Texas Tech at Ole Miss Postgame Notes

Sept. 27, 2003

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Automatic: Nichols kicks his way into the Ole Miss record book

TEXAS TECH POSTGAME NOTES
GETTING STARTED

Texas Tech lost the opening coin toss for the third time this season. Ole Miss elected to take the opening kickoff and defend the south end zone.
Today's game marked just the fourth time in school history that Texas Tech has played in the State of Mississippi and was the first appearance for the Red Raiders in Oxford. Texas Tech came into the game with a 1-2 record in the state with all three previous games coming against Mississippi State.
The game against Ole Miss marked the first visit to an SEC campus since the Red Raiders played at Tennessee to start the 1997 season.

Texas Tech Starters (Offense) - (LT) Daniel Loper, (LG) Dylan Gandy, (C) Toby Cecil, (RG) Manuel Ramirez, (RT) E.J. Whitley, (QB) B.J. Symons, (F) Taurean Henderson, (BH) Clay McGuire, (Y) Joey Hawkins, (X) Nehemiah Glover, (Z) Carlos Francis (Defense) - (LE) Adell Duckett, (NT) *Fred Thrweatt, (DT) Ken Scott, (RE) Marquis Turner, (SAM) Mike Smith, (MIKE) Brock Stratton, (WILL) John Saldi, (LC) Marcus Boyd, (SS) Ryan Aycock, (FS) Vincent Meeks, (RC) *Jabari Smith
* = First Career Start

SYMONS MOVES UP THE CHARTS

His 70-yard pass to Carlos Francis moved him into fifth place on the Texas Tech single-season passing touchdowns list.
With 661 passing yards in tonight's game, Symons moved into seventh place on the Texas Tech single-season passing yardage list as he now has 1,962 yards passing on the season.
Symons' 661 yards passing tonight is a school record, breaking his old mark of 586 yards set last week at NC State.
Symons' 661 yards passing ranks third all-time in NCAA Division I-A history, passing Brian Lindgren (Idaho) who had 637 passing yards against Middle Tennessee on Oct. 6, 2001.
Symons finished the night with 681 yards of total offense, which ranks third in NCAA Division I-A history, passing Lindgren who had 637 yards of total offense in that same game against Middle Tennessee.
Symons' six touchdown passes ties the school record set by Kliff Kingsbury against New Mexico and Texas in 2002. On the night, he was responsible for seven touchdowns (six passing and one rushing), which is a career high for him.

RED RAIDER NOTEBOOK

Tonight's victory snapped a four-game road losing streak. The last time Tech won was at Texas A&M, 48-47, Oct. 5, 2002.
Sophomore running back Taurean Henderson scored Tech's first points of the game when he scored on a 9-yard pass from B.J. Symons with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter. The touchdown was his second receiving TD of the year and the eighth of his career.
Fred Thrweatt and Jabari Smith both made their first career starts tonight as Thrweatt lined up at defensive tackle and Smith at right corner.
Wes Welker's 15-yard touchdown reception with 12:19 remaining in the second quarter was his 13th career touchdown reception and the first of the 2003 season. That touchdown reception moved him into a sixth-place tie with Derek Dorris, Carlos Francis and Nehemiah Glover on the Texas Tech career TD reception list.
Vincent Meeks recorded his fifth career interception in the second quarter and the second of the season. Meeks' last interception came against New Mexico back on Sept. 6.
B.J. Symons' 70-yard touchdown pass was the second longest pass under head coach Mike Leach. The longest pass in the Leach era came in 2000 when Kliff Kingsbury connected with Tim Baker on a 71-yard strike against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Texas Tech has now had two interceptions returned for a touchdown this season (Ole Miss, NC State) marking the first time since 2000 that Tech has allowed more than one interception to be returned for a TD. Tech had three INT's returned for a touchdown in 2000, none in 2001 and one in 2002.
B.J. Symons' one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was the third rushing touchdown of his career and the second of the season.
Taurean Henderson's touchdown in the third quarter gave him his first multiple receiving touchdown game of his career. Henderson moved into sixth place on the career receptions list as he now totals 116 in his short two-year career.

OLE MISS POSTGAME NOTES
NOTING ELI
29-of-49 passing, 409 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs

The 409 yards passing marked his second career 400-yard passing game and is the fourth-highest single-game total in school history. It was also his eighth career game with over 300 yards passing.
Has thrown at least one TD pass in 25-of-28 career starts and at least two TD passes in 18-of-28 career starts.
In the last three games against Memphis, UL-Monroe and Texas Tech, Manning has thrown for 1,054 yards to break his own school record for most passing yards in a three-game span. His previous best was 934 yards set last year ingames versus Memphis, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.
Manning also two yards rushing on four carries for 411 yards of total offense, the fourth-highest single-game total in Ole Miss history.
Was 5-of-5 for 40 yards on the game's opening drive that resulted in a two-yard TD pass to TE Lawrence Lilly.

SERIES NOTES

Tonight's game was the fourth-ever meeting between the two schools.
The series is now tied 2-2, with the Red Raiders winning the last two meetings.
Tonight's game was second part of a home-and-home series. Texas Tech defeated Ole Miss 42-28 last year in Lubbock during the first-ever regular-season meeting between the two schools.
The two schools have met twice in the Independence Bowl, with Ole Miss winning 20-17 in 1986 and 35-18 in 1998.

KEY STATS

Texas Tech QB B.J. Symons was 9-for-15 for 139 yards with two TDs on the Red Raiders' final two scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
The two teams combined for 1,291 yards of total offense (TexasTech 713, Ole Miss 578), including 1,070 (Texas Tech 661, Ole Miss 409) through the air.
After falling behind 21-10, the Rebels scored on seven consecutive offensive series (3 FGs, 2 TDs), and in addition had a Kelvin Robinson 80-yard interception return, to build a 45-34 lead with 8:01 left in the game. Ole Miss converted three straight Texas Tech turnovers into 12 points during that span, in which the Rebels scored 22 straight points to take a 32-21 lead.

REBEL NOTEBOOK

Tonight's visit by Texas Tech was the first-ever to Oxford by a current member of the Big XII Conference.
Tonight's loss drops Ole Miss to 2-2, marking the first time since 1995 that the Rebels have not started the year 3-1.
The 94 combined points is tied with the 1980 Alabama game as the second-highest in school history. The Crimson Tide defeated the Rebels 59-35 in that contest. The highest scoring game in Ole Miss history was the 2001, seven-overtime game against Arkansas, in which the Razorbacks prevailed 58-56.
Tonight's loss was the first by Ole Miss against a non-conference opponent at home since Memphis defeated the Rebels 17-16 in 1994, snapping a 19-game home win streak against non-SEC teams (including home games played in Jackson).
Tonight's loss also marks the first time the Rebels have a lost a home night game against a non-conference opponent since lights were installed at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium prior to the 1990 season. Ole Miss is now 14-1 against non-SEC teams in home night games and is 24-5 overall.
Ole Miss went 1-2 in September marking the first time in 15 years that the Rebels did not post at least .500-record during the month. It also snaps a streak of seven straight years with a winning record during the month.
Ole Miss is now 6-15 (.286 winning pct.) all-time versus current members of the Big XII Conference.
The 49-45 win by Texas Tech is the first-ever by a Texas school over Ole Miss in Oxford. The Rebels were 9-0 in Oxford against Texas schools entering tonight's contest.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

Senior WR Chris Collins caught four passes tonight to extend his streak to 26 straight games with at least one reception. It is the second longest known streak in school history behind Willie Green's (1986-1989) 37-game streak.
Ole Miss has now scored on its opening possession in 2-of-4 games this season. The Rebels converted an interception into a 7-play, 34-yard TD drive in the Sept. 13 game versus Louisiana-Monroe, and tonight, Ole Miss marched 77 yards in 10 plays for a TD after receiving the opening kickoff.
Sophomore WR Mike Espy caught six passes for a career-high 157 yards, the sixth-highest single-game total for receiving yards in Ole Miss history.
Redshirt freshman TE Lawrence Lilly caught his first career TD pass on a two-yard reception from Eli Manning to cap the scoring drive on Ole Miss' opening series.
Ole Miss' 578 yards of total offense tonight is the eighth highest single-game total in school history. The Rebels totaled 612 yards of total offense in their last game against UL-Monroe on Sept. 13 to give them 1,190 yards of total offense in their last two games.

COLLINS SET MARK: On his first reception of the game, a six-yard catch from Eli Manning in the first quarter, senior WR Chris Collins became Ole Miss' career leader in receptions with 143, breaking the mark of 142 set by Grant Heard from 1996-2000. Collins entered the season already Ole Miss' all-time leader in TD receptions (19) and is fourth on the school's career list for receiving yards at 1,989.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

The 70-yard TD pass to Carlos Francis from B.J. Symons in the second quarter was the second-longest pass against the Rebels this season. The longest was a 92-yard TD pass by Memphis' Danny Wimprine to Tavarious Davis in the Sept. 6 game at the Liberty Bowl.
Sophomore SS Kelvin Robinson intercepted his first career pass and returned it 80 yards for a score in the second quarter. The 80-yard return is the seventh longest return in school history.
Robinson's 80-yard interception return for a TD marks back-to-back games that Rebels have returned a pick for a score. Sophomore DB Travis Johnson returned an interception 45 yards for a score in the Sept. 13 game with Louisiana-Monroe.
Senior DE Charlie Anderson recorded a sack in the third quarter to extend the Rebels' streak to 20 straight games with at least one sack. Ole Miss has also recorded at least one sack in 37 of the last 38 games.
Texas Tech set opposition records tonight for passing attempts (64), completions (44), passing yards (661) and total offense (713).

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

Junior PK Jonathan Nichols has made 15 consecutive FGs since having a 32-yard attempt blocked in the second quarter during last year's Egg Bowl versus Mississippi State.
With six FGs made, Nichols moved into fifth place on the Ole Miss career list with 30. He entered the night tied with Todd Gatlin (1980-1982) in seventh place with 24, and passed Jimmy Keyes (1965-1967) in sixth place with 25 and Steve Lavinghouze (1972-1975) in fifth place with 29.
With 21 points tonight, Nichols moves into third place on the Ole Miss career list for points by a kicker with 193, passing Tim Montz (1993-1996) in third place at 180 and Hoppy Langley (1976-1979) in fourth place at 178. Nichols also passed Montz and Langley to move into fourth place on the school's overall career scoring list.
Nichols converted all three of his PAT attempts to extend his school-record to 65 consecutive PATs made.

NICHOLS SETS SINGLE-GAME MARKS: Junior PK Jonathan Nichols set new Ole Miss single-game records for points by a kicker (21), field goals made (6) and field goals attempted (6). The previous record for points by a kicker in a game was 16 set by Brian Lee against Tulane in 1991 and Walter Grant versus UT-Chattanooga in 1993. Lee also held the school record for field goals in a game when he went 5-for-5 in that 1991 contest with the Green Wave. Bryan Owen also attempted five field goals during a 1986 game with Kentucky, making three.

NICHOLS TIES SEC MARK FOR FIELD GOALS: Nichols' six field goals tonight also tied an SEC single-game record set five times previously, most recently by Georgia's Billy Bennett against Georgia Tech in 2001. The others to kick six field goals in a game were: Al Del Greco, Auburn vs. Kentucky (7 atts.) in 1982, Bobby Raymond, Florida vs. Florida State (6 atts.) in 1983, Raymond again vs. Kentucky (6 atts.) in 1984, and Philip Doyle, Alabama vs. SW Louisiana (6 atts.) in 1990.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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