Vanderbilt at Ole Miss Postgame Notes

Sept. 21, 2002

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Vanderbilt Postgame Notes
The 38 points scored by Vanderbilt were the most scored by the Commodores since a 42-38 win over Duke (10/27/01). It was the most points scored against an SEC opponent since a 43-30 win at Georgia... The 464 total yards by VU were the most since a 56-30 home loss to Kentucky last season (11/16/01) when the Commodores tallied 542 total yards... VU had two players - Kwane Doster and Norval McKenzie 101 yards apiece - rush for 100 yards for the first time since Rodney Williams (155) Lew Thomas (123) achieved the feat against Duke (10/27/01). It was the first time against an SEC foe since Jermaine Johnson (177) and Ronnie Gordon (126) rushed for 100 yards apiece for Vanderbilt against Georgia (10/15/94 )... For the third game in a row Jay Cutler tied a career high with 11 pass completions. He ended the day 11 for 21 with 207 passing yards and 34 rushing yards on 19 carries with one rushing TD.

Doster and McKenzie Data
Freshman running back Kwane Doster tallied ran 15 times for a career-high 101 yards and a touchdown. Doster also set a Vanderbilt single-game record for return yards. With 50 second left in the third quarter he returned an Ole Miss kickoff 95 yards to the UM five yard line. It ranked as the fifth-longest kickoff return in VU history. Doster also registered his first collegiate rushing touchdown at the 6:29 mark of the second quarter. Norval McKenzie rushed nine times for a career-high 101 yards. Doster's and McKenzie's rush total against Ole Miss was the most by a Commodore since Jay Cutler ran for 107 against Furman (9/7/02).

Garrett Surpasses 100 Yard Mark
WR M.J. Garrett caught four passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for Garrett since he posted 219 receving yards against Middle Tennessee last year (8/31/01).... At 7:37 in the second quarter, QB Jay Cutler hooked up with Garrett for a 35-yard pass reception. It was Garrett's first catch since the season opener and longest of the season. With 5:54 left in the third quarter, Garrett's 49-yard catch of a Cutler pass resulted in his first touchdown of the season.

Stricker Moves Up SEC and Vanderbilt Charts
WR Dan Stricker moved into 19th place on the SEC career receptions list with 151 receptions. He passed Auburn's Karsten Bailey and USC's Jermale Kelly each with 150. Stricker's seven-yard touchdown reception at the opening moments of the fourth quarter moved the senior into a tie for second place on the VU career touchdown receptions list with 18. Stricker tied former Commodore Allama Matthews (1981-82). Stricker ended the day with three catches for 29 yards and a TD.

VU Pass Break Ups Thwart A Pair of Ole Miss Drives
Twice in the first half two Ole Miss scoring drives stalled near the red zone when a Commodore defender broke up a pass attempt by Rebel QB Eli Manning. On the Rebels' first drive of the game, Vanderbilt cornerback Rushen Jones deflected a Manning pass on 3rd and six from the VU 22. Ole Miss settled for a 40-yard field goal from J. Nichols. The final drive of the second quarter for Ole Miss saw Commodore defensive tackle Brett Beard tipped a Manning pass on 3rd and three from the VU 10. Again the Rebels settled for a field goal from Nichols. This one from 28 yards.

VU Digs Hole Early with Turnovers
For the second consecutive game, Vanderbilt was adversely affected by turnovers. In the first half, two Commodore fumbles resulted in 10 Rebel points.

General Notes
With 7:31 left in the first quarter, Cutler converted a fourth-and-nine with a 10-yard completion to senior Dan Stricker. The 5:17 drive ended unsuccessfully when Greg Johnson's 47-yard field goal hit the uptights. It was Johnson's longest effort as a Commodore... Johnson's 20-yard field goal in the third quarter was his fourth of the season, matching the 2001 season total... Vanderbilt's first penalty of the game, a five-yard delay of game infraction, came with 3:04 left in the third quarter. VU ended the day with two penalties for 10 yards - a season low.

Noting the Starters
The Vanderbilt starting lineup included a pair of true freshmen making their first starts in a Commodore uniform. On offense, guard Mac Pyle of Adairsville, Ga., started in place of sophomore Brian Kovolisky. Chris Booker, a native of Brandon, Miss., earned his first start at defensive end... Senior Brandon Walthour made his second consecutive start at weak outside linebacker. He replaces redshirt freshman Moses Osemwegie in the starting unit.

OLE MISS POSTGAME NOTES
SERIES NOTES
* Ole Miss leads 43-32-6.
* Rebels have won nine of last 10 meetings since 1993.

NOTING ELI
24-of-41 passing, 386 yards, 2 Tds
* Became the first quarterback in school history to throw over 300 yards in back-to-back weeks, as he threw for 374 yards last week at Texas Tech.
* The 386 yards today surpassed his career high of 374 set last week at Texas Tech, and is the third-highest single-game total in school history.
* The 386-yard performance marked his fourth career 300-yard passing game to set a new Ole Miss career record. He entered today's game in a four-way tie with his father, Archie Manning (1968-70), Stewart Patridge (1994; 1996-97) and Romaro Miller (1997-2000) for the school record with three.
* The 396 yards of total offense (386 pass + 10 rush) is a new personal best and ranks fourth on the Ole Miss single-game list.
* Had TD strikes of 79 yards to Chris Collins and 78 yards to Mike Espy on back-to-back offensive plays in the third quarter, and became the first Ole Miss quarterback to have two TD passes of at least 70 yards in a game.
* The 78-yard TD pass to Collins extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one TD pass to 16, and has thrown at least two TD passes in 13-of-16 games during that span.
* Now has 40 career TD passes to join Romaro Miller as the only quarterbacks in school history to record at least 40 career TD passes. Manning is now three TD passes shy of Miller's school career record of 43.
* Surpassed the 4,000-yard passing mark for his career, as he ranks sixth with 4,244 yards.
* Moved past Russ Shows for sixth place on the Ole Miss career list for passing attempts with 600 for his career.

TEAM NOTES
* Today's 45-38 win snapped a nine-game losing streak in SEC openers. Prior to today, the last time Ole Miss won its conference opener was in 1992, 45-21 against Auburn in Oxford.
* The Rebels are now 29-37-3 all-time in SEC openers, including 16-15 in home games (including home games played in Memphis and Jackson) ... The Rebels are 6-7 in SEC openers played in Oxford.
* Ole Miss is off to a 3-1 start for the seventh consecutive season.
* The Rebels are 17-14 against the SEC Eastern Division since the conference started divisional play in 1992.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
* Junior WR Chris Collins has two catches for 88 yards and a TD to extend his streak to 13 consecutive games with at least one reception ... He also moved past the 1,000-yard mark in career receiving yards, becoming the 19th player in school history to do so.
* Sophomore WR Bill Flowers had seven catches for 63 yards today and has caught 15 passes for 154 yards in the last two games against Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.
* Mike Espy's 78-yard TD reception from Eli Manning in the third quarter was his first career TD reception.
* Redshirt freshman RB Vashon Pearson scored his first career rushing TD on a 3-yard run in the first quarter, and later added a 5-yard score in the third quarter.
* The Manning-to-Pearson pass on a two-point conversion in the third quarter marked the Rebels' first successful two-point conversion since Charles Stackhouse's run in the sixth overtime of last year's seven-overtime game with Arkansas ... Pearson also scored on a 5-yard TD run prior to the two-point conversion attempt.
* 10 different receivers caught at least one pass in this afternoon's game.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
* The 257 yards rushing by the Commodores was the most surrendered by the Rebels since allowing 268 in last year's game against Georgia on Nov. 17.
* Entering today's game, Ole Miss had allowed 57 yards rushing on 47 carries in the last two games against Memphis and Texas Tech.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
* Travis Johnson's tackle on Greg Brigham in the first quarter on a punt forced a fumble that was recovered by snapper A.J. Kiamie. It was the Rebels' first takeaway on special teams this season and led to Vashon Pearson's 3-yard TD run to give the Rebels' a 10-0 lead.
* Sophomore PK Jonathan Nichols scored a career-high 13 points, connecting on all three field goal attempts and all four PAT attempts. The 13 points scored is tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in school history.
* Nichols' 40-yard field goal in the first quarter marked the Rebels' first points in the first quarter this season.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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