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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Defense Leads Ole Miss to Upset Of Gators
10/5/2002 | Football
Oct. 5, 2002
By The Associated Press
OXFORD, Miss. - Matt Grier and the rest of the Ole Miss defense shut down Florida's offense, allowing the Rebels to outscore the Gators 15-0 in the second half of their 17-14 victory Saturday.
The Rebels (4-1, 2-0 SEC) defeated a top-10 team for the first time since 1997, when they beat No. 8 LSU on the road. The victory also was one of their biggest ever in Oxford.
One week after allowing 38 points and more than 400 total yards in a narrow victory over Vanderbilt, Ole Miss' defense rose to the occasion and probably knocked the Gators (4-2) from the national-championship picture.
Florida quarterback Rex Grossman had four passes intercepted and was just 19-of-41 for 205 yards. He had two touchdowns.
Grier second interception came when Grossman threw into double-coverage. Grier caught the pass at the Florida 24 and made a nice cutback before vaulting into the end zone to give Ole Miss its first lead, 17-14, with 7:34 left in the third quarter.
Two big penalties on the same possession forced the Gators into a fourth-and-13 situation from the 30. Coach Ron Zook decided against letting shaky kicker Matt Leach attempt a potential game-tying field goal. Instead, Grossman was sacked by Eddie Strong. Leach had a 35-yard attempt blocked in the first half.
On the Gators' next possession, Grossman threw his final interception, a pass that floated over the head over Taylor Jacobs and into the arms of Travis Blanchard with 2:58 left.
Eli Manning was 18-for-33 for 154 yards and became the first member of his family to beat the Gators. His brother Peyton was 0-4 against Florida while at Tennessee, and father Archie never played the Gators while at Ole Miss.
