Ole Miss Football Game Notes

Oct. 24, 2005

Game 8: Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3) at #19 Auburn (5-2, 3-1)

Ole Miss Game Notes in PDF Format

DATE: Saturday, October 29, 2005

TIME: 11:30 a.m. CT

SITE (CAPACITY): Jordan-Hare Stadium (86,063); Auburn, Ala.

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; Richard Cross and Pete Cordelli, pregame and postgame hosts). Radio frequency in Jordan-Hare Stadium will be 103.9 FM. Sirius Satellite Radio channel 127 (Auburn broadcast).

POLLS: Auburn is ranked No. 19 in both the USA Today Coaches Top 25 and the Associated Press Top 25. The Tigers also sit at No. 19 in the Harris Interactive Poll.

SERIES INFO: This meeting will be the 30th all-time between the Rebels and Tigers dating back to 1928, and Auburn holds a 21-8 advantage in the series. The Tigers boast a 9-2 edge in games played in Auburn, although Ole Miss has been victorious in two of the last three encounters on the Plains, including a 24-20 win in the last meeting there in 2003. The Rebels' other triumph at Jordan-Hare Stadium was a 24-17 overtime victory in 1999. The Tigers prevailed 35-14 in last year's meeting in Oxford and have won 10 of the last 12 meetings dating back to 1993 and 19-of-22 dating back to Auburn's 35-28 win in the 1971 Gator Bowl. The last six meetings have been decided by an average of 8.8 points.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ole Miss has won two of the last three meetings on the Plains ... The Rebels rank 13th in the nation in both scoring defense and pass defense, while the Tigers are fourth and seventh, respectively, in those categories ... Ole Miss has allowed only one TD in each of the last three games ... Junior LB Patrick Willis ranks second in the nation in solo stops (9.17 per game) and leads the SEC in total tackles (12.8 per game) ... Redshirt freshman RB Mico McSwain has already established an OIe Miss freshman rushing record and has three 100-yard games this year.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH Ed Orgeron: Ed Orgeron (Northwestern State, 1984) is in his first season as the Rebels' head coach, having been hired on Dec. 16, 2004. Ole Miss is Orgeron's first career head coaching position, although he possesses 20 years of college coaching experience, most recently as an assistant head coach on USC's 2003 and 2004 national champion teams.

AUBURN HEAD COACH TOMMY TUBERVILLE: Tommy Tuberville is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers. He is 56-26 (.683 winning pct.) with the Tigers and has a career mark of 81-46 (.638 winning pct.) in his 11th season as a collegiate head coach. He has led the Tigers to five straight bowl appearances including three straight victories. He capped a perfect 13-0 campaign a year ago with a 16-13 win over Virginia Tech in the 2005 NOKIA Sugar Bowl. Tuberville posted a 25-20 (.556 winning pct.) mark in four seasons as the head coach at Ole Miss from 1995-1998. He is 4-2 facing the Rebels.

AUBURN SCOUTING REPORT: The Tigers had their five-game win streak snapped Saturday in a 20-17 overtime defeat to LSU in Baton Rouge. It was only the second loss for Auburn in its last 22 games. Auburn leads the SEC in both scoring offense (34.4 ppg) and total offense (424.0 ypg). Junior RB Kenny Irons is second in the conference in rushing, averaging 102.7 yards per game, and has 719 yards and six rushing TDs on the year. Sophomore QB Brandon Cox is third in the SEC in passing at 230.7 yards per game, having completed 102-of-176 passes for 1,384 yards with 10 TDs and six INTs. Senior WR Ben Obamanu leads the Tigers with 20 receptions for 233 yards and three TDs, while senior WR Devin Aromashodu has 17 catches for 282 yards with three scores. Aromashodu is also the SEC's leading kick returner with a 29.1-yard average. Defensively, Auburn is second in the SEC and fourth in the nation in scoring defense (12.0 ppg) while ranking third in the conference and eighth nationally in total defense (277.4 ypg). The Tigers boast the league's top pass defense (158.1 ypg). Junior S Will Herring has recorded a team-high 43 total tackles, while senior LB Antarrious Williams leads the team with 23 solo stops. Junior DE Marquies Gunn has 7.0 TFLs, and fellow junior end Chris Browder has 3.5 sacks. Junior P Kody Bliss tops the SEC in punting with a 45.0 average. Junior K John Vaughn has made good on 8-of-15 field goals and all 31 PAT attempts.

OLE MISS BEGINS COACH "O" ERA: Ole Miss officially kicked off the Ed Orgeron era with a 10-6 victory at Memphis on Sept. 5. Orgeron was hired as the 35th head coach in the history of the University of Mississippi on December 16, 2004. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, Orgeron served the previous seven seasons as the defensive line coach at the University of Southern California and played a key role in Pete Carroll's Trojans winning back-to-back national championships in 2003 and 2004. He also served as USC's recruiting coordinator from 2001-2004 and was named assistant head coach in 2003.

REBEL NOTEBOOK
The Rebels scored first against Kentucky for the sixth time in this season's seven games.
The Rebels scored their first second-quarter points of the season Saturday with the TD pass from Micheal Spurlock to Mike Espy and a Matt Hinkle field goal.
Ole Miss is 3-0 when leading after the third quarter this season.
The Rebels were penalized a season-low three times for 25 yards in the Kentucky game.
Ole Miss has averaged over 34 minutes in time of possession over the last three games ... Against both Kentucky and Citadel, the Rebels held the ball for over 35 minutes.
Nine true freshmen and 22 players overall have seen their first action in the Red and Blue this season.
The Rebels enter the game with an all-time record of 590-439-35 (.571 winning percentage).
The University of Mississippi is in its 111th football season dating back to 1893 ... Ole Miss did not field teams in 1897 due to an epidemic of yellow fever, and also in 1943 when football was abolished at all Mississippi state-supported institutions by the Board of Trustees.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS
OFFENSE: #15 Robert Lane (So.) earned his first career start at FB ... Lane's only other start was at QB against Wyoming earlier this season.

SECOND-HALF REBELS: Ole Miss has been a strong second-half team this season, outscoring the opposition 71-59 after the halftime break. Conversely, the Rebels have struggled to a 56-46 point deficit in the first half, including a 36-10 opponent's edge in the second quarter.

OLE MISS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
This game against No. 19 Auburn will mark the third ranked opponent the Rebels will face this season ... Tennessee was ranked No. 9/10 and Alabama was No. 6/7.
Ole Miss is 6-10 versus top-25 opponents dating back to a 45-30 win over No. 25 Mississippi State in the 2000 Egg Bowl.
Ole Miss is 43-111-2 all-time versus ranked teams.
The Rebels are 11-59 all-time versus ranked teams on the road.

ALABAMA REBELS: Ole Miss has six players on its 2005 roster that call the state of Alabama home: senior WR Taye Biddle (Decatur), senior OL Tony Bonds (Russellville), senior DL McKinley Boykin (Bessemer), junior TE Lawrence Lilly (Montevallo), junior WR Matt Pierce (Mobile), and sophomore RB Hiram White (Birmingham).

OFFENSIVE NOTES
Senior QB Micheal Spurlock has tossed a TD pass in five of the last six games with three of the scores going to senior WR Mike Espy ... Spurlock has reached the 200-yard mark in passing yards in three of the last four games and finished at 198 against Kentucky ... Spurlock was the first QB to pass for 200 yards against Alabama this season.
Senior WR Mike Espy's third TD grab of the year on Saturday matches his most in a season, having hauled in three TD passes in 2002 and again in 2003.
Senior WR Mario Hill is averaging 80.8 receiving yards per game, which would rank second in the SEC had he not missed two games with injury.
Nine different Rebel receivers caught a pass in the Kentucky game.
With his start at right tackle against Kentucky, senior OL Tre' Stallings extended his stretch of consecutive starts to 44, which is the third-longest active streak in the SEC ... If he starts the four remaining regular-season games, Stallings would tie the school record for consecutive starts of 48, held by Marcus Johnson (2001-04).
Ole Miss returned 19 letterwinners, including four starters, on offense this year.

REBEL "D" TIGHTENS UP: The Rebels have limited the opposition to only one TD in each of the last three games. The Ole Miss defense has been particularly strong against the pass, allowing 120.7 yards in the air over the last three contests. Kentucky mustered only 107 passing yards on Saturday, while The Citadel was handcuffed to only 21 yards. The Rebels have risen to 13th in the nation in both scoring defense and pass defense. Ole Miss ranks sixth and fourth, respectively, in those categories in the SEC.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
Ole Miss shut out Kentucky through the first three quarters, giving the Rebel defense 11 scoreless quarters on the year.
The Rebel defense registered its third scoreless half of the season with the first-half shutout of the Wildcats ... It was the fifth half of the season in which Ole Miss held the opposition without a TD.
Ole Miss forced and recovered three fumbles for the first time since the 2003 Texas Tech game ... It marks the second straight game the Rebels have forced and recovered at least two fumbles.
Senior DB Travis Johnson is tied for the SEC-lead in forced fumbles with three.
Ole Miss held Alabama to a season low in points (13) and a tie for its least rushing yards (121) ... The Tide was averaging 29.6 points per game.
The Rebels limited The Citadel to 81 yards of total offense on the game, the least allowed by the Rebels since holding Vanderbilt to 51 total yards in 1993.
Ole Miss returned 19 letterwinners on defense, including seven starters, from last season.

STRONG-LEGGED MOSELEY: When it comes to kickoffs, junior K Will Moseley is tops among SEC kickers, recording touchbacks on 16 of his 27 kickoffs for a league-best 59.3 percentage. The Bailey, Miss., native is also tied for fourth in the conference in field goals over 40 yards, knocking down 2-of-4 from that distance, including a 50-yarder against Tennessee.

SPECIALTY NOTES
Sophomore Alan Abrams registered the first blocked punt of his career in Saturday's game ... It marked the Rebels' third blocked kick of the season, with the other two coming on field goal attempts.
Ole Miss surrendered its fourth and fifth blocked kicks of the season against Kentucky ... Freshman Robert Bass' 39-yard FG attempt in the first quarter was turned away, as was sophomore Matt Hinkle's 44-yarder in the third stanza.
On Saturday, Hinkle saw his first action since the season opener at Memphis and connected on a season-long 45-yard FG.
Three different kickers have been used by the Rebels this season. Below charts how redshirt freshman Robert Bass, sophomore Matt Hinkle and junior Will Moseley have performed:
Bass: 7-7 PAT, 2-4 FG
Hinkle: 1-1 PAT, 3-7 FG
Moseley: 3-4 PAT, 3-6 FG
Senior Mike Espy ran back a punt 51 yards for a his first career return for a TD at Vanderbilt ... It marked the first punt return for a score by a Rebel since Jason Armstead scampered 62 yards against Memphis in 2002.

OLE MISS ON TV
This game against Auburn, to be carried by JP, is the Rebels' fifth TV game of the year ... The Memphis game was televised by ESPN, the Vanderbilt and Tennessee games were carried by JP and the Alabama matchup was on CBS.
Over the last four seasons, 30 of the Rebels' 44 games have been televised.
Last year, the Rebels appeared on TV five times.
All-time, this game will be the Rebels' 149th TV appearance since Ole Miss made its TV debut in the 1953 Sugar Bowl versus Georgia Tech ... Ole Miss is 68-78-2 all-time in TV games.
Ole Miss is 20-14 all-time on JP, and 0-2 this year.
The Rebels have won 12 of their last 20 TV games dating back to the 24-12 win over Mississippi State in the 2002 "Egg Bowl."

OLE MISS IN OCTOBER
The Rebels are 214-142-14 (.597 winning pct.) all-time in the month of October.
Ole Miss is 14-6 (.700 winning pct.) in October since 2001.
The Rebels went 2-2 in October last year ... The 21-17 loss to No. 13 Tennessee on Oct. 16, 2004 snapped a six-game win streak during the month of October.
In SEC games played in October, Ole Miss has an overall record of 94-96-6 (.495 winning pct.) ... The Rebels are 42-60-4 (.415 winning pct.) in SEC road games during October and 52-36-2 (.589 winning pct.) in SEC home games during the month.
The Rebels are 65-86-9 (.434 winning pct.) in road games during October and 149-57-5 (.718 winning pct.) in home games.
Against non-conference opponents in October, Ole Miss is 120-47-8 (.709 winning pct.) ... The Rebels are 97-21-3 (.814 winning pct.) in non-conference home games in October and 23-26-5 (.472 winning pct.) in road games versus non-SEC teams in October.

ROBINSON NAMED TO SEC GOOD WORKS TEAM: Senior LB Kelvin Robinson was featured as the SEC Good Works Team Player of the Week for the week of the Ole Miss-Tennessee contest. A criminal justice major from Jackson, Miss., Robinson has been active in the Oxford Pantry Canned Food Drive, the Oxford Highway Clean-up, Reading with the Rebels and Toys for Tots. He has visited patients at the North Mississippi Regional Medical Center and with the elderly at the Azalea Gardens Retirement Center and Heritage Gardens Retirement Center. He also visited area elementary schools, speaking to children at Costa Rica Elementary School during a study abroad program and during National Student-Athlete Day at Oxford Elementary School. Also, he has been part of the Ole Miss Team Mentoring Program.

GRADUATED REBELS: The Rebels have four players on this year's team who have completed their undergraduate degrees -- DT McKinley Boykin (Bessemer, Ala.), LB Kelvin Robinson (Jackson, Miss.), QB Micheal Spurlock (Indianola, Miss.) and OL Tre' Stallings (Magnolia, Miss.).

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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