Football Game Notes

Aug. 24, 2003

Live Game Audio (Saturday 10:30 a.m., air time)
Game Preview
August 25 Press Conference Transcript
Ole Miss Game Notes in PDF Format
2002 Final Statistics
Eli Manning Web Site
Vanderbilt Game Notes in PDF Format
SEC Release (Week 1) in PDF Format

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Saturday, August 30, 2003

TIME: 11:30 a.m.

SITE: Vanderbilt Stadium (39,773); Nashville, Tenn.

TV: Jefferson Pilot (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Dave Rowe, color analyst; Dave Baker, sideline reporter)

RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play; Harry Harrison, color analyst; Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter; Gary Darby, pregame host).

POLLS: Neither Ole Miss or Vanderbilt are ranked in the preseason Associated Press or ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. The Rebels did receive 20 votes in the AP poll and 14 for the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25.

SERIES INFO: Saturday's game will be the 78th meeting between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt dating back to 1894. The Rebels lead the series 43-32-2 and have won nine of the last 10 meetings since 1992. Vanderbilt's last win in the series was a 37-34 overtime victory in Oxford back in 1999. The two schools are meeting at Vanderbilt Stadium for the first time since 2000 as the last two games were played in Oxford. Ole Miss has won four straight at Vanderbilt Stadium since a 31-9 loss in 1992, including a 12-7 victory in 2000. All-time, the Rebels are 19-24-2 against the Commodores in Nashville.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Senior QB Eli Manning (New Orleans, La.) has a shot to set three Ole Miss career records in Saturday's game. Manning needs 12 completions to tie Kent Austin's (1981-1985) career mark of 566, needs two TDs responsible for to tie the career mark held by his father Archie Manning (1968-1970) with 56, and is 301 yards of total offense shy of John Fourcade's (1978-1981) career record of 6,713 yards.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH David Cutcliffe: David Cutcliffe (Alabama, 1976) is entering his fifth season as the Rebels' head coach. He is 30-19 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 3-1 against Vanderbilt and 1-0 versus Commodore head coach Bobby Johnson.

VANDERBILT HEAD COACH BOBBY JOHNSON: Bobby Johnson (Clemson, 1972) is entering his second year as the head coach of the Commodores. He is 2-10 at Vanderbilt and has a career mark of 62-46 in nine seasons as a collegiate head coach. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Johnson spent eight seasons at Division I-AA Furman, guiding the Paladins to a 60-36 record with four trips to the Division I-AA playoffs. Johnson is 0-1 versus Ole Miss and Rebel head coach David Cutcliffe.

VANDERBILT SCOUTING REPORT: The Commodores return 13 starters (including specialists) from last year, including six on both offense and defense. Vanderbilt averaged 312.6 yards and 18.4 points per game last season. The Commodores return their top two rushers from an attack they gained an average of 173.5 yards per game on the ground, in sophomore TB Kwane Doster (160 carries, 798 yards, 3 TDs) and sophomore QB Jay Cutler (123-393-9). Cutler also completed 103-of-212 passes for 1,433 yards with 10 TDs and nine interceptions last year. Junior WR Brandon Smith is the Commodores' top returning receiver after catching 19 passes for 173 yards. Defensively, Vanderbilt allowed an average of 405.8 yards and 30.7 points per game last season. Sophomore WLB Moses Osemwegie is the squad's top returning tackler with 53 (40 solo), including 4.5 TFLs and 1.5 QB sacks.

2002 VANDERBILT RESULTS
(2-10 OVERALL, 0-8 SEC)

Aug. 31	at Georgia Tech	L, 3-45
SEPT. 7	FURMAN	W, 49-18
Sept. 14	at Auburn*	L, 6-31
Sept. 21	at Ole Miss*	L, 38-45
SEPT. 28	SOUTH CAROLINA*	L, 14-20
OCT. 12	MIDDLE TENNESSEE	L, 20-21
Oct. 19	at Georgia*	L, 17-48
OCT. 26	CONNECTICUT	W, 28-24
NOV. 2	ALABAMA*	L, 8-30
NOV. 9	FLORIDA*	L, 17-21
Nov. 16	at Kentucky*	L, 21-41
NOV. 23	TENNESSEE*	L, 0-24

* - SEC game.
HOME GAMES IN BOLD CAPS

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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