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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Game Notes
11/19/2001 | Football
Updated Nov. 20, 2001
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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Thursday, November 22, 2001
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
SITE: Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field (52,884) in Starkville, Miss.
TV: Thursday's game will be televised by ESPN (Mike Tirico, play-by-play, Lee Corso, analyst, Kirk Herbstreit, analyst, and Dr. Jerry Punch, sideline reporter).
RADIO: Thursday's game and all Ole Miss games can be heard on stations along the Ole Miss Football Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play, Pete Cordelli, color analyst, Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter, Gary Darby, pregame show host). The radio broadcast can also be heard on the official Ole Miss athletic website at www.OleMissSports.com.
IN THE POLLS: Neither Ole Miss or Mississippi State are ranked in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 or The Associated Press Top 25. The Rebels did receive four votes in the AP poll and two votes in the Coaches.
SERIES INFO: Thursday's game will be the 98th meeting all-time between the two in-state rivals, dating back to 1901. Ole Miss leads the series 55-36-6. It is tied for the 14th longest rivalry in NCAA Division I-A history. The NCAA considers it the 10th longest uniterrupted rivalry, listing this as the 86th consecutive year the two teams have played, though, neither school fielded a squad in 1943 when football was abolished at all state-supported schools. Thursday's game will be the 74th edition of "The Battle of the Golden Egg", as the Rebels and Bulldogs began playing for the trophy in 1927. Ole Miss leads the "Egg Bowl" series 49-19-5. The visiting team has won five of the last seven meetings, though, the home team has won two straight. Ole Miss won last year, 45-30 in Oxford to break a two-game skid in the series. Ole Miss leads the all-time series 19-8-3 in Starkville.
OLE MISS HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE: David Cutcliffe is in his third full season as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. He is 22-12 with the Rebels since taking over the program on Dec. 6, 1998, less than a month prior to leading Ole Miss to a 35-18 win in his head coaching debut against Texas Tech in the Sanford Independence Bowl. This is Cutcliffe's first head coaching position. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, he spent 17 seasons as an assistant on both Johnny Majors' and Phillip Fulmer's staffs at Tennessee. Cutcliffe is 1-1 against Mississippi State and Bulldog Head Coach Jackie Sherrill.
MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH JACKIE SHERRILL: Jackie Sherrill is in his 10th season at Mississippi State and has compiled a 69-55-2 record. He is 174-100-4 in his 23rd season as a collegiate head coach, including stops at Washington State (1976), Pittsburgh (1977-81) and Texas A&M (1982-88). Sherrill is 6-4 versus Ole Miss, and 1-1 versus Cutcliffe.
MISSISSIPPI STATE SCOUTING REPORT: The Bulldogs will bring a 2-7 mark into Thursday's encounter with Ole Miss. MSU, like Ole Miss, has dropped two straight heading into Thursday's game as the Bulldogs were edged, 24-21, by Arkansas last Saturday in Fayetteville. Mississippi State is averaging 13.6 points and 312.3 yards of offense per game. Sophomore QB Kevin Fant, who made his first career start last weekend, has completed 60-of-121 passes for 743 yards with four TDs and eight INTs. Senior QB Wayne Madkin has connected on 93-of-185 passes this season for 1,012 yards with 5 TDs and seven INTs. Junior SE Terrell Grindle is the Bulldogs' leading receiver with 32 catches for 358 yards. Sophomore FLK Justin Jenkins has 28 receptions for 412 yards and six TDs. Junior RB Dontae Walker and senior RB Dicenzo Miller have combined for 878 yards rushing and four TDs. Walker has 442 yards on 107 carries with two TDs, and Miller has gained 436 yards on 98 rushing attempts with two scores. Defensively, the Bulldogs are allowing an average of 24.3 points and 356.6 yards per game. Through the air, Mississippi State is allowing an average of 195.4 yards per game. Junior DE Mario Haggan and sophomore LB T.J. Mawhinney lead the team with 75 and 71 tackles, respectively. Haggan is also tied for the team lead in TFLs with seven for -30 yards. Senior RE Conner Stephens and senior safety Shawn Byrdsong have both registered a team-leading 3.0 QB sacks, and junior FS Josh Morgan leads the team with three interceptions.
2001 MISSISSIPPI STATEREBEL GAME NOTES REBEL NOTEBOOK:
SCHEDULE/RESULTS (2-7, 1-6 SEC)SEPT. 3 MEMPHIS W, 30-10SEPT. 20 SOUTH CAROLINA* L, 14-16Sept. 29 at Florida* L, 0-52Oct. 6 at Auburn* L, 14-16OCT. 13 TROY STATE L, 9-21OCT. 20 LSU* L, 0-42NOV. 3 KENTUCKY* W, 17-14Nov. 10 at Alabama* L, 17-24Nov. 17 at Arkansas* L, 21-24NOV. 22 OLE MISS* 6:30 P.M.DEC. 1 BRIGHAM YOUNG 7 P.M.
* - SEC Game All Times Central
* The Rebels need a win to secure their fifth straight season with at least seven wins for the first time since having 12 consecutive seasons with at least seven victories from 1952-1963.
* At 6-3, Ole Miss is bowl eligible for the fifth straight year. The Rebels are currently the only SEC West team to have advanced to a bowl in each of the past four seasons, making trips to the 1997 Motor City, 1998 and 1999 Independence and 2000 Music City Bowls.
* Last Saturday's game with Georgia was the Rebels' first against a ranked team this season, and their first since last season's Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.
* Last Saturday's loss to Georgia marked the first time in six games this season that Ole Miss has lost when leading at halftime. The Rebels held a 9-7 halftime lead versus the Bulldogs. Ole Miss is now 20-5 under Head Coach David Cutcliffe when leading at the break.
* Ole Miss is outscoring the opposition 103-45 in the fourth quarter this season.
* The Rebels are 6-10 in November since 1997.
* With the Vanderbilt game having been rescheduled for Dec. 1 in Oxford, this will be the first time since 1974 that Thursday night's game with Mississippi State won't be Ole Miss' regular-season finale.
* Ole Miss ranks as the SEC's least penalized team in terms of penalties per game (5.0) and penalty yards per game (41.7.
OLE MISS SEC WEST'S WINNINGEST PROGRAM SINCE 1997: In addition to being the only SEC Western Division team to play in a bowl game each of the past four seasons, Ole Miss has also posted the best overall winning percentage in the West during that span. The Rebels are 36-21 since 1997, having won 63.2 percent of their games. Ole Miss also has the best winning percentage in the SEC West since Head Coach David Cutcliffe's first full season in Oxford in 1999, having gone 21-12 for a .636 winning percentage. The following charts show the overall records of all six SEC Western Division schools since the start of the 1997 season, and since Cutcliffe's first full season in Oxford in 1999. Records include bowl games:
Since 1997School W-L Pct. BowlsOle Miss 36-21 .632 4Mississippi State 35-21 .625 3Arkansas 34-23 .596 3Auburn 34-24 .586 2LSU 29-25 .537 2Alabama 29-28 .509 2REBELS ON TV:
Since 1999School W-L Pct. BowlsOle Miss 21-12 .636 2Arkansas 21-13 .618 2Auburn 21-13 .618 1Mississippi State 20-13 .606 2LSU 17-15 .531 1Alabama 18-16 .529 1
* Thursday's game will be the sixth of seven scheduled TV appearances for Ole Miss this season as ESPN will carry the game at 6:30 p.m.
* This is the fourth straight year that ESPN has carried the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night.
* It will be the Rebels' first appearance on ESPN since last December's Music City Bowl. Ole Miss has twice appeared on ESPN2 this season versus LSU (W, 35-24) on Oct. 27, and in the seven-overtime game against Arkansas (L, 56-58) on Nov. 3.
* Thursday's contest will be the Rebels' fourth straight game that has been televised as Jefferson-Pilot aired this past Saturday's game with Georgia.
* Ole Miss will close the regular season with five consecutive TV games as JP will televise the Dec. 1 home game with Vanderbilt at 11:30 a.m. JP was originally scheduled to carry the game on Sept. 15 before it was postponed.
* Thursday's game will the Rebels' 118th all-time TV appearance dating back to their television debut against Georgia Tech in the 1953 Sugar Bowl.
* The Rebels are 52-63-2 (.453 winning percentage) all-time in TV games, including 5-4 against Mississippi State.
* Ole Miss is 6-7 (.462 winning percentage) all-time on ESPN.
* The Rebels will be making their 22nd appearance on regional or national television under Head Coach David Cutcliffe, including their 14th on either ESPN or ESPN2.
THURSDAY'S EGG BOWL MARKS 50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ONE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S GREATEST PERFORMANCES: Thursday night's Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State will mark the 50th anniversary of not only one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the series, but in college football history. On Dec. 1, 1951, the Rebels' Showboat Boykin rushed 14 times for 187 yards on 14 carries and scored all seven of Ole Miss' TDs in a 49-7 win in Starkville. Only Illinois' Howard Griffith has surpassed Boykin's feat, as he rushed for eight TDs against Southern Illinois on Sept. 22, 1990.
ZEIGLER UNDERGOES SURGERY: Junior TE Doug Zeigler (Wilmington, Ohio) underwent surgery Sunday to have a plate inserted into his right forearm after he broke in last Saturday's game versus Georgia. He is expected to miss the rest of the season. Zeigler had caught 21 passes for 281 yards and four TDs in nine games this season. He started in seven of the nine games.
MANNING SEMIFINALIST FOR DAVEY O'BRIEN AWARD: Sophomore QB Eli Manning has been named as one of 12 national semifinalists for the 2001 Davey O'Brien Award, presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback. Manning is one of two sophomores to be listed among the 12 semifinalists. The O'Brien Advisory Committee, composed of national sportswriters and commentators, will vote again later this month to trim the list to three finalists, which will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 27.
The Walter Camp Football Foundation earlier listed Manning as one of the 10 leading candidates for its prestigious "Player of the Year" award, which is the fourth oldest individual college football award in the country.
NOTING ELI (MANNING):
* Leads the nation in TD-to-INT ratio, having thrown 25 TD passes to 3 INTs for a ratio of 8.3-1.
* Also ranks in the top 10 nationally in completions per game (4th), completion percentage (5th), and TD passes (T-7th).
* Thrown 14 TD passes in the last four games against Middle Tennessee (10/20), LSU (10/27), Arkansas (11/3) and Georgia (11/17).
* Set career highs for completions and passing attempts against Georgia, completing 35-of-47 for 233 yards with two TDs and one INT.
* 35 completions was two shy of the Ole Miss single-game record of 37 set by Kent Austin (1981-85) against Tennessee in 1982.
* 74.5 completion percentage versus Georgia was the second-best single-game mark in school history for 40 passing attempts, behind Stewart Patridge (1994-97), who connected on 76.7 percent (33x43) of his passes against Georgia in 1997.
* Has completed at least 20 passes in 8-of-9 games this season. The only game in which he did not reach 20 completions was at Kentucky on Sept. 29, when he completed 19-of-36 passes for 268 yards.
* Has thrown multi-TD passes in 7-of-9 games this season, including four consecutive, and in 8-of-10 games since last December's Music City Bowl.
* Was listed as one of the top 100 college players in the country in ESPN.com's, The Blitz midseason rankings. He was 11th among quarterbacks on the list.
CHART-TOPPER MANNING: Sophomore QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) has set four Ole Miss single-season or career marks this season and is closing in on several others. In addition, through nine games this season, Manning holds the highest single-season completion percentage (66.3) and pass efficiency rating (151.3) in school history among passers with a minimum of 120 passing attempts. The 151.3 efficiency rating is 14.9 points higher than the current school single-season record of 136.4 set by Glynn Griffing in 1962 (Manning has also attempted 210 more passes than Griffing's total of 122 in 1962). The following is a list of single-season and career records set by Manning this season, and marks he is .
* 25 TD passes this season breaks the school single-season record of 18 set by Charlie Conerly in 1947 and Romaro Miller in 2000.
* Has at least one TD pass in 10 straight games dating back to last December's Music City Bowl, breaking the school record of eight set by his father, Archie Manning (1968-1970), and Romaro Miller (1997-2000).
* Has thrown for at least 200 yards in all nine games this season, setting a school record for consecutive 200-yard passing games.
* Set a school record with six straight games of at least 250 yards passing during the season's first six games.
* Two, 300-yard passing games this season is one shy of Stewart Patridge's school single-season record of three set in 1997.
* The two 300-yard passing games is also one shy of the school career record of three held by Archie Manning (1968-1970), Romaro Miller (1997-2000) and Stewart Patridge (1996-1997).
* 220 completions is eight shy of the Ole Miss single-season record of 228 set by Stewart Patridge in 1997.
* Needs 20 passing attempts to tie Stewart Patridge's single-season mark of 352 set in 1997.
* Is second on the Ole Miss single-season list for passing yards with 2,449. He needs 218 passing yards to tie Stewart Patridge's single-season record of 2,667 set in 1997.
* Ranks second on the school single-season list for total offense with 2,441 yards, 118 away from Stewart Patridge's 1997 record of 2,559.
* With two TD passes against Georgia, Eli passed his father, Archie Manning (1968-70), for second on the Ole Miss single-season chart for TDs responsible for with 25. Charlie Conerly (1942, 1946-47) holds the record with 27 set in 1947.
* Manning also became the fastest player in school history this year to reach the 1,000 and 2,000-yard marks for passing in a season. Manning reached the 1,000-yard mark in the fourth game of the season versus Arkansas State (10/6) to break the previous mark of five, and he eclipsed 2,000 yards against Arkansas (11/3) in game No. 8 to better the previous Ole Miss record of nine.
ELI'S TD-TO-INT RATIO NATION'S BEST: Sophomore QB Eli Manning ranks first in the nation in TD-to-INT ratio, throwing 8.3 TDs to every one interception, having thrown 25 TD passes to just three picks. Of the nation's top five passers in TD-to-INT ratio, Manning's 36.9 average passing attempts per game is second behind Fresno State's David Carr, who is averaging 37.5. The following chart shows the nation's top five passers in terms of TD-to-INT ratio:
Player, Team GP Att TD-Int RatioEli Manning, Ole Miss 9 332 25-3 8.3-1Brandon Doman, BYU 11 346 26-5 5.2-1Byron Leftwich, Marshall 10 258 31-6 5.2-1David Carr, Fresno State 11 413 34-7 4.9-1Joey Harrington, Oregon 10 300 23-5 4.6-1MANNING SHINES IN THE FOURTH QUARTER: The fourth quarter has been sophomore QB Eli Manning's time to shine this season. Manning has put together fourth-quarter comeback wins against Alabama (10/13) and LSU (10/27), and led the Rebels on a fourth-quarter scoring march against Arkansas (11/3) to force overtime. For the season, Manning has a pass efficiency rating of 176.53 during the final 15 minutes of play, 22.56 points than in any other quarter of play in regulation. He has completed 46-of-69 passes in the final 15 minutes of play for 612 yards with eight TDs to just one interception. His eight fourth-quarter TD passes is also the most in any quarter this season, despite not playing in the fourth quarter in the season opener against Murray State and attempting only one fourth-quarter pass against Middle Tenn-essee with the Rebels comfortably ahead. The following charts break down Manning's numbers by quarter, and charts his big-play performances in the final stanza during the 2001 campaign:
Quarter-by-Quarter StatisticsQuarter C-A-I Yds TD Pct. Eff.First 50-70-0 570 3 .714 153.97Second 60-92-1 624 7 .652 145.13Third 54-87-1 546 2 .621 120.08Fourth* 46-69-1 612 8 .667 176.53Overtime 10-14-0 97 5 .714 247.49*- Did not play in the fourth quarter vs. Murray St., and attempted only one pass against Middle Tenn.
Manning's Game-by-Game
Fourth Quarter Statistics
| Opponent | C-A-I | Yds | TD |
| Murray State (9/1) | DNP | ||
| at Auburn (9/8) | 8-12-0 | 104 | 1 |
| Key Plays: 50-yard TD pass to Omar Rayford to pull Rebels within 27-14, 5x9, 40 yards on UM's last scoring drive to make it 27-21. | |||
| at Kentucky (9/29) | 5-8-0 | 69 | 0 |
| Key Plays: Leading 35-31 late in the fourth, completed a 43-yard pass to Jamie Armstrong to set-up Toward Sanford's 1-yard TD to seal the 42-31 win. | |||
| at Arkansas State (10/6) | 3-3-0 | 65 | 1 |
| Key Plays: Delivers knockout punch with a 51- yard TD pass to Chris Collins with 6:08 remaining to make it 35-17. | |||
| Alabama (10/13) | 9-17-0 | 155 | 1 |
| Key Plays: Completed passes of 21 to Doug Zeigler and 23 to Chris Collins to set-up CharlesStackhouse's 19-yard run to close Ole Miss' deficit to 24-20 with 9:24 left ... Hooked up with Jamie Armstrong for 24 yards on a 1st-and-20, Completed 41-yard pass to Toward Sanford to set-up three-yard swing pass to Joe Gunn for game-winning TD. | |||
| Middle Tennessee (10/20) | 1-1-0 | 27 | 1 |
| Key Plays: Completed only pass attempt of the quarter to Bill Flowers for a 27-yard TD pass to extend the Rebels' lead to 38-10. | |||
| LSU (10/27) | 6-10-0 | 65 | 2 |
| Key Plays: Completed a 17-yard TD pass to Doug Zeigler with 6:26 left to give Ole Miss a 28-24 lead ... Hit Zeigler on a four-yard TD pass with 2:19 remaining to seal the Rebels' 35-24 win. | |||
| Arkansas (11/4) | 6-8-0 | 48 | 1 |
| Key Plays: Completed 6-of-8 passes for 48 yards on a 15-play, 85-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 17-17 with 4:50 remaining and send the game into overtime ... Capped the drive with a three -yard TD pass to Jason Armstead. | |||
| Georgia (11/17) | 8-10-1 | 79 | 1 |
| Key Plays: Completed 5-of-5 passes for 71 yards, including an 18-yard TD pass to Jamie Armstrong on Ole Miss' scoring drive. |
OFFENSIVE NOTES:
* The 325 points scored by the Rebels this season is four shy of the school record of 329 set by the 1959 team.
* The 15 points scored last Saturday against Georgia was the Rebels' lowest offensive output of the season. The previous low was 21 in a six-point loss at Auburn on Sept. 8.
* Last Saturday's game also snapped a string of three straight games in which the Rebels had scored 30 or more points. For the season, Ole Miss has posted at least 30 points in 6-of-9 games, and in 8-of-11 dating back to last year's Egg Bowl.
* Georgia limited the Rebels to 28 yards rushing on 20 attempts last Saturday, Ole Miss' lowest rushing output since Alabama held the Rebels to 26 yards on Oct. 19, 1996.
JUNIOR JASON ARMSTEAD (MOSS POINT, MISS.)
* Set season highs for both receptions and receiving yards against Georgia, catching seven passes for 73 yards.
* Tallied 129 all-purpose yards against Georgia on 10 touches, one shy of his season high of 130 against Murray State in the season opener. Armstead returned two kickoffs for 41 yards and had one punt for return for 15 yards in addition to his 73 yards receiving.
* Tied an Ole Miss single-game record with three TD passes in the Rebels' seven-overtime loss to Arkansas on Nov. 3.
SOPHOMORE WR CHRIS COLLINS (GLOSTER, MISS.)
* Collins' six TD receptions is three shy of the school single-season record of nine set by Ken Toler in 1980 and Grant Heard in 2000.
* His three 100-yard receiving games this season is a new Ole Miss single-season record. He recorded 100-yard receiving games against Murray State (6 rec., 100 yards, 3 TDs), Kentucky (7-119-1) and Alabama (8-110-0).
* Collins is one, 100-yard receiving game shy of the Ole Miss career record of four set by Floyd Franks (1968-1970).
SENIOR RB JOE GUNN (AMORY, MISS.)
* Passed the 2,500-yard mark in career rushing last Saturday versus Georgia. He now has 2,506 career rushing yards to rank third on the Ole Miss career list. He needs 148 yards to tie Kayo Dottley (1947-50) for second place with 2,654 yards.
* 570 career rushing attempts is second all-time at Ole Miss, 46 shy of the career mark of 616 set by Deuce McAllister (1997-2000).
* Has 100-yard rushing games this season against Kentucky (113, 9/29), Middle Tennessee (111, 10/20) and Arkansas (102, 11/3).
* 11 career 100-yard rushing games is second all-time at Ole Miss, three shy of Deuce McAllister's (1997-2000) school record of 14.
METCALF IN "BAD COMPANY": Senior OT Terrence Metcalf (Clarksdale, Miss.) was listed among some "bad" company in ESPN The Magazine's Oct. 29 issue, as the magazine featured the nation's five most fearsome blockers on the offensive line.
METCALF ON OUTLAND TROPHY "WATCH LIST": Senior OT Terrence Metcalf is one of 26 players on the watch list for the 2001 Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation's top interior offensive or defensive lineman. The 2001 Outland Trophy winner will be named Dec. 6 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show from Orlando, Fla.
METCALF RATED HIGH FOR NEXT APRIL'S NFL DRAFT: Senior OT Terrence Metcalf has been projected to be one of the top offensive linemen selected in next April's NFL Draft by both The Sporting News and ESPN.com draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. In its 2002 NFL Draft Preview, The Sporting News listed Metcalf as the nation's top prospect at off-ensive guard, even though, Metcalf has started all nine games at left tackle this season. Metcalf has played both guard and tackle during his career at Ole Miss. In its preview, The Sporting News went on to say that Metcalf could go as high as some of the top offensive tackles. Kiper lists Metcalf as the nation's 16th best senior prospect, fourth among offensive linemen.
DEFENSIVE NOTES:
* Ole Miss ranks first in the SEC in passing defense (136.1 ypg), pass efficiency defense (97.8) and completion percentage defense (46.5). Nationally, the Rebels are second in passing defense, fifth in completion percentage defense and ninth in pass efficiency defense. * Junior LB Eddie Strong (Batesville, Miss.) needs 15 tackles to become the first Rebel defender to record 100 tackles in a season since current Green Bay Packer Nate Wayne (1994-1997) registered 115 in 1996.
* Sophomore DB Von Hutchins and redshirt freshman LB Rob Robertson both intercepted their first career passes against Georgia.
* The Rebels have intercepted a pass in 8-of-9 games this season, and in 18 of the last 19 contests dating back to last year's game at Vanderbilt on Sept. 16, 2000.
THOMAS WEARING CHUCKY MULLINS' NO. 38: Senior LB Kevin Thomas (Courtland, Miss.) received the 2001 Chucky Mullins Courage Award this spring, and as a result, is wearing the late Mullins' No. 38 this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES: Junior Jason Armstead leads the SEC and ranks ranks fifth nationally in kickoff returns, averaging 30.9 yards per return ... Jason Armstead's 30.9-yard average per return is currently first on the Ole Miss single-season list with a minimum of 10 returns ... Redshirt freshman PK Jonathan Nichols' (Greenwood, Miss.) 38 extra points made this season is one shy of the Ole Miss single-season record of 39 set by Cloyce Hinton in 1971, who converted 39-of-42 PAT attempts (see the Updated Ole Miss Record Book in the box on the right) ... Sophomore PK Lee Rogers (Meridian, Miss.) attempted his first career field goal against Georgia. He missed on a 48-yarder in the second quarter and later made a 37-yard kick with 1:22 left in the first half ... Redshirt freshman P Cody Ridgeway (Jackson, Tenn.) boomed a career-long 75-yard punt in the third quarter versus Georgia. It is tied for the eighth longest punt in school history and is the longest since Lonny Calicchio's 79-yarder against Auburn on Sept. 2, 1995. Ridgeway's 75-yard punt is also the second-longest in the SEC this season.
