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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Ranked Top-15 In Both Final Polls
1/9/2009 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. -- A six-win improvement from a year ago and a convincing victory in the AT&T Cotton Bowl has catapulted the Ole Miss Rebels to a No. 14 final national ranking by the Associated Press, as announced Friday. The Rebels were tabbed 15th in the final USA Today Coaches' poll.
This marks the 25th time in Ole Miss' storied football history that the Rebels have appeared in the end-of-the-year rankings in one of the major polls and first time since 2003, when the team was voted No. 13 by the AP. Including 2008, the Rebels have placed among the top 15 teams in 17 years and earned named national champion distinction in 1959, 1960 and 1962.
Under first-year head coach Houston Nutt, Ole Miss experienced its biggest turnaround from one season to the next since legendary Ole Miss Coach John Vaught's debut in 1947. Coming off four straight losing seasons and projected to place fifth in the SEC Western Division in the preseason, the Rebels finished second in the West and ended the year on a six-game win streak, including a 47-34 Cotton Bowl win over No. 8 Texas Tech.
Ole Miss knocked off three top-20 squads away from Oxford, including last year's national champion LSU and this year's title holder Florida. It was the lone blemish for the Gators, who finished No. 1 in both the AP and USA Today polls.
