.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
FRIDAY FLASHBACK: Ole Miss - Alabama 1970
10/9/2009 | Football
FRIDAY FLASHBACK rewinds to some of the memorable Ole Miss games from this week's all-time series. Saturday's highly anticipated meeting between the longtime SEC rivals marks the first time since 1970 that both Ole Miss and Alabama entered the game ranked in the top 20.
The 1969 encounter is considered one of the greatest games in SEC history, as the Crimson Tide prevailed 33-32 despite Archie Manning's 540 total yards, which still stands today as a conference record. Manning would have his revenge a year later when the No. 7 Rebels faced the No. 17 Tide in Jackson. The following is the Jackson Daily News' account of the events of October 3, 1970.
Rebs Roll Up Big Lead
Red And Blue Strikes For 48 To 23 Victory
By Lee Baker
Jackson Daily News
It wasn't like a year ago.
It was better.
And while there were overtones of last year's classic, the national television audience the second time around got a completely different picture of Ole Miss and Alabama.
A year ago the 'Bama Crimson Tide took a thriller, 33-32.
Saturday night before a full house at Mississippi Memorial Stadium and the cameras, Ole Miss wiped 'em out, 48-23.
Of course, it was mostly Archie Manning clicking on the scoreboard - three touchdown passes and two TD's running, but there was much, much more to the Rebels' first-ever wipeout of the Tide.
Ole Miss went after Alabama from the opening kickoff, which was generously donated to the visitors, the Rebs having won the pre-game coin toss but preferring the 8 m.p.h. wind to receiving.
That meant little since in short order Billy Van Devender had intercepted the first of three thefts the Rebs would get and in five plays. Archie had a touchdown, drilling a pass to Randy Reed covering seven yards.
That was 2 ½ minutes into the action.
The next time in possession, the Mississippians pounded 47 yards in a hurry to a one-yard scoring sneak by Manning.
Thereafter the point pace eased, not broken until five minutes of the second period passed, when Bama's Richard Ciemmy kicked a 39-yard field goal.
And that moment of glory quickly was extinguished for on the ensuing kickoff, taken at the goal line, was hustled back the full 100 yards by Vernon Studdard.
If that weren't unnerving enough, Freddie Brister grabbed an interception and came back 38 yards to the Tide 14, making it easy for Manning to hit Reed on the next play with another touchdown pass.
Just a couple of minutes before halftime, Alabama finally put together a march, taking advantage of some Rebel reserves, with Neb Hayden chunking regularly in moving the Tide 87 yards in 13 plays, the payoff coming on a 15 yard pass to flanker Jerry Cash.
That left things at midpoint 26-10 Ole Miss and while for a time the Crimson came back in the second half, nudging within nice as Johnny Musso nosed across with a TD pass from Terry Davis, then the soph quarterback ran the two pointer.
Ole Miss went out in a blaze on fourth quarter scoring. Studdard scored again on a seven-yard pass from Manning. Archie romped 14 yards for another and after the Tide did get its final score as Hayden threw to tight end Steve Doran for 18 yards, Bob Knight slammed across one yard to wrap it up.
That short thrust had been set up by a 32-yard Manning to Floyd Franks pass.
In last year's classic when Ole Miss and Alabama first took up this scoring-orgy business at night before a nationwide audience, Manning alone piled up 55 completions, second greatest total ever by a collegian.
This night as a team, the Rebs made only 334 net yards, but the difference had to be ends John Gilliland and Dennis Coleman, tackle Elmer Allen pressure on, start to finish.
The linebacking threesome of Crowell Armstrong, Jeff Horn and Brister, plus Monster Van Devender compounded the problems for Hayden, Davis and their mates, who tried desperately to overcome the difficulty of going without starting Q.B. Scott Hunter, but without consistent success, not with the Rebs ripping and tearing away, throwing Crimson backs for 126 yards in losses, so that they had only 27 net yards rushing on 42 carries.
Their 14 completions of 32 'Bama passes did pay off a little better, for 205 yards and the Tide's three touchdowns.
The Reb offense once again revolved around Manning and Reed, Archie completing 10 of 24 passes for 157 yards plus running nine times for 46 yards, and Randy booming it into the 'Bama defense 22 times for 99 yards.
This was only the fourth victory ever by Ole Miss over Alabama, the third coming in Jackson.
