The University of Mississippi Athletics

Ole Miss Football Game Notes

10/6/2003 | Football

Oct. 6, 2003

DATE: Saturday, October 11, 2003

TIME: 1:00 p.m.

SITE: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field (60,580); Oxford, Miss.

TV: None

RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play; Harry Harrison, color analyst; Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter; Gary Darby, pregame host). Live audio will also be available on the official Ole Miss athletic website, www.OleMissSports.com.

POLLS: Both Arkansas State and Ole Miss were unranked in last week's Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls. The Rebels did receive five votes for this week's AP Top 25.

SERIES INFO: Saturday's game will be the 22nd all-time between Arkansas State and Ole Miss, dating back to 1914. Ole Miss holds a commanding 18-1-2 edge in the series and has a 19-game unbeaten streak versus the Indians, including a scoreless tie in Oxford in 1917 and a 10-10 tie in Oxford in 1986. The Rebels have won the last 10 meetings since 1987, winning by an aveage of 20.4 per game. Ole Miss won last year's contest 52-17 in Oxford. The Rebels are 17-1-2 all-time versus the Indians in Oxford, with the only meeting in Jonesboro coming in 2001. Ole Miss won that game 35-17. The Indians' lone win in the series came in 1915, 10-0 in Oxford. This will be the sixth straight season the two teams have played and the Rebels have outscored the Indians 190-75 in the last six games.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ole Miss will play its 76th Homecoming game Saturday afternoon ... The Rebels are 60-13-2 all-time in Homecoming contests, including a 52-17 win over Arkansas State last year ... Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) needs five points to tie the Ole Miss career record for points by a kicker held by Brian Lee (1989-1992) with 207 ... Senior WR Chris Collins (Gloster, Miss.) is 213 receiving yards shy of tying the Ole Miss career record of 2,274 set by Willie Green (1986-1989).

OLE MISS HEAD COACH David Cutcliffe: David Cutcliffe (Alabama, 1976) is in his fifth season as the Rebels' head coach. He is 33-21 at Ole Miss and is the only coach in school history to lead the Rebels to at least seven wins in each of his first four seasons. Ole Miss is Cutcliffe's first career head coaching position. Cutcliffe is 4-0 against Arkansas State and 1-0 versus Indian head coach Steve Roberts.

ARKANSAS STATE HEAD COACH STEVE ROBERTS: Steve Roberts (Ouachita Baptist, 1987) is in his second season as the head coach of Arkansas State. He was named to the Indians' post on Dec. 21, 2001 after serving two years as the head coach at Northwestern (La.) State in 2000 and 2001. Roberts is 9-10 with the Indians and has a nine-year career record of 58-43-1. He was 14-9 in his two seasons at Northwestern State, and compiled a 35-24-1 mark as the head coach at Southern Arkansas from 1994-1999.

ARKANSAS STATE SCOUTING REPORT: The Indians are 3-3 on the season after downing Louisiana-Monroe 44-41 in a Sun Belt Conference in Little Rock last Saturday. ASU is averaging 326.5 yards of total offense and 27.0 points per game. The Indian offense is led by a rushing attack that is gaining an average of 198.5 yards per game. Sophomore TB Shermar Bracey has rushed for a team-high 401 yards and is averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Bracey has also rushed for five TDs. He is coming off a 176-yard effort against ULM. Junior QB Elliot Jacobs has completed 50-percent of his passes, connecting on 65-of-130 attempts for 754 yards with four TDs and five interceptions. His favorite target has been senior WR Mike Cox, who has caught 16 passes for 223 yards. Defensively, the Indians are allowing an average of 352.0 yards and 28.0 points per game. Junior FS Alex Peoples leads the team with 50 tackles (23 solo) and has intercepted one pass. Senior DT Jon Bradley has recorded a team-high 4.5 TFLs, and senior DE Zach Grigsby leads the team with two QB sacks. Senior CB Johnathan Burke has intercepted a team-best five passes.

2003 ARKANSAS STATE SCHEDULE/RESULTS
(3-3 OVERALL, 1-1 SUN BELT)

Aug. 30at Texas A&ML, 11-26
SEPT. 6TENNESSEE-MARTINW, 63-6
SEPT. 13SE MISSOURI STATEW, 21-3
Sept. 20at Tulsa -1L, 7-54
Sept. 27at MemphisL, 16-38
OCT. 4LOUISIANA-MONROE*W, 44-41
Oct. 11at Ole Miss1:00 p.m.
Oct. 25at Utah State*2:00 p.m.
Nov. 1at New Mexico State*7:00 p.m.
NOV. 8IDAHO*2:00 P.M.
Nov. 15at North Texas*3:05 p.m.
NOV. 20MIDDLE TENNESSEE7:00 P.M.

* - Sun Belt Conference game.
1 - Designated Sun Belt Conference game.
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
All Times Central

NOTING ELI
Career Highlights

  • Holds 38 Ole Miss single-game, season and career records.
  • Is fourth on the SEC's all-time list for the lowest percentage of interceptions thrown (2.71).
  • Ranks eighth in SEC history in career TDs responsible for (66) and ninth in career TD passes (63).
  • Ranks 10th in SEC history in passing yards (8,110), pass completions (669), and total offense (8,003).

2003 Season

  • Leads the SEC in passing yards per game (318.2), completions (115), TD passes (11), and total offense per game (318.2), and is second in passing efficiency (148.6) ... Ranks seventh nationally in total offense and 14th in passing efficiency.
  • vs. Florida (10/4): Completed 17-of-29 passes for 262 yards with one INT to lead Ole Miss to a 20-17 upset of the No. 24 Gators at "The Swamp" ... Completed a 41-yard pass to Mike Espy on Ole Miss' first play from scrimmage to set-up a 33-yard FG and give Ole Miss a 3-0 lead ... Hit Bill Flowers on a season-long 59-yard pass in the third quarter to set-up a 23-yard field goal and pull the Rebels to within 17-13 ... Led the Rebels on an 8-play, 50-yard scoring drive that resulted in Vashon Pearson's one-yard TD run with 1:10 left to lift Ole Miss to the win ... Was 2-for-2 for 30 yards on the drive, hitting Chris Collins on an 18-yard pass to the Florida 16, and following a penalty, connected with Collins for 12 yards to the nine ... It was the sixth fourth-quarter win (either tied or trailing in the fourth) in his career.
  • vs. Texas Tech (9/27): Passed for a season-high 409 yards on 29-of-49 passing with three TDs and two interceptions ... The 409-yard effort was his second career 400-yard passing game and was the fourth-highest single-game total in school history ... With the 409 yards passing, has thrown for 1,054 yards in the last three games to break his own school record for the most passing yards in a three-game span ... Also had two yards rushing for 411 yards of total offense, the fourth-highest single-game total in school history ... The 411 yards of total offense marked his seventh career game of over 300 yards of total offense, breaking the school record of six set by his father, Archie Manning (1968-1970).
  • vs. Louisiana-Monroe (9/13): Completed 21-of-26 passes for 353 yards with three TDs in under three quarters of action ... Also rushed twice for five yards, including a three-yard TD run in the second quarter ... Was 7-of-7 for 115 yards and two TDs in the third quarter ... With 358 yards of total offense, surpassed the 7,000-yard mark for his career.
  • at Memphis (9/6): Passed for 292 yards, completing 26-of-48 attempts with four TDs and two INTs ... Became the school's all-time leader in passing attempts, TDs responsible for, and total offense ... Broke John Fourcade's (1978-1981) career mark for total offense, of 6,724, on a 20-yard completion to Chris Collins in the second quarter ... The 17 yard TD pass to Taye Biddle in the second quarter was his 57th career TD responsible for to break Archie Manning's career record of 56 ... Recorded the 982nd pass attempt of his career on an 11-yard completion to Kerry Johnson in the second quarter, surpassing Kent Austin's (1981-1985) career record of 981 ... Eclipsed the 7,000-yard mark in career passing yards on a 40-yard TD pass to Bill Flowers in the third quarter ... Threw his first interception of the year in the fourth quarter, snapping a streak of 133 straight attempts without a pick, which was the fourth longest streak in Ole Miss history.
  • at Vanderbilt (8/30): Was 22-of-33 for 275 yards and a TD in the season-opening 24-21 win ... Broke Kent Austin's Ole Miss career record for completions of 566 when he connected with Mike Espy for an eight-yard reception in the third quarter ... Led the Rebels back from a 21-14 deficit in the fourth quarter to record his fifth career fourth-quarter win (either tied or trailing in the fourth) ... Named College Sports Report SEC Performer of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week by the Quarterback Club.
  • Named to the Southeastern Conference Good Works Team

REBEL RAMBLINGS:

  • Ole Miss is off to a 2-0 start in the SEC for the second straight year and for just the third time since 1970, Archie Manning's (1968-1970) senior year at quarterback.
  • The 20-17 win over No. 24 Florida last weekend was the Rebels' first versus a ranked opponent since upsetting the then 6th-ranked Gators 17-14 last year in Oxford.
  • The win over the Gators was also the first by the Rebels on the road over a ranked team since a 36-21 upset of No. 8 LSU in Baton Rouge during the 1997 season.
  • Ole Miss is 29-4 (.879 winning pct.) versus non-SEC teams dating back to 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994 ... Two of those four losses during that span have come this season in a 44-31 loss at Memphis on Sept. 6 and a 49-45 loss to Texas Tech in Oxford on Sept. 27.
  • Ole Miss is tied for first in the SEC and 17th nationally in turnover margin, averaging a plus +1 in takeaway/giveaways per game.

OLE MISS TO CELEBRATE 76TH HOMECOMING GAME AGAINST ARKANSAS STATE: Saturday's contest with Arkansas State will mark the 76th Homecoming football game at Ole Miss since 1924. The Rebels are 60-13-2 (.813 winning percentage) at Homecoming. Ole Miss has won its last six Homecoming contests, and 18 of the last 21. LSU was the last team to defeat Ole Miss on its Homecoming, downing the Rebels 39-7 on Nov. 16, 1996. The Rebels defeated the Indians 52-17 last year on Homecoming.

2003 HOMECOMING COURT: Senior Drew Denton, from Biloxi, Miss., was elected Homecoming Queen, senior Jonathan "Potts" Peters, from Monroe, La., was voted Colonel Reb, and senior Mary Grace Haynes, from Baldwin, Miss., was named Miss Ole Miss.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

  • Ole Miss' 223 yards rushing against Florida marked the fourth straight game the Rebels have rushed for over 100 yards. Last season, Ole Miss topped 100 yards rushing just five times in 13 games. The Rebels are averaging 205.7 yards on the ground in the last three games versus Louisiana-Monroe (225), Texas Tech (169) and Florida (223).
  • The Rebels are third in the SEC and 16th nationally in scoring offense, posting an average of 36.4 points per game. Ole Miss has scored 30 or more points in three of five games this season, including topping the 40-point mark against Louisiana-Monroe (59) on Sept. 13 and Texas Tech (45) on Sept. 27.
  • Ole Miss has had 14 different players catch at least one pass, including five with 10 or more receptions, through the first five games of the season ... The Rebels have five players with over 150 yards receiving, including four with over 200 yards.
  • The Rebels have recorded three 100-yard receiving games in 2003. Senior WR Chris Collins (Gloster, Miss.) had 121 yards receiving and sophomore WR Taye Biddle (Decatur, Ala.) had 107 yards in the Sept. 13 game versus Louisiana-Monroe, and sophomore WR Mike Espy (Madison, Miss.) recorded 157 yards receiving versus Texas Tech on Sept. 27.
  • Collins caught five passes against Florida to extend his receptions streak to 27 straight games. It is the second longest known streak in school history behind Willie Green's (1986-1989) 37-game streak.
  • Junior WR Bill Flowers (Pelham, Ala.) had four receptions at Florida to pass Eddie Small (1990-1993) and Jim Poole (1969-1971) for 10th place on the Ole Miss career receptions list. Flowers now has 96 career receptions and needs four catches Saturday versus Arkansas State to become the 10th player in Ole Miss history with 100 career receptions.

OLE MISS LEADS SEC IN PASSING, TOTAL OFFENSE: Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks in the top 10 nationally in both passing and total offense. The Rebels are averaging 490.6 yards of total offense per game, which ranks fifth nationally. Ole Miss is gaining an average of 325.0 yards per game through the air, ranking ninth in the nation. The Rebels totaled 485 yards of total offense in last Saturday's win at Florida, marking the fourth straight game Ole Miss has recorded at least 400 yards of offense. The Rebels have gained 1,675 of total offense in the last three games - an average of 558.3 yards per game - versus Louisiana-Monroe (612), Texas Tech (578) and Florida (485).

COLLINS PASSES 2,000 CAREER RECEIVING YARDS; NEARS SCHOOL CAREER RECORD: Senior WR Chris Collins (Gloster, Miss.) gained 72 yards receiving on five catches versus Florida to vault into second place on the Ole Miss career list for receiving yards. He will enter Saturday's game contest with Arkansas State with 2,061 career receiving yards, 213 yards shy of the career mark of 2,274 set by Willie Green (1986-1989). Collins is the fourth player in school history to record 2,000 yards receiving in a career. In addition to Collins and Green, Grant Heard (1996-2000) with 2,029 and J.R. Ambrose (1984-1987) with 2,012 also gained 2,000 yards receiving in a career for the Rebels.

COLLINS SETS CAREER RECEPTIONS MARK: Senior WR Chris Collins (Gloster, Miss.) caught a six-yard pass from senior QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) on the Rebels' third play from scrimmage against Texas Tech on Sept. 27 to become Ole Miss' all-time leader in receptions. The catch was the 143rd of Collins' career to break the previous mark of 142 set by Grant Heard (1996-2000). Collins passed the 150-mark in career receptions in this past weekend's game at Florida and will enter Saturday's contest with 151 career receptions.

Collins entered the 2003 season already Ole Miss' career leader in TD receptions and 100-yard receiving games. Last season, he set new season marks for TD receptions (10) and 100-yard receiving games (4). Collins has twice during his career tied the school's single-game mark for TD receptions with three.

COLLINS SEC'S ACTIVE LEADER IN RECEIVING YARDS: Senior WR Chris Collins (Gloster, Miss.) will enter this weekend's game versus Arkansas State as the SEC's active leader in career receiving yards with 2,061 yards, 81 more than LSU junior Michael Clayton. Collins is also second among active SEC players in career receptions with 151 and is third in touchdowns scored with 20.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

  • Senior CB Von Hutchins (Natchez, Miss.) recorded his first career sack at Florida to extend the Rebels' streak to 21 straight games with at least one sack. Ole Miss has also recorded at least one sack in 38 of the last 39 contests.
  • Ole Miss intercepted Florida QB Chris Leak three times in the fourth quarter during last Saturday's 20-17 win. The Rebels have intercepted at least one pass in four of the five games this season.
  • Last Saturday's 20-17 win over Florida improved Ole Miss to 20-1 under head coach David Cutcliffe when allowing less than 20 points in a game. The only time Ole Miss has lost a game during the Cutcliffe era when allowing less than 20 points was last November 23 to LSU 14-13 in Baton Rouge.

SPECIALTY NOTES

  • The Rebels have not had a punt blocked in 49 straight games since the September 25, 1999, game at Auburn.
  • Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) missed his first field goal in 17 attempts dating back to last season when his 52-yard attempt in the second quarter at Florida went wide right. He would later hit on a 23-yard attempt to put him at 14-for-15 (93.3 percent) on field goal attempts for the season. Prior to last Saturday's game, Nichols last missed a field goal when he had a 32-yard attempt blocked in the second quarter during last year's Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.
  • The 52-yard miss by Nichols marked just the second time in 10 attempts during his career that he has missed from over 40 yards out. Nichols had made his last eight kicks of over 40 yards entering the Florida contest since missing a 46-yarder on his first career field goal attempt at Arkansas State on Oct. 6, 2001.
  • Ole Miss entered 2003 having returned at least one kick (kickoff or punt) for a score in each of the last four seasons. Deuce McAllister (1997-2000) returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score against Arkansas in 1999, and returned a punt 87 yards for a TD versus Auburn in 2000, Robert Williams (1999-2002) returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score against the Razorbacks in 2000, and Jason Armstead (2001-2002) returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score in the 2001 season opener versus Murray State and had a 62-yard punt return for a TD last season versus Memphis on Sept. 7.

NICHOLS CONTINUES TO LEAD SEC IN SCORING: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) will enter Saturday's game averaging an SEC-best 12.0 points per game. Georgia's Billy Bennett is second in the SEC in scoring at 9.4 points per game. Nichols also ranks fourth in the nation in scoring. For the season, he has scored 60 points, making 14-of-15 field goal attempts and all 18 PAT tries.

NICHOLS ALSO LEADS SEC IN FIELD GOALS: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) will enter Saturday's game versus Arkansas State also leading the SEC and ranking second nationally in field goals made per game. Nichols has made 14 field goals this season for an average of 2.8 per game. He has made eight field goals in nine attempts during the last two games versus Texas Tech (9/27) and Florida (10/4), including tying an SEC single-game record with six versus the Red Raiders.

PAT STREAK STILL GOING: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) made both of his PAT attempts versus Florida to extend his school-record streak to 67 consecutive PAT kicks made. Nichols broke the previous mark of 59, held by Steve Lavinghouze (1973-1975), in the Sept. 13 game versus UL-Monroe.

MORE RECORDS FOR NICHOLS: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) set two other Ole Miss records during the 59-14 win over UL-Monroe on Sept. 13. With his first PAT of the evening, Nichols broke the Bryan Owen's (1985-1988) Ole Miss career record of 92 PATs made. Later in the game, Nichols also broke Owen's career mark of 98 PATs attempted. Entering Saturday's game versus Arkansas State, Nichols has made 105-of-107 (.981 pct.) PAT attempts during his career.

NICHOLS CLOSES IN ON CAREER MARK FOR POINTS BY A KICKER: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) scored eight points in last Saturday's 20-17 win at No. 24 Florida to close within six points of the Ole Miss career record for points by a kicker, held by Brian Lee (1989-1992) with 207. Nichols currently has 201 career points and is the third kicker and the fourth player overall in school history to score 200 career points. He is currently third on the list for points by a kicker. Nichols can tie Bryan Owen (1985-1988) for second place with five points in Saturday's game versus Arkansas State.

Nichols is also fourth on the Ole Miss overall career scoring list, 45 points shy of Deuce McAllister's (1997-2000) career mark of 246 points.

-2003 SEASON REVIEW NOTES-
GAME #5 - OLE MISS 20, (#24) FLORIDA 17

  • Ole Miss upset Florida for the second straight year as sophomore RB Vashon Pearson (Ripley, Miss.) scored on a one-yard run with 1:10 remaining in the game to lift the Rebels to a 20-17 win over the No. 24 Gators.
  • The Rebels drove 50 yards on eight plays in 4:02 for the game-winning TD. Senior QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) was 2-of-2 passing for 30 yards on the drive. He hit senior WR Chris Collins (Gloster, Miss.) for 18 yards to the Gator 16, and following a five-yard delay of game penalty, he connected with Collins again for 12 yards to the Florida 9.
  • The win was the Rebels' first over a ranked opponent on the road since a 36-21 win at No. 8 LSU in 1997.
  • Senior RB Ronald McClendon (Ponchatoula, La.) recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game with 107 yards on eight carries, including a career-long 52-yard TD run in the second quarter to pull Ole Miss within 14-10.
  • Ole Miss intercepted Florida QB Chris Leak three times in the fourth quarter.

GAME #4 - TEXAS TECH 49, OLE MISS 45

  • Texas Tech scored on a nine-yard TD pass from B.J. Symons to Carlos Francis with 1:04 left to rally for a 49-45 win.
  • The Red Raiders scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes to rally from a 45-34 deficit.
  • The two teams combined for 1,291 yards of total offense, including 1,070 through the air. Texas Tech QB B.J. Symons passed for 661 yards on 44-of-64 passing with six TDs and one interception. Rebel QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) was 29-of-49 passing for 409 yards with three TDs and two interceptions.
  • The 94 combined points was tied for the second-highest scoring game in school history since 1933, behind only the 58-56 seven-overtime loss to Arkansas in 2001.

NICHOLS HAS RECORD DAY VERSUS TEXAS TECH: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) set Ole Miss single-game records for points by a kicker (21), field goals made (6) and field goals attempted (6) during the Sept. 27 game with Texas Tech. The previous single-game record for points by a kicker was 16 by Brian Lee (1989-1992) against Tulane in 1991 and Walter Grant (1993-1994) versus UT-Chattanooga in 1993. Lee also held the school single-game record for field goals made with five in that 1991 contest with the Green Wave. Nichols' six field goals versus the Red Raiders also tied the SEC single-game mark set five times previously, most recently by Georgia's Billy Bennett against Georgia Tech in 2001.

GAME #3 - OLE MISS 59, LOUISIANA-MONROE 14

  • Ole Miss won the first game on its new AstroPlay surface at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field, 59-14 over Louisiana-Monroe.
  • After the Indians tied the game at 7-7 with 5:30 left in the first quarter, Ole Miss scored the game's next 45 points.
  • The Rebels finished with 612 yards of total offense, the second highest single-game total in school history and 11 yards shy of the record of 623 set against Auburn in 1951. It also marked the first time Ole Miss has totaled over 600 yards of offense in a game since 1971 against Chattanooga (601).
  • Redshirt freshman RB Jamal Pittman (Columbia, Miss.) carried the ball 13 straight times on Ole Miss' final two series of the game to finish with a game-high 75 yards. Pittman capped the evening's scoring with a one-yard run with 5:01 left in the game.

GAME #2 - MEMPHIS 44, OLE MISS 34

  • Memphis scored the game's final 23 points to earn a 44-34 win at the Liberty Bowl on September 6.
  • The Tigers took the lead with 6:12 left in the game when QB Danny Wimprine connected with Tavarious Davis on a 92-yard TD reception to put Memphis up 38-34 ... Memphis would later add two Stephen Gostkowski field goals.
  • Memphis out-gained Ole Miss 258-76 in the fourth quarter.
  • Ole Miss trailed 21-17 at halftime before scoring 17 unanswered points in the third quarter ... Junior RB Lorenzo Townsend (Monticello, Miss.) scored his first career TD on a five-yard pass from QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) to give the Rebels a 24-21 lead ... On the Rebels' next possession, Manning connected with junior WR Bill Flowers (Pelham, Ala.) on a 40-yard strike to make it 31-21, and junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) extended the lead to 34-21 on a 25-yard FG with 1:30 left in the quarter.
  • The two teams combined for 914 yards of total offense, including 681 in the air, with Memphis holding a 506-408 advantage.
  • Manning completed 26-of-48 passes for 292 yards with four TDs and two interceptions en route to becoming the Ole Miss career leader for passing attempts, TDs responsible for and total offense.

GAME #1 - OLE MISS 24, VANDERBILT 21

  • Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) made a 54-yard FG with 3:52 left in the game to break a 21-21 tie and lift the Rebels to a 24-21 season-opening win over the Commodores.
  • Ole Miss scored the game's final 10 points to rally from a 21-14 deficit in the fourth quarter.
  • Senior QB Eli Mannig (New Orleans) finished the afternoon 22-of-33 passing for 275 yards and a TD to break Kent Austin's (1981-1985) school career completion record of 566 ... Manning connected with sophomore WR Mike Espy (Madison, Miss.) on a 23-yard scoring strike with 9:24 left in the game to tie the game at 21-21.
  • Ole Miss held Vanderbilt to 22 yards rushing on 23 carries after the first quarter.

NICHOLS RECORDS A FIRST AGAINST THE COMMODORES: Junior PK and Lou Groza Award candidate Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) became the first kicker in school history to make two field goals of over 50 yards in the same game during the 24-21 win at Vanderbilt on August 30. Nichols made a 51-yarder on his first attempt in the second quarter to break his career long of 50 set last season against Arkansas State. He then bettered that with a 54-yard effort with to break a 21-21 tie with 3:52 remaining in the game and lift the Rebels to a 24-21 win. The 54-yarder is tied for the fourth longest in Ole Miss history.

NICHOLS NAMED SEC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) was named the Southeastern Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week for the week of August 30, after connecting on a game-winning, career-best 54-yard field goal to lift the Rebels to a 24-21 win at Vanderbilt. Nichols hit the game-winning kick with 3:52 remaining to break a 21-21 tie. He also made kicks of 51 and 20 yards, and converted on his lone PAT attempt, as Nichols became the first kicker in school history to make two field goals of over 50 yards in the same game. It was the second time in Nichols' career that he has earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. The Lou Groza Award candidate also earned the accolade after last year's contest against the Commodores, when he made three field goals and four PATs to account for 13 points.

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