Florida at Ole Miss Postgame Notes

Oct. 5, 2002

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FLORIDA POSTGAME NOTES
* With his punt at the 2:28 mark in the first quarter, Ingle Martin became the first Florida quarterback to punt for the Gators since Herbert Perry in 1988. During the third quarter, Martin booted a 70-yard punt, which tied Ray Criswell (LSU, 1982) for the fifth longest in school history. It was the longest since Shayne Edge had a 76-yard punt against Vanderbilt in 1992. Martin's punt is also the second longest punt a Gator has ever had on the road.
* 46 of the 114 points (40 percent) Florida has given up this season have come off of UF turnovers. Ole Miss scored two points today on a safety, which was not included in points given up off of turnovers.
* Florida opponents went 15 straight third downs without converting for first down until Eli Manning's completion Mike Espy with 10:28 in the second quarter on a third and six. A week ago, Kentucky finished 0-for-11 on third down attempts to end the game. Today, Ole Miss opened 0-for-4.
* With 205 passing yards Rex Grossman moved into fifth all-time in terms of career passing yards. His career total stands at 7,396, allowing him to move past Wayne Peace (7,206). Grossman also had 19 completions on the day to move up to six all-time in career completions. His career total is now 510, pulling him ahead of Doug Johnson (504).
* Eli Manning was not able to throw a touchdown pass breaking a streak of 16 consecutive games in which he has thrown at least one TD pass dating back to the 2000 Music City Bowl.
* Bryan Savelio's sack of Eli Manning with 9:48 in the third marked the first time this season Ole Miss has allowed a sack. Coming into the game, Manning had not been sacked in six consecutive games dating back to last season.
* Cory Bailey's fumble recovery with 2:04 in the first quarter was his second of the season. It was also the second time Keiwan Ratliff forced a fumble this year.
* Ole Miss did not cross midfield until 9:44 in the second quarter.
* Defensive end Bobby McCray made his first start of the season, and the third of his career.
* Florida has not allowed a touchdown in the first quarter this season.
* The safety the Gators gave up with 6:24 remaining before the half marked the only two points a SEC opponent has scored on UF in the first half this season.
* The 16-yard touchdown reception with 19 seconds left in the first quarter by Carlos Perez was his second touchdown catch of the season. With the catch, Perez had caught all three of the passes Rex Grossman had completed to that point in the game. Perez would go on to score again just before the half for the first multiple touchdown game of his career.
* After opening the 4-of-15 for 59 yards, Rex Grossman engineered an 11-play 98-yard touchdown drive in which he went 7-of-9 for 91 yards.
* The 98-yard scoring drive is the longest for the Gators since scoring on a 99-yard drive against LSU in 2000.

OLE MISS POSTGAME NOTES
GRIER HELPS OLE MISS "PICK OFF" NO. 6 GATORS: Senior DB Matt Grier's two third-quarter interceptions led to 15 Ole Miss points as the Rebels erased a 14-2 halftime deficit. Grier intercepted a Rex Grossman pass at the Florida 28 on the Gators' first possession of the third quarter. He returned the pick 10 yards to the 18-yard line to set-up Vashon Pearson's three-yard TD run three plays later and pull the Rebels to 14-10 following the two-point conversion. Two series later, Grier intercepted a Grossman pass at the Florida 24 and returned it for a touchdown to give Ole Miss a 17-14 lead with 7:34 left in the third quarter. Grier is the first Rebel to intercept two passes in a game since Ken Lucas against UNLV on Oct. 28, 2000.

"BIGGEST WIN" SINCE 1952: Today's 17-14 win over No. 6 Florida is believed to be the highest-ranked opponent Ole Miss has defeated in Oxford since defeating No. 3 Maryland, 21-14 in Oxford on Nov. 15, 1952.

NOTING ELI
18-of-33 passing, 154 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
* The 154 yards passing by Manning was his lowest total as a starter. His previous low was 174 yards earlier this season against Memphis on Sept. 7.
* Manning did not thrown a TD pass to snap streak of consecutive games with at least one TD pass at 16 - doubling the previous school record of 8, which was held by his father, Archie Manning (1968-70) and Romaro Miller.
* Manning completed his first eight passes of the second quarter and was 10-of-11 in the quarter for 78 yards, after going 2-for-7 for 24 yards in the first quarter.

SERIES NOTES
* Today's meeting was the 20th all-time between the Rebels and Gators dating back to 1926 and the first since 1995.
* With today's win, Ole Miss now leads the overall series with Florida 10-9-1.
* The win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Gators in Oxford. Prior to today, the last time Ole Miss defeated Florida in Oxford was back in 1935, 27-6 - the first-ever meeting between the two schools in Oxford.
* Prior to today's game, Ole Miss' last win over Florida was in 1989, 24-19 in Gainesville.
* Florida was ranked No. 1 in the nation the last time they visited Oxford prior to today in 1994, and defeated the Rebels 38-14.

TEAM NOTES
* Today's attendance of 61,140 broke the previous Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field attendance record of 58,151 set in the season opener against Louisiana-Monroe. It is also the largest crowd ever to watch a football game on campus in the state of Mississippi.
* Today's win is the Rebels' first over a top 10 opponent since a 36-21 win over No. 8 LSU in Baton Rouge, La., on Oct. 18, 1997 ... It was also Ole Miss' first win over a ranked opponent since a 45-30 win over No. 23 Mississippi State on Nov. 23, 2000 in Oxford.
* Ole Miss is 2-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1970, Archie Manning's senior year at quarterback.
* The Rebels are off to their fifth consecutive 4-1 start since 1998.

OFFENSE NOTES
* Ole Miss has not scored in the first quarter in 4-of-5 games this season. The only game in which the Rebels' scored in the opening quarter was against Vanderbilt on Sept. 21, when Ole Miss scored 10 points.
* Junior WR Chris Collins caught two passes for 18 yards to extend his streak to 14 consecutive games with at least one reception.
* Sophomore WR Bill Flowers had three catches for 32 yards to extend his streak to 11 straight games with at least one reception.
* The 37 yards rushing by Ole Miss today was its lowest total this season, and its lowest since having 28 yards on 20 carries last season against Georgia.

DEFENSE NOTES
* Ole Miss intercepted Florida QB Rex Grossman four times today to mark the first time the Rebels had intercepted at least four passes since Sept. 19, 1998 at Vanderbilt.
* Redshirt freshman CB Travis Johnson recorded his first career interception in the first quarter, picking off a Rex Grossman pass at the Rebel 39-yard line.
* Junior DB Travis Blanchard intercepted his first career pass in the fourth quarter with 1:49 left in the game to seal the win.
* Ole Miss recorded its first safety since Oct. 28, 2000 against UNLV, when junior defensive end Josh Cooper pressured QB Rex Grossman into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone.
* The sack by Eddie Strong in the fourth quarter was his first of the season and the ninth of his career.
* Ole Miss held Florida QB Rex Grossman to 8-of-20 passing for 55 yards and intercepted him three times in the second half.
* The Rebel defense held Florida to 1-of-8 on third-down conversions in the second half.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
* Senior DT Yahrek Johnson deflected Matt Leach's 35-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter.
* Sophomore punter Cody Ridgeway attempted a career-high 11 punts, one shy of the Ole Miss single-game record of 12 set by Bobby Wilson (1948 vs. Vanderbilt), Jim Miller (1978 vs. Missouri), and Julian Fagan (1968 vs. Chattanooga).
* Ridgeway's 503 punting yards established a new Ole Miss single-game record, breaking the previous mark of 493 set by Greg Breland versus Georgia in 1973.
* Ridgeway placed 4-of-11 punts inside the Florida 20-yard line.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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