GAME NOTES: Nutt Era Opens With Memphis

SEASON OPENER: Ole Miss vs. Memphis

TIME: August 30, 2008, 6 p.m. CT

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

TV: There is no live TV for this game. The CSS replay of the game will be Sunday, Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. CT (Richard Cross, play-by-play; Harry Harrison, color analyst).

RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play; Pete Cordelli, color analyst; Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter). XM Satellite Radio channel 141.

WEB: OleMissSports.com will provide live stats and an in-game blog as well as live audio through RebelVision. The official Rebel athletics website will also provide a full game recap, photo gallery and video highlights at the game's conclusion.

POLLS: Neither Ole Miss nor Memphis appear in the top-25 rankings.

SERIES INFO: This meeting will be the 58th all-time between the Mid-South rivals. It is the Rebels' sixth-most played series and most frequent with any school not currently or formerly in the SEC. Ole Miss holds a 45-10-2 lead in the series and has won the last three encounters. The Rebels have won 12 of the last 16 meetings dating back to 1988, and prior to 2003, had won four straight over Memphis. Ole Miss is 17-2 against the Tigers in Oxford and won the first 15 games in Mississippi. The Rebels prevailed 28-25 in the last bout at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 2006.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: This game will mark the kickoff of the 114th season of football at Ole Miss and the first under head coach Houston Nutt ... Ole Miss has won 11 of its last 12 season openers, including three straight, all against Memphis ... Ole Miss has matched up with Memphis in its season opener more than any other foe, having kicked off the year with the Tigers 35 times, including the last four ... In season openers against Memphis, the Rebels are 30-3-2 ... Ole Miss is a perfect 5-0 all-time in August ... This will mark the Rebel debut of sophomore Texas transfer Jevan Snead at quarterback.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH HOUSTON NUTT: Houston Nutt (Oklahoma State, 1981) enters his first season at the Ole Miss helm, after being named the University's 36th head football coach on Nov. 28, 2007. During his 10 years as the head coach at Arkansas, Nutt guided the Razorbacks to eight bowl berths, three SEC Western Division titles, two SEC Championship game appearances and an average of more than seven wins per season. He also served head coaching stints at Boise State and Murray State, where he captured two OVC Championships. Nutt is 1-0 against Memphis as a head coach.

MEMPHIS HEAD COACH TOMMY WEST: Tommy West (Tennessee, 1976) is in his eighth season as the Tigers' head coach. He has a 41-44 record at Memphis and has a career ledger of 76-79 in 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach. West has guided the Tigers to bowl appearances four of the last five years, including a New Orleans Bowl bid to cap a 7-6 campaign in 2007. West has also made head coaching stops at Chattanooga and Clemson. He went 4-7 with the Mocs before being named the head coach at Clemson prior to the 1993 Peach Bowl. He guided the Clemson program for five seasons, compiling a 31-28 ledger. West received his first coaching assignment at Ole Miss in 1979, working with the running backs on former Rebel coach Steve Sloan's staff. West is 2-4 against the Rebels.

MEMPHIS SCOUTING REPORT: The Tigers were a preseason pick to finish fourth in the Conference USA East Division and return 51 lettermen and 21 starters from last year's 7-6 squad. Among the seven offensive starters back is All-C-USA receiver Duke Calhoun, who led the Tigers with 890 yards on 62 receptions a year ago. He boasts a current streak of 24 straight games with a catch. Nine starters are back on defense, including all five defensive lineman. Leading that group is Clinton McDonald, who posted 55 total tackles, 9.5 TFLs and 4.0 sacks last season.

APPROACHING 600: The Rebel football program is three wins short of 600. Ole Miss boasts an all-time record of 597-460-35 (.566 winning percentage).

REBEL NOTEBOOK
This game will mark the start of the 114th football season at The University of Mississippi 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.
Ole Miss is 39-10 versus non-conference opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994 ... The Rebels are 29-6 in their last 35 non-conference games in Oxford.
Ole Miss is returning 44 lettermen and 17 starters from last year's squad.

OPENERS
The Rebels are 84-24-5 (.765 winning percentage) in season openers and have taken 11 of the last 12.
Ole Miss is 92-15-5 (.844 winning pct.) in home openers ... When playing their home opener in Oxford, the Rebels are 69-8-4 (.877 winning pct.) ... Ole Miss dropped last year's home opener to Missouri 28-25.
When the Rebels' season and home openers are one in the same, Ole Miss is 57-4-3 (.914 winning percentage) ... The Rebels have on 13 of the last 14 such openers, with the one loss coming to Memphis 20-13 in 2004 ... Ole Miss knocked off Memphis 28-25 in the 2006 season and home opener.

MEMPHIS REBELS: Ole Miss has 14 players on its roster from the Memphis area: senior OL Terry Freeman, junior C Brandon Green, freshman FB H.R. Greer, junior DE Greg Hardy, junior DB Demareo Marr, senior OL Michael Oher, senior P Rob Park, junior LS Preston Powers, freshman OL Bradley Sowell, junior K-P Justin Sparks, sophomore WR Markeith Summers, junior DB Cassius Vaughn, sophomore DE LaDerrick Vaughn and sophomore LB Allen Walker.

DEJA VU: As a head coach, Houston Nutt has faced the Memphis Tigers only once, and it ironically occurred in his first season at Arkansas. In 1998, he led the 20th-ranked Razorbacks to a 23-9 road victory over the Tigers in the Bluff City.

COACHING DEBUTS: Ole Miss' last two head coaches have been victorious in their first game on the Rebel sideline. Of those that have coached since joining the SEC in 1933, the Rebels are 8-4 in their debut.

OLE MISS IN AUGUST
The Rebels are playing in August for the first time since facing Vanderbilt on Aug. 30, 2003.
Ole Miss is 5-0 all-time during the month of August.

NEW HD VIDEO BOARD DEBUTS: Ole Miss partnered with Daktronics Inc., to design, manufacture and install a $6 million integrated system featuring a large high definition video display at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, which will debut at the season opener. The board can serve as a single giant display or be divided into multiple zones. In addition, the back of the display will use the latest LED technology to greet visitors. A complete sound system with speakers above the video display rounds out the integrated system.

REBELS VERSUS CONFERENCE USA: Ole Miss will enter this game versus Memphis with an all-time record of 128-53-2 (.705 winning pct.) against schools that are currently members of Conference USA. Prior to the Memphis loss in 2003, Ole Miss reeled off a nine-game win streak over C-USA opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on November 12, 1994. Former SEC rivals, Ole Miss and Tulane have matched up 69 times, fourth-most frequent of any Rebel opponent series.

REBELS ON PRESEASON WATCH LISTS: Three Rebels have been named to preseason watch lists for some of college football's most prestigious awards. Michael Oher is listed as an early candidate for both the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy. Brothers Peria and John Jerry join Oher on the Outland watch list, and Peria and Greg Hardy are both nominees for the Nagurski Trophy. Hardy is also in the field for the Lombardi and Hendricks awards.

GRADUATING REBELS: Four student-athletes on the Ole Miss football team have already received their undergraduate degrees. DE Chris Bowers has earned his B.A. in real estate, while RB Jason Cook has his B.A. in english. OL Darryl Harris has completed his B.S. in exercise science, and TE David Traxler has his B.A. in accountancy. The Ole Miss football team was well represented at the University's graduation ceremonies in May, as 12 Rebels earned degrees in the past year.

NEW FACE UNDER CENTER: Sophomore quarterback Jevan Snead enters his first season as the Rebel signal-caller after transferring from Texas in January 2007. In his one season with the Longhorns, he completed 26-of-49 passes for 371 yards with two TDs and two interceptions as a true freshman. Rebel fans got a preview of Snead in the spring when he threw for 269 yards on 20-of-26 passing with two TDs and an interception in the Red-Blue Game. He was tabbed Preseason SEC Newcomer of the Year by Lindy's and Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
Ole Miss returns 19 lettermen and seven starters on offense.
The Rebel line has four starters back, including All-American tackle Michael Oher. In addition, sixth-year Rebel Darryl Harris has 14 career starts.
Ole Miss returns its four leading receivers from a season ago, including All-SEC honoree Mike Wallace. However, third-leading receiver Marshay Green made the transition to cornerback in the spring.
The Rebels must replace a two-time 1,000-yard rusher in BenJarvus Green-Ellis, whose 1,137 yards in 2007 ranks second on the Ole Miss single-season chart.

CHUCKY MULLINS COURAGE AWARD: Senior S Jamarca Sanford was selected as the 2008 recipient of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award, which goes to a rising senior defensive player each year. The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away on May 6, 1991. Sanford, who wears No. 13, will have the honor of wearing a "38" patch on his jersey during his senior campaign. Mullins wore No. 38 as a player at Ole Miss.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
Ole Miss returns 21 lettermen and eight starters on defense.
Three starters are back on the line, although two are temporarily out of commission. All-American junior end Greg Hardy underwent outpatient surgery on his right foot to repair a stress fracture on Aug. 11, while All-SEC senior tackle Peria Jerry had arthroscopic knee surgery for a torn right medial meniscus on Aug. 18.
Last year's top four tacklers return, including senior linebackers Ashlee Palmer (first) and Tony Fein (second). The linebacking corps also features sophomore Jonathan Cornell, who started the first two games of 2007 before missing the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

SPECIALTY NOTES
Ole Miss returns all four key personnel in the kicking game, with PK Joshua Shene, P Justin Sparks, holder Rob Parks and long snapper Preston Powers.
Junior Joshua Shene enters his third season as the Rebels' starting placekicker. He has connected on 44-of-45 PATs and 25-of-34 field goals in his career. He was a First Team Freshman All-America honoree in 2006.
Ole Miss enjoys a wealth of experience at punter. In addition to holding, senior Rob Park served as the starting punter in 2005 and 2006. Junior Justin Sparks handled punting duties last year, while also kicking off in the final three games.

AUSTIN BACK IN OXFORD: While the majority of Houston Nutt's first Ole Miss coaching staff came with him from Arkansas, one assistant coach came from north of the border and is a familiar name to Ole Miss fans. Kent Austin, who was a record-setting quarterback for the Rebels from 1981-85, is serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He joined Nutt's staff after leading Saskatchewan to the Grey Cup Championship and was named Canadian Football League Coach of the Year. Austin spent 15 seasons in the CFL and won championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He retired as a player in 1996 as the league's ninth all-time passer with 36,030 yards. His 57.6 yard completion average is third best, and he remains one of only four players to pass for more than 6,000 yards in a single season. As a Rebel, Austin still ranks second in career completions (566) and attempts (981), third in passing yards (6,184) and 200-yard games (11), and fourth in passing touchdowns (31) and total offense (6,179).

OHER RISING UP DRAFT BOARDS: Senior OL Michael Oher decided to return for his senior season and is already drawing heavy notoriety as a 2009 NFL Draft prospect. Amongst the numerous NFL Draft websites, Oher is commonly a top-five choice for next year, and at least one site, WalterFootball.com, projects the Memphis tackle to be the No. 1 overall pick. Defensive lineman Greg Hardy and Peria Jerry are also regarded as players that could be drafted on the first day. NFLDraftDog.com ranks Hardy 10th on its board, while FanNation.com has Jerry in the No. 17 slot.

SCHEDULE NOTES
The Rebels face four teams that appear in the USA Today preseason top-25 poll, including No. 5 Florida, No. 6 LSU, No. 11 Auburn and No. 23 Wake Forest ... In addition, Alabama and South Carolina are the top vote getters amongst the others receiving votes.
Of Ole Miss' 12 foes, only two teams failed to have a .500 or better record a season ago ... Four foes won nine of more games, including defending national champion LSU.
For the third straight year, Ole Miss is playing seven home games, hosting Memphis (Aug. 30), Samford (Sept. 13), Vanderbilt (Sept. 20), South Carolina (Oct. 4), Auburn (Nov. 1), Louisiana-Monroe (Nov. 15) and Mississippi State (Nov. 28).

NEW TIME ANNOUNCED FOR EARLY GAMES: Due to expected high temperatures, Ole Miss is announcing a 6 p.m. CST kickoff for the opener and any non-television September home games this season, including the Sept. 13 meeting with Samford. The Vanderbilt game on Sept. 20 is tentatively set for 6 p.m., pending the announcement of the SEC TV schedule for that week.

ABC PICKS UP WAKE FOREST GAME: The Sept. 6 game between Ole Miss and Wake Forest will be carried by ABC, beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT from BB&T Field in Winston Salem, N.C. Scheduled to be shown regionally by ABC, the Ole Miss-Wake Forest game is also being televised to areas outside of the regional window, expanding the coverage to most of the nation on ESPN2. The Rebels' only other game already confirmed for TV is the Friday, Nov. 28 Ole Miss-Mississippi State "Egg Bowl" to be played at 11:30 a.m. CT. Raycom Sports (formerly Lincoln Financial Sports) will telecast the game from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as part of the SEC's syndicated package. The first network televised football game for Ole Miss was during the 1952 season when the Rebels faced Georgia Tech in the 1953 Sugar Bowl on ABC. Since then, Ole Miss has appeared on 161 regional and national telecasts, and on every major sports network. Over the past 11 seasons, a total of 77 Ole Miss games have been televised.

HARRIS GRANTED SIXTH YEAR: Darryl Harris has been granted a sixth year of eligibility with the Rebel football team, as the offensive lineman received a medical waiver from the NCAA. A Clarksdale Miss., native, Harris has played in 22 games over his career, drawing 14 total starts -- nine at center and five at tackle. The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder received the J. Richard Price Courage and Compassion Award for his efforts during 2008 spring drills. After earned the starting nod at center in nine games as a sophomore in 2005, Harris competed in only the first three games of 2006 before injuries ended his campaign. He returned to see action in five contests last fall and started the Auburn game at right tackle.

DEBUTS: A total of 25 players made their Ole Miss debuts last year, including nine true freshmen. Among the first-year players standing out were true frosh Johnny Brown, who started the final seven games at safety, and JUCO transfer linebackers Ashlee Palmer and Tony Fein, who earned the starting nod 11 and six times, respectively.

GROVE BOWL RECAP: Capping Houston Nutt's first spring in Oxford, Ole Miss set a spring record for attendance in a 40-14 win for the Blue team in the annual Grove Bowl at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The attendance of 28,311 broke the previous record of 27,215 set in the 2002 Grove Bowl contest. On a bright, sunny day with the wind whipping around Hollingsworth Field, sophomore QB Jevan Snead completed 20-of-26 passes for 269 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Junior Dexter McCluster caught eight passes for 106 yards, while rushing for 35 yards and a touchdown. The Blue team struck first on a 44-yard run by junior tailback Cordera Eason. Following a three-and-out by the Red team, the Blue scored off another long touchdown run by Eason of 46 yards. Eason finished the day with 101 yards on seven carries. In the first offensive series of the second quarter, junior quarterback Billy Tapp led the Red offense on a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, tying the game at 14. Tapp was the only passer for the Red squad, finishing 7-of-10 for 69 yards. The Red team received seven extra points following each score. Junior kicker Joshua Shene added two field goals to extend the Blue team's lead to 20-14 before McCluster's 21-yard scamper put them ahead 27-14. Snead would add two more touchdown passes to junior Markeith Summers and sophomore Lionel Breaux respectively, finishing the game. For the Blue team, senior wide receiver Mike Wallace grabbed five passes for 90 yards and junior tight end Gerald Harris caught two for 22 yards. The leading tackler for the Blue team was Ashlee Palmer with five stops. Defensive tackle Ted Laurent had two tackles for loss, with junior defensive end Greg Hardy recovering a fumble to the Red six yard line. The game marked the conclusion of spring practice.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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