Ole Miss Football Game Notes

Sept. 6, 2004

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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Saturday, September 11, 2004

TIME: 8:00 p.m.

SITE (CAPACITY/SURFACE): Bryant-Denny Stadium (83,818/Natural Grass); Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TV: ESPN2 (Eric Collins, play-by-play; Andre Ware, color analyst; Jimmy Dykes, sideline reporter).

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

POLLS: Neither Ole Miss or Alabama are ranked in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 or in the preseason Associated Press Top 25. The Rebels did receive six votes in the preseason AP Top 25. Alabama received 12 votes in the preseason AP Top 25 and six in the current ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.

SERIES INFO: Saturday's meeting will be the 52nd all-time between Ole Miss and Alabama dating back to 1894. The Crimson Tide holds a 40-9-2 advantage in the series, including a 41-8-2 lead on-the-field. Ole Miss received a win by forfeit for Alabama's 19-14 victory in 1993. Alabama has won 14 of the last 17 on-the-field meetings, however, the Rebels have won two of the last three contests after last year's 43-28 victory in Oxford. Ole Miss has lost six straight in Tuscaloosa since posting a 22-12 win in 1988. The 1988 victory is the Rebels' only win over the Crimson Tide in 21 meetings in Tuscaloosa. A win Saturday, would give Ole Miss back-to-back wins for the first time in the series (see All-Time Series Results and Last Five Meetings on page 2).

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Saturday's game at Alabama will mark the Rebels' 2004 SEC opener ... Ole Miss is looking to win three straight SEC openers for the first time since 1966-1968 ... Ole Miss is looking to avoid its first 0-2 start since 1987 ... The Rebels have won six of their last seven games against SEC Western Division opponents.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE: David Cutcliffe (Alabama, 1976) is in his sixth season as the Rebels' head coach. He is 40-23 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 five seasons. Ole Miss has been Cutcliffe's only career head coaching position. Cutcliffe is 2-3 against Alabama and 1-0 versus Crimson Tide head coach Mike Shula.

ALABAMA HEAD COACH MIKE SHULA: Mike Shula (Alabama, 1987), a former three-year starter at quarterback for the Crimson Tide, is in his second season as the school's head coach. Shula is 5-9 with the Crimson Tide and this is his first career head coaching position. Prior to returning to Tuscaloosa, Shula spent 15 years as an assistant in the NFL, including the last two as the quarterback coach for the Miami Dolphins.

ALABAMA SCOUTING REPORT: The Crimson Tide opened its 2004 season with a 48-17 win over Utah State last Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. Junior QB Brodie Croyle completed 16-of-22 passes for 205 yards and two TDs, while sophomore RB Kenneth Darby and senior RB Ray Hudson both gained 111 yards each on the ground. Darby and Hudson also both scored rushing TDs. As a team, the Crimson Tide totaled 460 yards of total offense. Freshman SE Keith Brown led the Alabama receivers, catching four passes for 91 yards and a score, including a 57-yard TD pass from Croyle in the third quarter to make it 31-10. The Alabama defense limited Utah State to 266 yards of total offense. Sophomore WLB Juwan Garth and senior MLB Cornelius Wortham both registered a team-high five stops. Freshman CB Simeon Castille and junior FS Roman Harper both intercepted a pass each, while freshman DE Wallace Gilberry and junior MLB Freddie Roach each recorded a sack.

2004 ALABAMA SCHEDULE/RESULTS
(1-0 OVERALL, 0-0 SEC)

SEPT. 4	UTAH STATE	W, 48-17
*SEPT. 11*	OLE MISS*	*8 P.M.*
SEPT. 18	WESTERN CAROLINA	6 P.M.
Sept. 25	at Arkansas*	TBA
OCT. 2	SOUTH CAROLINA*	TBA
Oct. 9	at Kentucky*	TBA
OCT. 16	SOUTHERN MISS	2 p.m.
Oct. 23	at Tennessee*	TBA
NOV. 6	MISSISSIPPI STATE*	TBA
Nov. 13	at LSU*	TBA
NOV. 20	AUBURN*	TBA

* -- SEC game.
HOME GAMES IN CAPS

REBEL GAME NOTES
OLE MISS TO OPEN SEC PLAY ON THE ROAD AT ALABAMA

The Rebels enter the tonight's game at Alabama with an all-time record of 583-429-35 (.574 winning percent).
Ole Miss is 30-37-3 (.450 winning percent) in SEC openers.
Ole Miss is 14-22-3 (.397 winning percent) in SEC openers on the road.
After last year's 24-21 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville, the Rebels will enter Saturday's SEC opener at Alabama having won their SEC opener in back-to-back years for the first time since 1970-1971 ... Ole Miss also defeated Vanderbilt in its 2002 SEC opener, 45-38 in Oxford.
The Rebels have not won three straight SEC openers since doing so from 1966-1968, when they knocked off Kentucky all three times: 17-0 in 1966, 26-13 in 1967 and 30-14 in 1968.
Ole Miss has won six of its last seven games against SEC West opponents. Last year's 17-14 loss to LSU is the Rebels' lone loss to an SEC West opponent in their last seven contests.

REBEL NOTEBOOK:

The crowd of 61,112 who attended the Ole Miss-Memphis game was the third largest crowd in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium history ... The only two larger crowds in school history was the 62,552 that watched Ole Miss-LSU last year and the 61,140 for the Florida game in 2002.
The 20-13 loss to Memphis snapped Ole Miss' streak of eight consecutive season-opening wins ... Prior to Saturday, the last time the Rebels had lost a season opener was in 1995, losing 46-13 to Auburn.
Saturday's loss also ended a streak of 16 wins in home openers for Ole Miss dating back to 1987, when the Rebels fell 31-10 to Arkansas in Jackson (Ole Miss used to play some home games in both Memphis and Jackson).
Ole Miss is looking to avoid its first 0-2 start since 1987 when the Rebels dropped their first two games to Memphis State (16-10) and Arkansas (31-10).

FIRST-TIME STARTERS: Five Rebels made their first career starts in last Saturday's game versus Memphis:

OFFENSE: Junior LT Bobby Harris (Decatur, Ga.) and junior QB Micheal Spurlock (Indianola, Miss.)
DEFENSE: Junior NT Michael Bozeman (Hawkinsville, Ga.), sophomore WS Charles Clark (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) and sophomore CB Trumaine McBride (Clarksdale, Miss.)

REBELS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN SEC WEST: Ole Miss was picked to finish third in the SEC Western Division in a vote by media members attending the 2004 SEC Media Days. LSU was picked to win the West, receiving 71-of-88 possible first-place votes. The Rebels garnered two first-place votes. Georgia was tabbed to win the SEC East, garnering 78-of-88 first-place votes. The Bulldogs were also picked to win the overall SEC crown, tallying 61 first-place votes. The following chart shows the predicted order of finish in both the SEC West and East.

Western Division	Pts
1. LSU (71)	108
2. Auburn (14)	197
*3. Ole Miss (2)*	*304*
4. Alabama (1)	331
5. Arkansas	418
6. Mississippi State	490
Eastern Division	Pts
1. Georgia (78)	100
2. Florida (9)	186
3. Tennessee	278
4. South Carolina (1)	375
5. Vanderbilt	419
6. Kentucky	490

SEC Champion: Georgia (61), LSU (19), Florida (5), Auburn (1),Ole Miss (1), South Carolina (1).

DEBUTS: Ole Miss had seven players make their Rebel debuts against Memphis: redshirt freshman RB Alan Abrams (Orlando, Fla.), freshman LB Garry Pack (Hattiesburg, Miss.), redshirt freshman DB Nate Banks (Liberty, Miss.), freshman DE Corey Mills (Memphis, Tenn.), redshirt freshman OL Darryl Harris (Clarksdale, Miss.), junior DB Larry Kendrick (Haines City, Fla.) and junior DE Corvelli Haynes (Cleveland, Miss.).

Also, junior DL Chris Herring (Courtland, Miss.) saw his first action in an Ole Miss uniform since 2002. He appeared in nine games as a true freshman at Ole Miss in 2002, before transferring to Northwest C.C. for the 2003 season.

CUTCLIFFE AMONG REBEL COACHING ELITE: Entering the 2004 season, Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe trails only the legendary John Vaught (1947-1970; 1973) for the best winning percentage among Ole Miss coaches through 63 games. Vaught was 42-17-4 after 63 games for a .698 winning percentage. Cutcliffe is 40-23 for a .635 winning percentage, including his win in the 1998 Independence Bowl over Texas Tech during his Ole Miss coaching debut. Cutcliffe is also the only coach in school history to win at least seven games in each of his first five seasons with the Rebels, and joins Vaught as the only coaches to ever record five straight seven-win campaigns at any time during their tenure at the school. The following chart shows the win total of the five Ole Miss coaches who have led the Rebels in at least 63 games:

Coach, Years	W-L-T	Pct.
John Vaught, 1947-1970; 1973	42-17-4	.698
*David Cutcliffe, 1998-present*	*40-23*	*.635*
Harry J. Mehre, 1938-1945	38-24-1	.611
Ed Walker, 1930-1937	30-28-5	.516
Billy Brewer, 1983-1993	28-32-3	.452

REBELS IN SEPTEMBER

Ole Miss is 135-61-7 (.682 winning pct.) all-time during the month of September.
Ole Miss is 85-22-3 (.786 winning pct.) in September home games (including home contests played in Memphis and Jackson), including a 60-9-2 (.859 winning percentage) mark in September games played in Oxford.
The Rebels have an all-time mark of 50-39-4 (.559 winning pct.) in road games during September.
Ole Miss is 93-31-6 (.738 winning pct.) all-time versus non-conference opponents during the month ... The Rebels are 20-5 (.800 winning pct.) against non-SEC teams in September since 1990.
The Rebels are 42-30-1 (.582 winning pct.) in September SEC games.
Ole Miss is 11-8 (.579 winning pct.) in September under head coach David Cutcliffe.
The Rebels went 1-2 in September last season (Memphis, L, 34-44; Louisiana-Monroe, W, 59-14; Texas Tech, L, 45-49) to snap a streak seven straight years in which Ole Miss posted a winning record during the month. It also stopped a streak of 14 consecutive years in which the Rebels posted at least a .500 record in September.

REBELS ON TV:

Saturday's game at Alabama, to be televised by ESPN2, will mark Ole Miss' first TV game of the year ... The Rebels' only other TV appearance, to date, is the Sept. 18 home game versus Vanderbilt, which will be carried by Jefferson-Pilot.
Last year, the Rebels appeared on TV 10 times, tying the school record set in 2002.
Ole Miss has made at least eight TV appearances in three of the last four years, entering the 2004 campaign.
Saturday's game will mark Ole Miss' 43rd TV appearance since head coach David Cutcliffe's first full season in 1999.
All-time, Saturday's game will be the Rebels' 140th TV appearance since Ole Miss made its TV debut in the 1953 Sugar Bowl versus Georgia Tech ... Ole Miss is 66-71-2 (.482 winning pct.) all-time in TV games.
Ole Miss is 5-11 all-time on ESPN2.
The Rebels are 4-12 all-time against Alabama in TV games.
Saturday's game will mark the fifth straight year that the Ole Miss-Alabama game has been on TV, and the seventh time in the last eight seasons.
The Rebels have won 10 of their last 12 TV games dating back to the 24-12 win over Mississippi State in the 2002 "Egg Bowl."

REBELS ON POSTSEASON AWARDS WATCH LISTS: Ole Miss has three players on preseason watch lists for postseason awards in 2004. Junior WR Mike Espy (Madison, Miss.) is on the Maxwell Award Watch List for the college player of the year, senior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) is on the Lou Groza Award Watch List for the nation's top placekicker and junior C Chris Spencer (Madison, Miss.) is on watch lists for the Lombardi Award, presented to the nation's top lineman/linebacker, and the Rimington Award for the nation's top center. Nichols won the Groza Award last season.

SCHEDULE NOTES

Ole Miss' September 25 game at Wyoming will mark the Rebels' fourth game against a current member of the Mountain West Conference and the first since a 43-40 win over UNLV in Oxford during the 2000 season.
Tennessee appears on Ole Miss' schedule for the first time since 1997, when the Volunteers defeated the Rebels 31-17 in Knoxville ... It will also be Tennessee's first visit to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since recording a 20-12 win over the Rebels in 1988.
The Volunteers replace Florida on this year's schedule after the Rebels and Gators met in 2002 and 2003.
Ole Miss is 6-1 against the SEC Eastern Division dating back to a 38-27 win over Vanderbilt on Dec. 1, 2001 in Oxford.
Ole Miss is 31-5 (.861 winning pct.) versus non-SEC teams dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994.
The Rebels will face five teams that advanced to bowl games last season: Memphis, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas and LSU.

OFFENSIVE NOTES:

In the Memphis game, the Rebels had no turnovers for the first time since last year's game at Auburn on November 8.
Senior RG Marcus Johnson (Coffeeville, Miss.) has started 38 consecutive games entering Saturday's contest at Alabama.
Junior Tre' Stallings (Magnolia, Miss.) made his first career start at right tackle against Memphis. Stallings had started the two previous seasons at left tackle.
Ole Miss recorded 295 first downs last season to break the school season record of 273 set in 2002.
The Rebels scored 40 or more points in five games last season to break the school record for 40-point games in a season set by the 1959, 1961 and 1971 teams with four.
Ole Miss led the SEC in red-zone offense last season, scoring on 90.0-percent (54-of-60) of its red-zone opportunities. The Rebels scored 34 TDs and 20 FGs inside the red zone.
The Rebels led the SEC last season in scoring (34.0 ppg), passing (286.0 ypg) and total offense (433.2 ypg).
Ole Miss scored 442 points in 13 games last season to set a new school single-season scoring record, breaking the previous mark of 391 set in 2001. The Rebels' average of 34.0 points per game ranked second on the school's season list, behind the 2001 team's average of 35.5 points per game.
The Rebels also set new school season records last season for total offense (5,631) and total offense per game (433.2 ypg).

ELI MAY BE GONE, BUT PLENTY OF WEAPONS RETURN FOR PASSING ATTACK: Despite the loss of Chris Collins to graduation, who led the SEC in receptions per game at 5.92, the Rebels return four players -- senior Bill Flowers (Pelham, Ala.), junior Mike Espy (Madison, Miss.), senior Kerry Johnson (Oxford, Miss.) and junior Taye Biddle (Decatur, Ala.) -- that caught 25 or more passes last season. All total, Ole Miss returns 13 players that caught at least one pass last season, including its top receivers out of the backfield in senior FB Lorenzo Townsend (Monticello, Miss.), who caught 15 passes for 148 yards and two TDs.

In last Saturday's game at Memphis, Biddle had three receptions for 83 yards, Johnson caught three passes for 29 yards, Espy had two receptions for 32 yards and Flowers caught one pass for 10 yards. The following chart shows Ole Miss' top returning receivers heading into 2004:

Player	Rec.	Yards	TD	Avg.
Bill Flowers	39	543	1	13.9
Mike Espy	30	542	3	18.1
Kerry Johnson	28	399	5	14.2
Taye Biddle	26	460	4	17.7

REBEL "RUNNING BACK COMMITTEE" LOOKS TO REPLACE KEY COG: With the emergence of RB Tremaine Turner last season, Ole Miss' rushing attack improved from an average of 94.3 yards per game in 2002 to an average of 147.2 yards per game in 2003. Turner paced the Rebels' "Running Back Committee," that included current junior Vashon Pearson (Ripley, Miss.), the departed Ronald McClendon, current sophomore Jamal Pittman (Columbia, Miss.) and current junior Brandon Jacobs (Long Beach, Miss.), with 809 yards on 173 carries and four TDs. Turner accounted for 42.2-percent of the Rebels' rushing output from a year ago, and Ole Miss must replace nearly two-thirds of rushing attack last season.

Pearson carried the majority of the rushing load in last Saturday's game versus Memphis, rushing 14 times for 60 yards, including scoring on a five-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. The following chart shows the Rebels' top returning rushers from a year ago:

Player	GP	Att-Yds-TD	Avg.	Avg/G
Vashon Pearson	12	94-398-4	4.2	33.2
Jamal Pittman	5	42-214-1	5.1	42.8
Brandon Jacobs	13	39-123-4	3.2	9.5

DEFENSIVE NOTES:

Junior SS Kelvin Robinson (Jackson, Miss.) recorded a career-high 10 tackles (seven solo) against Memphis, including 2.0 TFLs (-3 yards). His previous high was eight set last year against Alabama.
Sophomore CB Trumaine McBride (Clarksdale, Miss.) recorded his first career interception in the first quarter against Memphis. McBride also recorded a career-high five stops (three solo) and two pass deflections.
The Rebels did not record a sack against Memphis snapping a streak of 29 consecutive games in which the Rebel defense recorded at least one QB sack ... Prior to last Saturday, the last time Ole Miss did not record a sack was in 2001 against Arkansas.
The Rebels return 22 letterwinners on defense but must replace seven starters.
Senior FS Eric Oliver (Jasper, Ala.) returns after leading Ole Miss in tackles the past two seasons. Oliver recorded 104 hits (73 solo) to record 100 stops for the second straight season. He was credited with 129 tackles (80 solo) to lead the team in 2002 ... Oliver enters 2004 as the SEC's active career leader in tackles with 258.
Junior CB Travis Johnson (Shannon, Miss.) returns after tying for the team lead in interceptions with four and recording a team-high 14 pass deflections ... Johnson entered 2004 third among active SEC players in passes defensed with 20.
Ole Miss scored three defensive TDs last season, all via an interception return. Johnson returned a pick 45 yards for a score against Louisiana-Monroe (9/13) and had a six-yard interception return for a TD against LSU (11/22). Current junior SS Kelvin Robinson (Jackson, Miss.) returned an interception 80 yards for a score against Texas Tech (9/27).

After allowing 661 yards passing to Texas Tech QB B.J. Symons on Sept. 27, the Rebels allowed an average of 214.9 yards passing per game over the final nine games of 2003.

OLIVER WEARS CHUCKY MULLINS' NO. 38 IN 2004: Senior FS Eric Oliver (Jasper, Ala.) is this year's recipient of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award and as a result is wearing the late Mullins' No. 38. Prior to the honor, Oliver wore No. 26. Oliver has led the Rebels in tackles in each of the past two season, recording 129 (80 solo) in 2002 and 104 (73 solo) last season.

SPECIALTY NOTES

Senior P Cody Ridgeway (Jackson, Tenn.) punted 10 times for 457 yards last Saturday against Memphis ... His 10 punts was one shy of his career high of 11 set against Florida in 2002, and the 457 yards was 46 shy of his career high of 503 also set against the Gators in 2002.
Ridgeway had three punts of over 50 yards against the Tigers, and dating back to last season, has recorded at least one punt of at least 50 yards in nine of the last 10 games.
Ridgeway ranked third in the SEC and 11th nationally in punting last season, averaging 44.2 yards per punt.
Junior Mike Espy (Madison, Miss.) had a career-long 36-yard kickoff return in the third quarter versus Memphis ... His previous long was a 24-yarder against Louisiana-Monroe last season.
The Rebels led the SEC in kickoff returns in 2003, averaging 23.7 yards per return.
Ole Miss was tied with LSU for first in the SEC in net punting in 2003, recording a 39.0-yard average per punt.

NICHOLS EXTENDS STREAK: Senior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) converted his lone PAT attempt in last Saturday's game against Memphis to extend his school-record streak to 99 straight PATs made. The streak of 99 consecutive PATs made is also the longest active streak in the country. The following chart shows the top 10 active streaks in the nation for PATs made:

Kicker, School	No.
*1. Jonathan Nichols, Ole Miss*	99
2. Jared Siegel, Oregon	91
3. Robert Menchinger, Western Michigan	72
4. Dustin Bell, Houston	66*
5. Tyler Jones, Boise State	64
6. Taylor Begley, Kentucky	57
55
8. Mike Nugen, Ohio State	53
9. Matt Leach, Florida	48
10. Xavier Beitia, Florida State	47
Mike Gruzwalski, Central Michigan	47

* -- Houston plays Rice on Sunday; Kentucky plays Louisville on Sunday

NICHOLS WINS 2003 GROZA AWARD: Senior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) was named the 2003 winner of the Lou Groza Award for the nation's top place kicker. Last year as a junior, Nichols set a school season record with 124 points scored, making 25-of-29 field goal attempts and 49-of-49 PAT tries.

NICHOLS TOPS SEC IN THREE CATEGORIES IN 2003: Senior PK Jonathan Nichols (Greenwood, Miss.) led the SEC last season in scoring per game (9.5 ppg), field goal percentage (86.2) and tied for first in PAT percentage (1.000). Nichols' 9.5 points-per-game average also ranked ninth in the nation. He also ranked second in the SEC and fourth in the nation in field goals per game, averaging 1.92 per game.

NICHOLS CLIMBS SEC SINGLE-SEASON LIST FOR FIELD GOALS IN 2003: Jonathan Nichols' (Greenwood, Miss.) 25 field goals made last season ranked fourth on the SEC's single-season list. Georgia's Billy Bennett set the SEC single-season mark last year with 31 field goals made, breaking the previous mark of 27 set by Tennessee's Fuad Reveiz in 1982. The following chart shows the SEC single-season list for field goals made:

Player, School, Year (attempts)	No.
1. Billy Bennett, Georgia, 2003 (36 attempts)	31
2. Fuad Reveiz, Tennessee, 1982 (31 attempts)	27
3. Billy Bennett, Georgia, 2002 (33 attempts)	26
*4. Jonathan Nichols, Ole Miss, 2003 (28 attempts)*	25
5. Carlos Reveiz, Tennessee, 1985 (28 attempts)	24
Philip Doyle, Alabama, 1990 (29 attempts)	24

OLE MISS CLAIMS SHARE OF FIRST-EVER SEC WEST TITLE IN 2003: Ole Miss completed a 7-1 Southeastern Conference season with a 31-0 victory over Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night to claim a share of its first-ever SEC Western Division title. BCS national champion LSU was also co-champions of the SEC West and represented the division in the SEC Championship Game due to the Tigers' 17-14 win over the Rebels on Nov. 22 in Oxford. The SEC West title represented Ole Miss' first SEC football championship of any kind since winning the conference in 1963.

CUTCLIFFE EARNS COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS IN 2003: Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe was named 2003 SEC co-Coach of the Year by The Associated Press and was named the SEC Coach of the Year by a vote of his peers in the conference. He also garnered American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) NCAA Division I-A Region 2 Coach of the Year honors last season.

STAFF CHANGES: Ole Miss will have two new assistant coaches on head coach David Cutcliffe's staff in 2004. Jay Hopson will serve as the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator after spending the last three years as an assistant at Southern Miss. Hopson replaces Jim Knowles who resigned to become the head coach at Cornell University. Third-year defensive coordinator Chuck Driesbach will return to coaching the linebackers after coaching the defensive backs last season.

Arlington Nunn also joins Cutcliffe's coaching staff in 2004 and will serve as the running backs coach. Nunn replaces Ron Middleton, who accepted a position with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, Nunn spent the three seasons coaching the wide receivers at Troy State.

2004 CAPTAINS: Senior OL Doug Buckles (Madison, Miss.), senior WR Kerry Johnson (Oxford, Miss.), senior OL Marcus Johnson (Coffeeville, Miss.), senior DB Eric Oliver (Jasper, Ala.) and senior LB Rob Robertson (Centreville, Miss.) will serve as team captains for the 2004 season.

--2004 SEASON GAME-BY-GAME NOTES--
GAME #1 - MEMPHIS 20, OLE MISS 13

Ole Miss dropped its season opener for the first time since 1995 as Memphis downed the Rebels 20-13 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field ... The loss also snapped the Rebels' streak of 16 consecutive wins in home openers.
The crowd of 61,112 was the third largest in school history.
Junior QB Micheal Spurlock (Indianola, Miss.) made his first career start.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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