Alabama at Ole Miss Postgame Notes

Oct. 18, 2003

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ALABAMA POST-GAME NOTEBOOK

Ole Miss defeated Alabama 43-28 in front of 60,825 fans at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field in Oxford. The Rebels have won back-to-back games against the Crimson Tide for the first time in history. Ole Miss posted a 27-24 victory over Alabama in Oxford in the 2001 season.
The last time Ole Miss beat Alabama in back-to-back home games was 1968 and 1970, when Archie Manning directed the Rebels to a pair of wins over the Crimson Tide in Mississippi Memorial Stadium in Jackson. Ole Miss won 10-8 in 1968 and 48-23 in 1970.
The 43 points scored today by Ole Miss are the second-most by the Rebels against the Crimson Tide. The most points ever scored by Ole Miss against Alabama was 48 points in a 48-23 victory over the Crimson Tide in Jackson in 1970, Archie Manning's senior year at Ole Miss.
The Rebels' 15-point win over the Crimson Tide is their largest in the series since that 48-23 win in Jackson during the 1970 season.
Alabama had three turnovers in the game (two interceptions, one fumble) in the loss to Ole Miss, resulting in 14 Rebel points. The Crimson Tide also gave up a safety in the final two minutes of the game (Croyle fumble snap in the end zone), accounting for 16 Ole Miss points.
Alabama captains for the Ole Miss game were right tackle Evan Mathis (Homewood), middle linebacker Freddie Roach (Killen) and free safety Chris James (Albany, Ga.)
Sophomore quarterback Brodie Croyle (Rainbow City) returned to the starting lineup for Alabama after a two-game absence. Croyle did not start against Georgia (Oct. 4) and Southern Miss (Oct. 11), but did see two snaps under center in the loss to Georgia.
Senior tight end Donald Clarke (Boca Raton, Fla.) made his first start of the 2003 season. Clarke is the third different starting tight end used by the Crimson Tide this year. The start at Ole Miss was Clarke's seventh of his Crimson Tide career.
Ole Miss kicker Jonathan Nichols' 51-yard field goal with 11:22 left in the first quarter was the third 50+ field goal against Alabama this season. Georgia's Billy Bennett connected on a 52-yarder (Oct. 4) and Northern Illinois' Steve Azar hit a 51-yarder (Sept. 20).
Nichols added a 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. UA opponents have made eight of their last nine field goal attempts against Alabama.
Ole Miss became the third team (Oklahoma, Arkansas) this season to score against Alabama on the opening possession of the game.
Ole Miss scored 24 points in the first quarter, the most scored against Alabama in the opening period since the Jan. 1, 1991, Fiesta Bowl. In that game, Louisville scored 25 first-quarter points en route to a 25-0 lead.
Alabama also allowed 21 first-quarter in a 41-14 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 14, 1995, as UT quarterback Peyton Manning threw two TD passes and ran for another against the Tide. Alabama also allowed 21 first-quarter points to Ole Miss on Oct. 7, 1989, in Jackson. The Rebels built a three-touchdown lead with less than eight minutes left in the first quarter only to see the Crimson Tide reel off 62 unanswered points en route to a 62-27 win.
Ole Miss' 24 first-quarter points are the second-most scored against Alabama in a quarter this season. On Oct. 4, Georgia scored 31 points in the second quarter to take a 37-10 halftime lead over the Crimson Tide.
In addition, Ole Miss' 31 points in the first half are the second-most allowed by Alabama in one half this season. Georgia scored 37 points in the first half of its 37-23 win over Alabama in Athens on Oct. 4.
Ole Miss (12 plays, 88 yards) scored on its first possession of the third quarter, the longest scoring drive in terms of total yards against Alabama this season. The longest previous drive was 81 yards by Oklahoma on Sept. 6.
The Rebels are the only team this season to score on the opening possession of the second half against Alabama, thus becoming the first team to score on its opening possession in each half against the Crimson Tide this year.
Junior Chris James (Albany, Ga.) recorded his third blocked punt of the 2003 season against Ole Miss. James blocked a Cody Ridgeway punt with 4:59 left in the third quarter and was credited with a 44-yard punt return for his first career TD at Alabama. James has one blocked punt in each of his last two games for Alabama, including last week's 17-3 win over Southern Miss. James also had a blocked punt in the Crimson Tide's 20-13 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma on Sept. 6.
James' three blocked kicks this season tied the Alabama single-season record for most blocked kicks by an individual. James has three blocked punts this season against Oklahoma, Southern Miss and Ole Miss. James joins five other UA players with three blocked kicks in a season, including Tommy Johnson (one PAT, two punts, 1994), Antonio London (three field goals, 1991), Mike Kramer (two field goals, one punt, 1976), Leroy Cook (three field goals, 1974) and Mike Washington (three field goals, 1973)
Senior running back Shaud Williams (Andrews, Texas) has 18 carries for 63 yards and one TD in the loss to Ole Miss. The senior also caught two passes for 29 yards, including a 24-yard TD reception with 2:33 left in the game, giving him two TDs in the game against Ole Miss. Williams has four TDs for Alabama in his last two games, including three rushing TDs.
Redshirt freshman Nic Luke (Phenix City) made his Alabama debut against Ole Miss, playing on special teams.
Redshirt freshman running back Kenneth Darby (Huntsville) had a 41-yard run in the third quarter against Ole Miss, the longest rushing attempt of his career.
Freshman receiver Tyrone Prothro (Heflin) recorded his first career reception in the loss to Ole Miss, hauling in an eight-yard pass from Brodie Croyle to give Alabama a first down at the UA 31 yard line. Prothro finished the game with three catches for 29 yards, including a 13-yard reception.
Junior punter Bo Freelend (Eutaw) tied the Alabama single-game record (min. five punts) with a 52.4 punting average in the loss to Ole Miss. Freelend punted five times for 262 yards for a 52.4 average, including a career-long 59-yard punt. Freelend's 52.4 punting average tied the single-game mark held by Greg Gantt vs. Mississippi State (five punts for 264 yards) in 1971 and Chris Mohr vs. Auburn (five punts for 264 yards) in 1986.
Junior running back Ray Hudson (Bonifay, Fla.) recorded his first touchdown reception of the season, hauling in a 22-yard pass from Brodie Croyle with 4:47 left in the game. Hudson's only other TD reception came last year against Mississippi State.
Junior Thurman Ward (Starkville, Miss.) recovered an on-side kick with 4:47 left in the game, setting up the Crimson Tide's final touchdown of the game against Ole Miss. The last time Alabama recovered an on-side kick was on the opening kickoff at Oklahoma (Sept. 7, 2002) last season.
Alabama returns home next weekend to face the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports and kickoff is set for 2:34 pm (CT).

OLE MISS POSTGAME NOTES
NOTING ELI
14-of-22 passing, 230 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT

The 230 yards passing was a season-low and snapped his school-record streak of seven consecutive 250-yard passing games dating back to last year's Independence Bowl win over Nebraska.
Also had season lows for completions (14) and passing attempts (22), however, he averaged 10.5 yards per pass attempt.
The Rebels are now 12-1 in games in which Eli starts and does not throw an interception and 17-5 in games that he throws no or one interception.
Passed Kentucky's Tim Couch (1996-1998) and South Carolina's Steve Taneyhill (1992-1995) to move into eighth place on the SEC's career list for passing yards with 8,646. Coming into today's game, Taneyhill ranked eighth with 8,555 yards and Couch ninth at 8,435.
Recorded his 700th career completion on a four-yard pass to Bill Flowers in the second quarter.
Finished the afternoon with 706 career completions to move within two of tying Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1993-1996) for seventh place on the SEC's career list.
With the 22 passing attempts, he surpassed Greg Zolman, Vanderbilt (1998-2001) and Tommy Hodson, LSU (1986-1989) for ninth place on the SEC's career list with 1,165. Entering the game, Hodson ranked ninth with 1,163 and Zolman 10th with 1,156.
The three TD passes today gives him 69 for his career to move into a tie with Hodson for seventh-place on the SEC caeer list.
Manning has now thrown at least one TD pass in 27-of-31 career starts and has thrown two or more TDs in 20-of-31 career starts.
Manning also scored on a three-yard run in the third quarter to give him four TDs responsible for. He now has 73 TDs responsible for in this career, ranking seventh on the SEC's career list.
The three Manning quarterbacks went a combined 7-3 against Alabama during their college careers. Archie was 2-1 against the Tide at Ole Miss from 1968-1970, Peyton posted a 3-1 mark as a starter versus the Crimson Tide while at Tennessee, and Eli went 2-1 in his three years as the Rebels' starter.

SERIES NOTES

Today's game was the 51st all-time between Ole Miss and Alabama.
This afternoon's 43-28 victory was the Rebels' second over the Crimson Tide in the past three seasons, and their second straight in Oxford. Ole Miss also defeated Alabama 27-24 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 2001. Prior to the 2001 contest, Alabama had won 18 of 20 on-the-field meetings against Ole Miss since Archie Manning's senior year in 1970, including 10 in a row before the Rebels' win in 2001.
Ole Miss' 43 points this afternoon is their second-highest total in the series, behind the 48 points the Archie Manning-quarterbacked team scored in the 48-23 win in 1970.
Alabama still holds a 40-9-2 advantage in the series, including a 41-8-2 lead on-the-field. The Crimson Tide was later forced to forfeit a 19-14 win over Ole Miss in 1993.
Four of Ole Miss' eight on-the-field wins in the series have come with a Manning at quarterback. Starting QB Eli Manning's father, Archie Manning, led the Rebels to wins over the Crimson Tide in 1968 (10-8) and 1970 (42-23). Eli was also the starting quarterback in Ole Miss' 27-24 win in 2001.
Today's win improved Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe to 2-3 against his alma mater. He joins the legendary John Vaught, who coached the Rebels from 1947-1970 and for part of the 1973 season, as the only coach in school history to beat Alabama twice. Vaught coached the Rebels to wins over the Crimson Tide in 1968 and 1970. Vaught was 2-5 against Alabama.
Alabama has won four of the six games played in Oxford, however, due to the Crimson Tide's forfeit of their 1993 victory, the series is now tied 3-3 in Oxford.

REBEL NOTEBOOK

Today's win gives Ole Miss its first 3-0 SEC start since 1970, when Archie Manning was in his senior year as quarterback.
Today's contest was the Rebels' SEC home opener after playing their first two conference games on the road at Vanderbilt (8/30) and Florida (10/4). Ole Miss is now 39-29-1 (.572 winning pct.) in SEC home openers.
Ole Miss has won nine of its last 11 games in October, dating back to the 2001 season.
The Rebels have now won two straight games versus SEC West opponents since breaking a six-game losing streak to the SEC West with last year's 24-12 win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.

KEY STATS

Ole Miss gained 216 yards rushing on 50 carries in today's game. The Rebels totaled four yards rushing on 28 carries in last year's 42-7 loss at Tuscaloosa.
The Rebels' average starting field position was their own 49-yard line during the first quarter as Ole Miss scored on its four possessions to build a 24-0 lead.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

The 41 points today marked the fourth time this season, and the fourth time in the last five games, that Ole Miss has scored over 40 points in a game. The Rebels are averaging 44.0 points in the last five games after scoring 59 versus Louisiana-Monroe, 45 versus Texas Tech, 20 at Florida, 55 last week against Arkansas State, and 41 this afternoon against Alabama.
The Rebels have scored on their opening possession in five straight games. Ole Miss took the game's opening kickoff and drove 32 yards in nine plays for a 51-yard Jonathan Nichols field goal.
Ole Miss' 24 first-quarter points was the most by the Rebels in a quarter since scoring 28 in the fourth quarter of the Rebels' 38-27 comeback win over Vanderbilt in the 2001 regular-season finale.
Senior WR Chris Collins caught four passes today to extend his streak to 29 straight games with a reception. It is the second longest known streak in school history behind Willie Green's (1986-1989) 37-game streak.
Collins finished with 42 yards receiving to move within 25 yards of Green's Ole Miss career record of 2,274 receiving yards. Collins is currently second on the Ole Miss career list for receiving yards with 2,249.
Ole Miss' 446 yards of total offense today marks the sixth straight games the Rebels have gained over 400 yards of total offense since being held to 370 yards in the season opener at Vanderbilt.
Ole Miss went over the 200-yard mark in rushing for the third time this season with 216 yards on 50 carries. The Rebels also rushed for 225 yards against Louisiana-Monroe and 229 versus Florida.
The Rebels' 50 rushing attempts is their most since rushing 50 times in a 45-17 win over Middle Tennessee in 2001.
Ole Miss did not commit a turnover in today's game, marking the first time the Rebels have played a game without a turnover since last year's 27-23 win over Nebraska in the Independence Bowl.
Sophomore WR Taye Biddle caught TD passes of 23 and 55 yards to record his first career multi-TD game.
Junior FB Rick Razzano saw his first action since the second game of the year versus Memphis.
Junior WR Kerry Johnson caught a career-long 41-yard pass for a TD in the second quarter to give the Rebels a 31-10 lead at halftime. Johnson has now recorded at least one reception in 11 straight games.
Sophomore WR Mike Espy did not catch a pass today to snap his streak of nine straight games with at least one reception. Prior to today's game, the last time Espy did not catch a pass was at Georgia last November 9.
Sophomore RB Brandon Jacobs scored his first career TD on a 10-yard run in the first quarter to give Ole Miss a 24-0 lead.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

Sophomore CB Travis Johnson intercepted his second pass of the season when he picked off Brodie Croyle's first attempt of the afternoon. He returned the pick 11 yards to the Alabama 23 and senior QB Eli Manning hit Taye Biddle for a TD on the following play to give the Rebels a 10-0 lead.
Shaud Williams' three-yard TD run with 10:52 left in the second quarter snapped a streak of seven straight scoreless quarters by the Rebels. Until Williams' run, the Rebels had not allowed a point in 110 minutes and 53 seconds since allowing a field goal to Florida late in the second quarter.
The Rebels allowed 248 yards passing this afternoon, nearly 100 yards less than the 345.0 yards Ole Miss was entering today's game. Ole Miss has allowed 663 yards passing in the last three games against Florida (234), Arkansas State (181) and Alabama (248) since allowing 661 yards passing against Texas Tech.
Senior Von Hutchins intercepted the 10th pass of his career to move into a tie for seventh-place on the Ole Miss career list.
The Rebels tied a season-high with three sacks this afternoon, extending their streak to 23 straight games with at least one sack.
Ole Miss recorded its first safety of the season and the first since last year against Araknsas when Alabama QB Brodie Croyle fumbled a shotgun snap in the end zone in the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

Jonathan Nichols' 51-yard field goal in the first quarter marked his third field goal of over 50 yards this season.
Nichols scored 11 points in today's game to bring his career total to 225 and move within 21 points of tying the Ole Miss career scoring record of 246 points set by Deuce McAllister (1997-2000).
Nichols converted all five PAT attempts to extend his school-record streak to 79 consecutive PATs made.
Nichols also made a 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to move into third place on the Ole Miss career list with 36 career field goals and move within five of Brian Lee's (1989-1992) career record of 41.
Cody Ridgeway's 64-yard punt on his first attempt of the game tied his season long. He also had a 64-yard punt against Memphis on Sept. 6.
Alabama's blocked punt in the third quarter marked the first time in 51 games that Ole Miss has allowed a blocked punt since the September 25, 1999, game at Auburn.
Sophomore Mike Espy had a career-high 72 yards in punt returns on four attempts, including a career-long 37-yard return.
Senior Ronald McClendon's 44-yard kickoff return in the third quarter was a career-long, bettering his previous long of 41 yards set earlier this season versus Texas Tech.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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