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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Game Notes
8/24/2001 | Football
Aug. 31, 2001
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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Saturday, September 1, 2001
TIME: 6:00 p.m.
SITE: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field (45,577) in Oxford, Miss.
TV: Saturday's game will not be televised.
RADIO: Saturday'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.Ole MissSports.com.
IN THE POLLS: Ole Miss is ranked in neither of this week's Associated Press or the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls. The Rebels did, however, receive six votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll and two in the AP rankings.
SERIES INFO: Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Ole Miss and Murray State in football.
THE COACHES: David Cutcliffe is entering his third full season as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. He is 16-9 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 Cutcilffe'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 ... Joe Pannunzio is entering his second year as the head coach of Murray State. A former Ole Miss assistant from 1994-1998 under Tommy Tuberville, Pannunzio guided the Racers to a 6-5 record last season. Murray State is Pannunzio's first head coaching assignment.
MURRAY STATE SCOUTING REPORT: The Racers are coming off a season in which they finished 6-5 overall, 4-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference (4th). Seven starters return on offense, including sophomore QB Stewart Childress and a pair of rushers that combined for over 1,600 yards last season, from a unit that averaged 452.9 yards and 33.3 points per game and last season. Childress completed 58.7 percent of his passes last season as a redshirt freshman and threw for 2,928 yards and 20 TDs. Senior SE Michael Slater is the team's top returning receiver after catching 43 passes for 819 yards and seven scores last year. On the ground, the Racers averaged 176.5 yards per game behind the running of juniors Mario Riley and Garner Byars. Riley averaged 7.5 yards per carry last season, gaining 852 yards on 113 carries and 11 TDs. Byars averaged 6.0 yards per carry, netting 788 yards on 131 attempts and six scores. Defensively, Murray State allowed an average of 426.7 yards and 30.2 points per game. Senior SLB Zelbert Johnson is the team's top returning tackler. Johnson registered 79 stops a year ago, including three TFLs.
2000 MURRAY STATE RESULTS (6-5)SOUTHERN ILLINOIS W, 42-20at Samford L, 17-19at Middle Tennessee L, 28-44INDIANA STATE W, 41-24WESTERN KENTUCKY L, 38-48at UT-Martin W, 48-3at Eastern Illinois L, 7-48at SE Missouri State W, 38-28TENNESSEE TECH L, 21-36at Eastern Kentucky W, 24-22TENNESSEE STATE W, 62-40REBEL GAME NOTES
OPENERS: Saturday's contest with Murray State marks the kickoff of the 107th season of Ole Miss football dating back to 1893. The Rebels are 79-22-5 (.769 winning percentage) in season openers, and have won five straight openers. Auburn was the last team to beat Ole Miss in its season opener, defeating the Rebels, 46-13 on Sept. 2, 1995, on the Plains. Ole Miss opened last season with a 49-20 home win over the Tulane Green Wave.
HOME OPENERS: In home openers, the Rebels are an impressive 89-12-4 (.867 winning percentage) and have won 13 consecutive home openers. Ole Miss defeated Tulane, 49-20 last year in its home opener. When playing their home opener in Oxford (Ole Miss use to play some home games in both Jackson and Memphis), the Rebels are 66-5-3 (.907 winning percentage). Arkansas was the last team to defeat Ole Miss in its home opener, defeating the Rebels, 31-10 in Jackson on Sept. 12, 1987.
WHEN THEY'RE ONE IN THE SAME: Ole Miss is 55-3-3 (. 926 winning percentage) when its season and home openers are one in the same. The Rebels have won 10 consecutive such openers, with Texas A&M being the last school to defeat Ole Miss in a season/home opener, 23-20 on Sept. 6, 1980, in Jackson.
OLE MISS SETS NEW MARK FOR SEASON TICKETS SOLD: OLE MISS SETS NEW MARK FOR SEASON TICKETS SOLD: For the third straight year Ole Miss established a new record for football season tickets sold. The Ole Miss Ticket Office recently sold out of its remaining season end zone, sideline and student tickets to bring the order total to 37,774. Home games against Alabama (Oct. 13), Middle Tennessee State (Oct. 20), Arkansas (Nov. 3) and Georgia (Nov. 17) are sold out. There are still approximately 700 tickets left for the Sept. 15 home game against Vanderbilt.
FIVE TO BE INDUCTED INTO OLE MISS HALL OF FAME SATURDAY: Ole Miss will inducted five new members its Athletic Hall of Fame today. The induction ceremony was held at the stage in The Grove at 2 p.m., and the inductees will also be honored at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field before tonight's season opener with Murray State. This year's inductees are: Jeff Calhoun (1977-80, baseball), Carlos Clark (1980-83, men's basketball), Mac Haik (1965-67, football), Jeff Herrod (1984-87, football) and Carol Ross (1978-81, women's basketball).
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ...: Saturday's meeting with Murray State will be Ole Miss' first game against an NCAA Division I-AA school since 1996 when the Rebels played both Idaho State and VMI to open the season. Ole Miss beat the Bengals, 38-14 to kickoff the 1996 campaign in Oxford, and then defeated the Keydets, 31-7 a week later in Jackson.
REBELS VS. THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE: Tonight's game with Murray State will be Ole Miss' first-ever against a team that currently competes in the Ohio Valley Conference.
OLE MISS-MURRAY STATE CONNECTIONS: In addition to Murray State Head Coach Joe Pannunzio, the Racers feature several other coaches and support staff that have Ole Miss connections. Assistant coaches Derek Jones (Ole Miss `96) and Matt Luke (Ole Miss `00) both played football for the Rebels. Jones, the Racers' secondary coach, served as one of Ole Miss' permanent team captains in 1996 and was also that year's recipient of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award. Following a professional career in both the Canadian Football and Arena Football leagues, Jones served as a graduate assistant coach at Ole Miss under David Cutcliffe in 1999. Luke was a three-year starter for the Rebels at center and was a team captain of the 1998 team. He then served as a student coach for the Rebels in 1999 before joining Pannunzio's staff at Murray State as the offensive line coach.
Others on the Murray State staff with Ole Miss ties include wide receivers coach John Lewis, head athletic trainer Alan Lollar, student assistant coach, Morris Scott and strength and conditioning coach Mike Vinson. Lewis was a graduate assistant coach at Ole Miss in 1997. Lollar served as an assistant athletic trainer for the Rebels from 1987-92. Scott was a four-year letterwinner at defensive end for the Rebels from 1995-1998, and Vinson was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Ole Miss from 1997-2000.
OLE MISS LOOKS TO EXTEND REGULAR SEASON NON-CONFERENCE WIN STREAK: Ole Miss enters the 2001 season with 19 consecutive regular-season non-conference victories dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994, in New Orleans. The last time the Rebels lost a regular-season non-conference game was against Memphis, 17-16 in Oxford on Nov. 5, 1994. During the 19-game streak, Ole Miss has outscored the opposition 639-299. Under Head Coach David Cutcliffe, the Rebels are 6-0 in regular season non-conference games.
Including bowl games, Ole Miss has won 22 of its last 23 games against non-SEC teams. West Virginia snapped the Rebels' overall 22-game non-conference win streak with a 49-38 victory in last December's Music City Bowl. The following chart shows Ole Miss' 19-game non-conference win streak during the regular season:
Date Opponent Score10-28-2000 UNLV (OT) W, 43-4010-7-2000 Arkansas State W, 35-109-2-2000 Tulane W, 49-209-9-99 Tulane W, 20-139-11-99 Arkansas State W, 38-149-4-99 at Memphis W, 3-010-24-98 Arkansas State W, 30-179-26-98 at SMU (OT) W, 48-419-5-98 Memphis W, 30-1011-15-97 at Tulane W, 41-249-6-97 SMU W, 23-158-30-97 Central Florida (OT) W, 24-2310-26-96 Arkansas State W, 38-219-7-96 VMI W, 31-78-31-96 Idaho State W, 38-1411-4-95 Memphis W, 34-310-7-95 Tulane W, 20-179-9-95 Indiana State W, 56-1011-12-94 Tulane W, 38-0UNDER 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), compiling a 20-3 record (.870 winning percentage). The Rebels own an 11-0 mark against non-conference opponents in home night games, and are 9-3 in SEC home night games. Two of the Rebels' three losses in home night games came last year, losing 35-27 to Auburn on Sept. 9, and 20-9 to LSU on Nov. 11. 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, 27-359/30/00 Kentucky W, 35-1711/11/00 LSU L, 9-2011/23/00 Mississippi State W, 45-30
REBELS STILL LAST TO BEAT OKLAHOMA: Defending national champion Oklahoma kicked off its title defense with a 41-27 win over North Carolina this past Saturday. The win was the Sooners' 14th straight, and the Rebels still hold the distinction of the being the last team to beat Oklahoma. Ole Miss edged Oklahoma, 27-25 in the 1999 Sanford Independence Bowl on Les Binkley's 39-yard field goal as time expired.
OFFENSIVE NOTES:
* Senior FB Charles Stackhouse (West Memphis, Ark.) was named the SEC's best blocking back by The Birmingham News entering the 2001 season.
* Ole Miss scored 314 points in 11 regular-season games last season, the fourth-highest total in school history. The 1959 team holds the record for most points in a season with 329.
* The Rebels were second in the SEC last season in red zone scoring, converting on 28-of-32 (87.5 percent) trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line (19 TDs, 9 FGs)during the regular season.
* Ole Miss is 207-5 (.976 winning percentage) all-time when scoring 30 or more points in a game.
* The Rebels are 10-3 under Head Coach David Cutcliffe when having a rusher go over the 100-yard mark.
* Senior WR Omar Rayford (Holly Springs, Miss.) enters Saturday's game with a streak of 10 straight games with a reception.
HANDS OFF: During the past two seasons the Ole Miss offensive line has done a good job of keeping opponents' hands off Rebel quarterbacks. In fact, during that span, Ole Miss has allowed the fewest amount of sacks in the SEC with 23, eight less than the next school, Arkansas with 31. Last year, Ole Miss led the SEC and was tied for third in the nation for the fewest sacks allowed with seven. The following charts show the top five teams in the nation from a year ago for the fewest sacks allowed, and the top five teams in the SEC that have allowed the fewest sacks over the past two seasons:
FEWEST SACKS IN THE SEC LAST TWO SEASONSSchool No.1. Ole Miss 232. Arkansas 313. Georgia 334. LSU 375. Florida 44METCALF ON LOMBARDI AWARD "WATCH LIST": Senior OT Terrence Metcalf (Clarksdale, Miss.) is one of 52 preliminary candidates for the 32nd annual Rotary Lombardi Award, presented to the nation's top lineman (offense or defense). The winner will be selected from a list of 12 semifinalists on Dec. 5 in Houston.
FEWEST SACKS ALLOWED IN THE NATION LAST SEASONSchool No.1. Toledo 52. Boston College 6T3. Ole Miss 7 Iowa State 7 Ohio University 7
METCALF EARNS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA, ALL-SEC ACCOLADES: Senior OT Terrence Metcalf raked in the preseason accolades this summer as he earned first team preseason All-America honors and was a consensus preseason first team All-SEC selection by the major publications. The following chart shows Metcalf's accolades during the 2001 preseason:
ALL-AMERICA
Athlon (Second Team)
Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook (First team)
Football Action (First Team)
Football News (First Team)
Lindy's (First Team)
Playboy (First Team)
Preview Sports (Second Team)
Street & Smith (First Team)
ALL-SEC
Athlon (First Team)
The Birmingham News (First Team)
Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook (First Team)
Lindy's (First Team)
Phipps & Regions Banks (First Team)
Preview Sports (First Team)
Southeastern Post (First Team)
Street & Smith (First Team)
SEC Media Days (First Team) CLAXTON AND METCALF RATED HIGH BY LINDY'S: Junior C Ben Claxton (Dublin, Ga.) and senior OT Terrence Metcalf were both rated by Lindy's magazine as one of the top players in the country at their respective positions. The magazine tabbed Metcalf as the nation's third-best offensive tackle heading into 2001, while Claxton was selected as the nation's seventh-best center. Lindy's also tabbed Claxton a first team preseason All-SEC selection, and he also earned first team preseason All-SEC honors from Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook and at SEC Media Days.
ELI TAKES CENTER STAGE: Saturday evening's game will mark the first career start of sophomore Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) at quarterback. Manning, the youngest son of former Ole Miss legend Archie Manning and the brother of Indianapolis Colt quarterback Peyton Manning, is in his third year at Ole Miss. He redshirted during his true freshman season in 1999 and served as a backup to veteran signal-caller Romaro Miller last season. Last year in six regular season games, Manning completed 16-of-33 passes for 170 yards with one interception. During last December's Music City Bowl, Manning came off the bench to engineer three, fourth-quarter scoring drives to rally the Rebels in a 49-38 defeat. He finished the afternoon connecting on 12-of-20 passes for 167 yards with one interception and tied an Ole Miss bowl record with three TD passes. Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook named Manning a 2001 first team preseason All-SEC selection.
GUNN HAS SIGHTS ON 2,000:Senior RB Joe Gunn (Amory, Miss.) enters the 2001 season opener against Murray State needing 121 yards rushing to become the fifth player in school history to reach 2,000-yard mark for a career. He is currently fifth on the Ole Miss career rushing list with 1,879 yards. Gunn is 1,181 yards shy of the school's career record of 3,060 set by former teammate Deuce McAllister (1997-2000). He needs 256 yards rushing to tie Leon Perry (1976-1979) for fourth-place on the career list with 2,135. The following chart shows the top five leading rusher in Ole Miss history:
Player, Pos., Years Yards1. Deuce McAllister, RB, 1997-2000 3,0602. Kayo Dottley, FB, 1947-50 2,6543. Dou Innocent, RB, 1991-92, 1994-95 2,3224. Leon Perry, FB, 1976-79 2,1355. Joe Gunn, RB, 1998-present 1,879DEFENSIVE NOTES
* First-year defensive coordinator Don Lindsey inherits five returning starters from last year's unit, and in addition, junior LB Eddie Strong (Batesville, Miss.) is scheduled to return after missing all of last season with a stress fracture in his left foot.
* Ole Miss finished first in the SEC and ninth nationally in pass efficiency defense last season with a rating of 96.2.
* In passing yards allowed, the Rebels were second in the SEC and 20th in the nation a year ago, allowing an average of 187.6 yards per game -- 60.9 yards less than in 1999.
* Opponents completed just 47.1 percent of its passes last season against the Rebels -- the lowest in the SEC -- connecting on only 160-of-340 attempts. In 1999, opponents hit on 55.8 percent of its pass attempts versus Ole Miss, completing 218-of-391 passes.
* The Rebels are 10-0 under Head Coach David Cutcliffe when allowing less than 20 points in a game.
STRONG RETURNS: Junior LB Eddie Strong is scheduled to see his first game action in over a year Saturday night against Murray State, after missing all of last season with a stress fracture in his left foot suffered during preseason drills. Strong was a second team All-SEC selection by the Coaches in 1999 after leading Ole Miss in tackles with 72, including seven TFLs and 3.5 QB sacks.
STRONG LISTED AS ONE OF NATION'S TOP LINEBACKERS: Despite missing all of last season with a stress fracture, junior Eddie Strong was ranked by Lindy's as the nation's fifth-best outside linebacker heading into 2001. Lindy's also tabbed Strong as a first team preseason All-SEC selection, and he earned second team preseason All-SEC honors from The Birmingham News and at SEC Media Days.
TAYLOR NAMED TO JIM THORPE AWARD "WATCH LIST": Senior DB Syniker Taylor (Gulfport, Miss.) was one of 38 players across the country named to the 2001 preseason "watch list" for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is presented to the nation's top defensive back. A screening committee will narrow the field to 10 semifinalists, which will be announced the first week in November. That list will be submitted to a national selection committee consisting of coaches, journalists and former players from around the nation. Three finalists will then be announced the Monday before Thanksgiving and be invited to ESPN's College Football Awards Show at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., where the winner will be announced Dec. 6.
TAYLOR EARNS PRESEASON ALL-SEC HONORS: Senior DB Syniker Taylor was named to The Birmingham News first team preseason All-SEC team, and he earned second team honors from Lindy's, The Southeastern Post, and at SEC Media Days. Lindy's also ranked Taylor as the nation's 18th-best safety coming into the 2001 season. Taylor was a second team All-SEC selection by The Associated Press in 2000 after registering 67 tackles, 43 solo, 19 passes defensed and three interceptions.
THOMAS TO WEAR CHUCKY MULLINS' NO. 38: Senior LB Kevin Thomas (Courtland, Miss.) received the 2001 Chucky Mullins Courage Award this spring, and as a result, will wear the late Mullins' No. 38 this season. Thomas appeared in all 12 games last season, drawing 11 starts. He registered 59 tackles, including 35 solo. In 33 career regular-season games, Thomas has tallied 78 tackles (43 solo) with three TFLs for 14 yards and one QB sack for seven yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES:
* Last year, Ole Miss returned both a punt and a kickoff for a TD in the same season for the first time since 1996. Deuce McAllister returned a punt 87 yards for a score against Auburn on Sept. 9, while current junior Robert Williams (Gadsden, Ala.) took a kickoff back 97 yards for a TD at Arkansas on Nov. 4.
* Sophomore Lee Rogers (Meridian, Miss.) recorded touchbacks in 8-of-51 kickoffs last season.
PARDON OUR DUST: The capacity of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field is about 5,000 seats less this season due to the current construction in the south endzone. Last year's capacity was 50,577, and is listed at 45,577 for the 2001 season. When construction of the south end zone is completed, the facility's seating will rise to approximately 60,000. The construction is scheduled to be completed in time for the Rebels' 2002 home opener against Louisiana-Monroe on Aug. 31.
NEW STAFF ADDITIONS: The Ole Miss coaching staff has a slightly new look this season. Head Coach David Cutcliffe hired veteran defensive coordinator Don Lindsey to be the Rebels' new defensive field boss and brought in T.D. Woods, who is a former receiver at Tennessee when Cutcliffe was an assistant for the Volunteers. Woods was most recently at the University of Buffalo, coaching the wide receivers. Third-year Ole Miss assistant Mike MacIntyre will now coach the secondary after working with the receivers his first two years at Ole Miss. Also joining the Ole Miss staff is Ruben Mendoza, who was hired as the new Coordinator of Strength and Conditioning. Mendoza comes to Ole Miss after spending the last four years as an assistant director of strength, speed and conditioning at Clemson University.
ONLY OLE MISS ... PART I: Ole Miss enters the 2001 campaign as the only SEC Western Division team to have advanced to a bowl game in each of the past four seasons. The four-year bowling streak by the Rebels is their longest since setting a then-national record with 15 consecutive bowl berths from 1957-to-1971.
ONLY OLE MISS ... PART II: How successful was the 2000-2001 academic year for Ole Miss' athletic programs? Well, the Rebels can lay claim to an accomplishment all their own as Ole Miss was the only NCAA Division I school to have its football team play in a bowl game, its men's basketball team reach the NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16," and have its baseball team advance to an NCAA Regional.
REBELS AIM FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON: Ole Miss is in search of its fifth straight winning season after finishing with a 7-5 mark last season. The Rebels' current run of four straight winning campaigns is their longest such streak since stringing together seven straight from 1965--1971.
Ole Miss has won at least seven games in each of the past four years, going 8-4, 7-5, 8-4 and 7-5. It is the first time the Rebels have registered four straight seven-win campaigns since doing so from 1968-1971. A fifth-straight, seven-win campaign in 2001 would mark the first time the Rebels have done so since legendary coach John Vaught's teams reeled off 12 consecutive seven-win seasons from 1952-1963.
REBELS PICKED FOR SIXTH IN THE SEC WEST: Ole Miss was picked to finish sixth in the SEC Western Division by a panel of 84 media members at SEC Media Days. LSU is the preseason favorite to capture the SEC West crown, while Florida is the pick to win the SEC East. The Gators are also favored to win the overall SEC championship, receiving 66 of a possible 84 votes. The Rebels did receive one vote to win the overall SEC title. The following is the SEC's predicted order of finish:
WEST EAST1. LSU (40) 1. Florida (78)2. Mississippi St. (34) 2. Tennessee (5)3. Alabama (8) 3. South Carolina (1)4. Auburn (1) 4. Georgia5. Arkansas 5. Vanderbilt6. Ole Miss (1) 6. Kentucky
OVERALL CHAMPION: Florida 66, Mississippi State 4, Tennessee 4, LSU 2, Alabama 1, Ole Miss 1, South Carolina 1.
OLE MISS TO PLAY FIVE BOWL TEAMS IN 2001: Ole Miss has five teams on its 2001 schedule that advanced to postseason last year. The following chart shows the five schools, the bowl they participated in and its final 2000 record:
School Bowl `00 RecordAuburn Citrus 9-4LSU Peach 8-4Arkansas Las Vegas 6-6Georgia Oahu 8-4Miss. State Independence 8-4
