayne, Wisconsin 5.8Herschel Walker, Georgia 5.6
ALL-PURPOSE DEUCE: Against Vanderbilt, Heisman Trophy candidate Deuce McAllister tallied 215 all-purpose yards (143 rushing, 47 receiving, 23 punt returns, 2 kickoff returns) on 25 all-purpose plays in just three quarters of action -- an average of 8.6 yards per touch. It was the seventh time in his career that McAllister has topped the 200-yard mark for all-purpose yards in a game, including the 1999 Sanford Independence Bowl against Oklahoma.
Through three games this season, McAllister leads the Southeastern Conference and ranks second nationally in all-purpose yards, averaging 202.3 yards per game. McAllister is averaging 9.3 yards per touch on 65 all-purpose plays (rushing, receptions, all returns) and has scored seven TDs.
The following chart breaks down McAllister's all-purpose yards in 2000:
Opponent Rush Rec. KR PR TotalTulane 29 52 48 6 135Auburn 104 1 56 96 257Vanderbilt 143 47 2 23 215Total 276 100 106 125 607Number of touches: 65
Average per touch: 9.3
Touchdowns: 7
DEUCE TIED FOR NATION'S LEAD IN SCORING: In the latest NCAA Division I-A statistics, Deuce McAllister is tied for the nation's lead in scoring, averaging 14.0 ppg. He also ranks fifth nationally and is second in the SEC in punt returns, averaging 20.8 yards per return.
McALLISTER SURPASSES 4,000-YARD MARK: Deuce McAllister surpassed the 4,000-yard mark in all-purpose yards for his career in the game against Vanderbilt. In 35 career games (not including bowl games), McAllister has accumulated 4,008 all-purpose yards -- an average of 114.5 yards per game. McAllister is also averaging 6.74 yards per touch on 595 career all-purpose plays.
The following chart breaksdown McAllister's career all-purpose yards:
Year Rush Rec. KR PR Total1997 402 71 0 0 4731998 1,082 154 0 0 1,2361999 809 201 30 652 1,6922000 276 100 106 125 607Total 2,569 526 758 155 4,008
Number of touches: 595
Average per touch: 6.7
Touchdowns: 31
MORE RECORDS FALL FOR McALLISTER: Deuce McAllister continued his assault on the Ole Miss record book against Vanderbilt, establishing new Rebel career marks for rushing attempts and 100-yard rushing performances in the Rebels' 12-7 victory on Sept. 16. McAllister carried the ball 17 times against the Commodores to give him 502 career carries, surpassing Dou Innocent's (1991-92, 1994-95) record of 494. The 143-yard rushing performance was the 11th of his career (not including bowl games) to break Innocent's record of 10 (see the Ole Miss Record Book on page 24).
McAllister entered the 2000 season as Ole Miss' career leader in all-purpose yards, and earlier this season set school career records for touchdowns scored and rushing touchdowns.
DEUCE CLOSING IN ON CAREER RUSHING MARK: With 85 yards rushing against Kentucky Saturday, senior RB Deuce McAllister can tie Kayo Dottley's (1947-50) Ole Miss career rushing record of 2,654. McAllister is currently second on the school's career list with 2,569 yards (see the Ole Miss Record Book on page 24).
Dottley and McAllister are the only two players in school history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season. Dottley rushed for 1,312 yards in 1949, and 1,007 in 1950. McAllister recorded 1,082 yards in 1999.
MORE ON DEUCE'S 100-YARD RUSHING PERFORMANCE: The 143 yards rushing by Deuce McAllister against Vanderbilt was his seventh 100-yard rushing performance in the Rebels' last eight games, including last December's Sanford Independence Bowl. McAllister finished the 1999 campaign with five straight 100-yard rushing games, including a 121-yard effort against Oklahoma in the Sanford Independence Bowl (bowl games do not count in career totals). During the Rebels' last eight games, McAllister has rushed for 900 yards on 154 carries -- an average of 5.8 yards per carry -- and scored 12 TDs. The following chart shows McAllister's rushing totals over the past eight games:
Date Opponent Att. Yards TD LP Avg.10-30-99 LSU 25 140 2 26 5.611-6-99 Arkansas 21 125 2 40 6.011-20-99 Georgia 9 104 2 84 11.611-25-99 Miss. State 36 134 0 15 3.712-31-99 Oklahoma -1 17 121 1 80 7.19-2-00 Tulane 9 29 2 11 3.29-9-00 Auburn 19 104 2 26 5.59-16-00 Vanderbilt 17 143 1 50 8.4 TOTAL 154 900 12 84 5.8MR. TOUCHDOWN: With his 50-yard TD run against Vanderbilt, Deuce McAllister has now scored 18 TDs in Ole Miss' last nine games -- including last December's Sanford Independence Bowl -- dating back to Oct. 16, 1999. In the Rebels' last eight regular-season games dating back to last Oct. 16, McAllister has scored 16 of his 31 career TDs. The following chart shows Deuce's TD production in the past nine games dating back to Oct. 16, 1999 against Alabama:
Average per game: 112.51- Sanford Independence Bowl
Date Opponent Rush Rec. KR PR Total10-16-99 Alabama 2 0 0 0 210-30-99 LSU 2 0 0 0 211-6-99 Arkansas 2 0 1 0 311-20-99 Georgia 2 0 0 0 211-25-99 Miss. State 0 0 0 0 012-31-99 Oklahoma -1 1 1 0 0 29-2-00 Tulane 2 1 0 0 39-9-00 Auburn 2 0 0 1 39-16-00 Vanderbilt 1 0 0 0 1 Total 14 2 1 1 18
1- Sanford Independence Bowl.NOTE: Bowl games do not count towards career totals.
DEUCE TOPS AMONG SEC ACTIVE LEADERS: Senior RB Deuce McAllister is the SEC's active career leader in rushing yards, all-purpose yards and total touchdowns scored, and ranks second in scoring among active SEC players. McAllister has rushed for a career total of 2,569 yards, 495 yards ahead of Tennessee's Travis Henry. In all-purpose yards, McAllister's total of 4,008 is 1,421 yards ahead of the SEC's second-active career leader, Florida's Bo Carroll., and is 16 TDs ahead of Tennessee's Henry in total TDs scored. On the SEC's active career scoring charts, McAllister trails the Gators' Jeff Chandler by seven points, 193-186.
DEUCE ON DOAK WALKER AWARD "WATCH LIST": Deuce McAllister is one of 35 pre-season candidates for the 2000 Doak Walker Award Presented by Vectrix, which is award annually to the nation's top college running back. The Southwestern Bell-SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will select eight semifinalists on Nov. 8, and the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will ultimately vote on the winner in late November. The National Selection Committee consists of former All-Pro and All-America running backs, print and electronic media members and selected special representatives.
The winner of the 2000 Doak Walker Award Presented by Vectrix will be announced live on ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 7. The Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet will be held at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas on Jan. 30, 2001.
DEUCE RATED AS TOP SENIOR FOR THE 2001 NFL DRAFT: In addition to all of his numerous pre-season accolades, Deuce McAllister has been rated by National Football Scouting, Inc., as the No. 1 rated college senior for next April's NFL Draft. National Football Scouting, Inc., is one of two combine services that provide analysis to 27 NFL teams. The other, Blesto, rated Deuce as the No. 2 college senior. Deuce has also been named as the top collegiate prospect by Lonestar Football.
McALLISTER A HIT IN CYBERSPACE: Through Sept. 22, Ole Miss' official Deuce McAllister for Heisman website, www.thedeuceisloose.com, has received 82,893 hits since going live on June 13 -- an average of 911 visitors per day. The site received 43,640 hits during the month of August. Thedeuceisloose.com was ranked by Sports Illustrated in its 2000 college football preview as the top website by a school promoting a player for the annual award. The Associated Press also named the site as one of its top five Heisman websites to bookmark for the 2000 college football season. During the season, the site will contain Deuce's updated career statistics, 2000 game-by-game stats and updated bio information.
UNDER THE LIGHTS: Since lights were installed at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field in 1990, Ole Miss has enjoyed great success in home night games (6:00 p.m. start or later). The Rebels are 18-2 (.900 winning percentage) in home night games, starting with their 23-21 win over Memphis State on Sept. 8, 1990. Ole Miss is 7-2 in SEC home night games, including 1-0 versus Kentucky. The following chart shows the Rebels' success in home night games:
Date Opponent Score9/8/90 Memphis State W, 23-219/21/91 Ohio W, 38-149/5/92 Auburn W, 45-219/12/92 Tulane W, 35-910/3/92 Kentucky W, 24-149/11/93 UT-Chattanooga W, 40-79/18/93 Vanderbilt W, 49-79/25/93 Georgia W, 31-149/10/94 Southern Illinois W, 59-39/9/95 Indiana State W, 56-109/23/95 Georgia W, 18-168/31/96 Idaho State W, 38-1410/26/96 Arkansas State W, 38-218/30/97 Central Florida W, 24-23 (ot)9/6/97 SMU W, 23-159/27/97 Vanderbilt W, 15-311/6/97 Arkansas W, 19-911/26/98 Mississippi State L, 6-289/11/99 Arkansas State W, 38-149/9/00 Auburn L, 27-35
OLE MISS VS. SEC EAST: Since the SEC began divisional play in 1992, Ole Miss is 13-12 versus the SEC Eastern Division, including 1-1 against Kentucky. Second-year head coach David Cutcliffe is 2-2 versus the SEC East. The following chart shows how Ole Miss has fared against the SEC East since 1992:
School W-L School W-LFlorida 0-2 South Carolina 2-0Georgia 3-5 Tennessee 0-2Kentucky 1-1 Vanderbilt 7-2
REBELS LOOK TO AVOID BACK-TO-BACK HOME LOSSES: Ole Miss will head into Saturday's game with Kentucky looking to avoid back-to-back losses at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollings-worth Field since November of 1996. LSU defeated the Rebels 39-7 on Nov. 16, and two weeks later, Mississippi State shutout Ole Miss 17-0 on Nov. 30. After opening the 2000 season with a 49-20 home win over Tulane on Sept. 2, the Rebels dropped a 35-27 contest to Auburn on Sept. 9 before traveling to Nashville on Sept. 16.
SEVEN HOME GAMES IN 2000: Saturday's game with Kentucky will be the third of seven home games for Ole Miss in 2000. The Rebels are playing seven home games this season for the first time since 1996, the Rebels played a home game in Jackson and Memphis that season. This season will be the first time that Ole Miss will play seven home games all in Oxford. The Rebels opened their 2000 slate with home contests against Tulane (Sept. 2) and Auburn (Sept. 9). Arkansas State is scheduled to visit Oxford after Kentucky on Oct. 14. Also scheduled to make visits to Oxford in 2000 are: UNLV (Oct. 28), LSU (Nov. 11) and Mississippi State (Nov. 23). The Oct. 28 game with the Rebels of UNLV is the Homecoming game at Ole Miss.
MILLER NAMED TO AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM: Senior QB Romaro Miller was named to the 11-player, NCAA Division I-A 2000 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team on Sept. 20. The Good Works team honors those who show exceptional dedication to community service and to the betterment of the communities in which they live. This is the second straight year an Ole Miss player has been selected to the team as senior RB Deuce McAllister made the 1999 AFCA Good Works Team.
Miller often speaks to various church youth groups with a primary message of dealing with drugs, alcohol and not giving up. He participated in the University of Mississippi Journalism Department workshop for minority high school students, volunteered in the Read-Across-America program at Oxford Elementary School, and has worked with kids at Mother Goose Day Care. Miller also visits local senior citizens and participated in a project which built a community playground and Bramlett Elementary School.
Miller was also named to the 2000 SEC Good Works team and was featured at halftime of Jefferson Pilot's telecast of the Ole Miss-Tulane game on Sept. 2.
MILLER NEARING CAREER TD PASSING MARK: Senior QB Romaro Miller enters the Kentucky game two TD passes shy of tying the Ole Miss career record of 31, held by Kent Austin (1981-85), Archie Manning (1968-70) and Mark Young (1985-88) (see the Ole Miss Record Book on page 24). In his career regular-season starts, Miller has thrown at least one TD pass in 20 of them. Last season, he tied Manning's record of throwing at least one TD pass in eight consecutive games.
MILLER ON JOHNNY UNITAS GOLDEN ARM AWARD "WATCH LIST": Senior QB Romaro Miller is one of 23 senior quarterbacks on the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award "watch list," presented annually to the nation's top senior signal-caller by the Frank Camp Chapter of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation.
The watch list is compiled from a select committee of football experts from across the country. The committee will choose five finalists on Oct. 25. The winner will be announced Nov. 21 with the award presentation to be made in Louisville, Ky., Dec. 8. NFL Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas will attend the ceremony to make the official presentation at the Grand Ballroom of the Galt House East Hotel in Louisville.
VETERAN LEADER: Coaches will often tell you that you can't put a value on the price of a veteran quarterback. Well, did you know that Ole Miss QB Romaro Miller is one of 14 NCAA Division I-A QBs to have recorded 20 or more career starts. Miller made his 23rd career regular-season start this past Saturday against Auburn. Including bowl games, Miller has started 25 games. The following chart shows the 14 NCAA Division I-A signal-caller with 20 or more starts through games of Sept. 16:
Quarterback, School Starts1. Jay Stoner (Sr.), Wyoming 332. Jason McKinley (Sr.), Houston 32*3. Ryan Kealy (Sr.), Arizona St. 314. Cleo Lemon (Sr.), Arkansas St. 305. Butchie Washington (Sr.), Akron 29*6. Drew Brees (Sr.), Purdue 27*T7. Quincy Carter (Jr.), Georgia 26* Pete Shepherd (Jr.), C. Michigan 26T9. Mike Bath (Sr.), Miami (OH) 24* Chris Weinke (Sr.), Florida State 24T11. Romaro Miller (Sr.), Ole Miss 23 Major Applewhite (Jr.), Texas 23 Mike McMahon (Sr.), Rutgers 2314. Wes Counts (Jr.), Middle Tenn. St. 22**- Consecutive starts.-- compiled by the University of Houston SID Office.
ZEIGLER DOUBLES PRODUCTION: Sophomore TE Doug Zeigler has eight receptions for 92 yards this season, doubling his reception output of four from a year ago. Zeigler matched last season's total with four catches for 53 yards in the Rebels' 49-20 win over Tulane in the season-opener on Sept. 2. Zeigler came to Ole Miss in 1998 as a quarterback and redshirted while switching to TE. He played in 11 games last season, including the Independence Bowl against Oklahoma, drawing starts against Arkansas (11/6) and Mississippi State (11/25).
The following chart shows Zeigler's game-by-game receiving totals:
Date Opponent Rec. Yds. TD9/2 Tulane 4 53 09/9 Auburn 1 1 09/16 Vanderbilt 3 38 0 TOTALS 8 92 0
STRONG, CLAXTON OUT INDEFINITELY: Junior LB Eddie Strong (Batesville, Miss.) missed his third straight game against Vanderbilt with a stress fracture in his left foot. He underwent surgery on Sept. 14 to repair the stress fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. He will be out indefinitely. Strong was one of 10 SEC players to be named to the 2000 Butkus Award "Watch List," after leading Ole Miss in tackles last season with 72 (49 solo).
Sophomore center Ben Claxton is also out indefinitely after suffering a fracture in his lower left leg (fibula) during the third quarter of the season-opener with Tulane. Senior Charlie Perkins has started the last two games against Auburn and Vanderbilt in Claxton's absence.
LINEBACKER SHUFFLE: With injuries to senior Shawn Johnson (Brewton, Ala.) and junior Eddie Strong, Ole Miss was forced to shuffle its linebacker corp against Vanderbilt. The Rebels started junior Kevin Thomas at WLB, sophomore Lanier Goethie at MLB and senior Chad Cook at SLB. For Goethie, it was his first career start.
Cook recorded a career-high eight tackles (five solo) against the Commodores, while Goethie and Thomas recorded three each.
Johnson saw limited action and made four stops, including one TFL (-2 yards). Senior Amzie Williams (Philadelphia, Miss.), who started the season's first two games at MLB in place of Strong, was in on three tackles against Vanderbilt.
TAYLOR ON THORPE AWARD "WATCH LIST": Junior FS Syniker Taylor is one of five SEC defensive backs to be listed on the 2000 pre-season Jim Thorpe Award "Watch List." The award has been presented annually since 1986 to the best defensive back in college football by the Jim Thorpe Association. Finalists for the award will be invited to ESPN's College Football Awards Show at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., where the winner will be announced Dec. 7. A formal presentation of the award will be at a banquet held in February in Oklahoma City.
Taylor was credited with six tackles (three solo) at Vanderbilt, and also had two passed defensed and returned a fumble 46 yards. The fumble recovery thwarted a fourth-quarter Commodore drive inside the Rebels' 30-yard line with Ole Miss leading 12-7. Through three games, Taylor is the Rebels' leading tackler with 22 (14 solo) and also leads the team in fumble recoveries (two), and is tied for the team-lead in passes defensed (four).
KING ON RAY GUY AWARD "WATCH LIST": Senior P Reagan King is one of 32 punters and one of three from SEC to be named to the first Ray Guy Award "watch list" for the nation's top punter.
King is averaging 40.5 yards per punt on 17 attempts this season with a long of 51. He has placed six punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Against Vanderbilt, King averaged 40.6 yards per kick while tying a career-high with eight punts. He tied his season-long of 51 yards and placed two kicks inside the Commodores' 20. His final punt with 1:05 left in the game pinned Vanderbilt at its own one-yard line.
MAGEE WEARING CHUCKY MULLINS' NO. 38 IN 2000: Senior SS Anthony Magee is wearing No. 38 this season as he is the recipient of this year's Chucky Mullins' Courage Award. The award was started in the spring of 1990 by the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Ole Miss and is awarded annually to the Rebels' most outstanding defensive player. Prior to this season, Magee was No. 27.
HEARD JOINS CENTURY CLUB: With his second of five receptions against Tulane on Sept. 2, senior WR Grant Heard became the eighth player at Ole Miss to record at least 100 catches in a career. Cory Peterson (1996-99) was the last to join the 100-receptions club, doing so last year against Vanderbilt on Sept. 18. Heard has 107 career receptions for 1,466 yards, ranking eighth on the school's career list for receptions and receiving yards. He needs five catches to tie Buford McGee (1979-83) for seventh-place on the Ole Miss career list, and is eight yards shy of catching Ta'Boris Fisher for seventh-place in career receiving yards (see the Ole Miss Record Book on page 24).
Heard's 107 career receptions ranks second among SEC active players, and is 1,503 receiving yards is fourth among active players.
2000 CAPTAINS: Seniors DE Derrick Burgess, DE Shane Elam, RB Deuce McAllister and QB Romaro Miller are Ole Miss' captains for the 2000 season.
EXTRA POINTS:
* The Rebels are 4-4 in their last eight home games dating back to last season, including 1-4 in SEC games.
* Last Saturday's game was the 1,000th in Ole Miss history dating back to the Rebels' first-ever game on Sept. 11, 1893. All-time, Ole Miss has a 554-411-35 (.572 winning percentage).
* Senior QB Romaro Miller is second among SEC active players in passing yards (4,822) and completions (377), through games of Sept. 17.
* The seven points allowed by the Rebel defense against Vanderbilt was the first time they have held an opponent below double-digits since shutting out Memphis 3-0 to open the 1999 season.
