GAME NOTES: No. 5 Rebels Face Lions In Home Opener

Home Opener: #5/6 Ole Miss vs. Southeastern Louisiana

TIME: September 19, 2009, 6:35 p.m. CT

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

TV: CSS (Doug Bell, play-by-play; JC Pearson, analyst). The game will also be available on ESPN GamePlan.

RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play; Harry Harrison, analyst; Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter). Satellite Radio: XM 201, Sirius 220.

WEB: OleMissSports.com will provide live stats and live audio on RebelVision. The official Rebel athletics website will also provide a full game recap and photo gallery at the game's conclusion. The game will also be streamed online at ESPN360.com.

POLLS: Ole Miss jumped one spot into a tie for No. 5 in the latest Associated Press national rankings. The USA Today Coaches Poll, which previously tabbed the Rebels eighth, moved the team up to No. 6 in its top-25 rundown this week. Ole Miss is at its highest ranking since holding the No. 4 spot in October 1970. The Rebels' No. 5 ranking equals the highest by a team coached by Houston Nutt, who guided Arkansas to that spot in November 2006. That season marked the Rebels' last in the top 10 prior to this year. Southeastern Louisiana is receiving votes in the latest FCS top-25 rankings.

SERIES INFO: This will mark the first meeting between the two schools.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: With seven straight wins dating back to last season, Ole Miss will be aiming for its longest win streak in nearly 37 years ... The Rebels are shooting for a 2-0 start for the first time since 2002 ... Ole Miss is averaging 45.4 points over its last five games ... Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingswourth Field will debut its newly-installed FieldTurf ... Coach Houston Nutt and the team will take part in a pep rally, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH HOUSTON NUTT: Houston Nutt (Oklahoma State, 1981) is in his second season at the Ole Miss helm, after being named the University's 36th head football coach on Nov. 28, 2007. His first season in Oxford saw him lead the Rebels to a Cotton Bowl victory and earn SEC Coach of the Year billing for the third time in his career and Region top coaching honors for the fifth time. 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 has never faced Southeastern Louisiana as a head coach.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA HEAD COACH MIKE LUCAS: Mike Lucas (Liberty, 1982) is in his third season as a head coach, all at Southeastern Louisiana. He took the helm after two seasons as the Lions' defensive coordinator and boasts a record of 10-18 as head coach. His squad finished the 2008 campaign with a 5-7 record, Southeastern's best mark since a 7-4 mark in 2004. No stranger to the Southland Conference, Lucas previously served as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Sam Houston State for 15 years, repeatedly producing defensive units that ranked among the best in NCAA Division I-AA football.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA SCOUTING REPORT: Off to its best start since 2004, Southeastern has opened the 2009 campaign with impressive wins over Division II Texas A&M-Commerce and nationally-ranked NAIA program Union (Ky.) College. In its first two games, the Lions have outscored their opponents, 110-27, and have averaged over 500 yards total offense while allowing an average of 222.5. Quarterback Brian Babin has completed nearly 72 percent of his passes in the first two games (a span of five-plus quarters), tossing for 665 yards and eight touchdowns. Simmie Yarborough, a native of Brookhaven, Miss., has caught 16 passes with four touchdowns in his first two games for the Lions with Merrick Lanaux (9 catches) and Jasper Ducksworth (9 catches) following.

LIONS FAMILIAR WITH OXFORD: Southeastern Louisiana returns to Oxford for the time since last September after the team evacuated for a week from Hurricane Gustav. The Lions used the Ole Miss facilities in preparation for their game against Mississippi State.

HOME OPENERS
• Ole Miss is 93-15-5 (.845 winning pct.) in home openers.
• When playing their home opener in Oxford, the Rebels are 70-8-4 (.878 winning pct.) ... Ole Miss won last year's home opener over Memphis 41-24, which was also the season opener.

STREAKING REBELS: With seven straight wins dating back to last season, Ole Miss is riding its longest win streak since taking seven in a row in 1990. The last time the Rebels won eight straight was during the 1971-72 campaigns, when the Rebels reeled off 10 consecutive triumphs. Ole Miss won the final seven games of 1971, beginning with a 20-6 win over Southern Miss on Oct. 16, 1971, and the final victory in the streak was a 13-9 win over USM on Sept. 30, 1972.

HOT START
• Ole Miss is in search of its first 2-0 start since the 2002 season, when the team opened with home wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Memphis.
• The last time the Rebels started the year 3-0 was 1989 with road wins at Memphis and Florida and a home victory over Arkansas State.
• Ole Miss' best starts prior to that include a 3-0-1 mark in 1984 and a 4-0 record in 1970.

REBEL NOTEBOOK
• Ole Miss is 43-11 versus non-conference opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994.
• The Rebels are 32-6 in their last 38 non-conference games in Oxford and have won five straight.
• This marks the 115th football season at The University of Mississippi dating back to 1893 ... The Rebels boast an all-time record of 607-464-35 (.565 winning percentage) ... 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.

PILING UP POINTS: The Rebels have posted 45 or more points in three straight games for the first time in school history. Over its last five games, Ole Miss is averaging 45.4 points per outing, while holding the opposition to just 12.2 points. Included in this span of games is a 59-0 blanking of Louisiana-Monroe, which was Ole Miss' largest margin of victory since 1969. It is also one of two shutouts in the streak.

PICK SIX: Dating back to last year, Ole Miss has posted multiple interceptions in six consecutive games and had an interception return for a TD in two straight. In the opener at Memphis, Fon Ingram and Johnny Brown each intercepted passes, and Ingram returned his 38 yards for the score. Ole Miss totaled 16 picks in 2008, led by Kendrick Lewis' four and Cassius Vaughn's three.

BROWN DISTINGUISHED: The College Football Performance Awards announced its Performers of the Week Monday, and Ole Miss junior S Johnny Brown earned honorable mention for Defensive Back Performer of the Week. Making his first start since his freshman year, Brown topped the team with a career-high 15 tackles at Memphis and recorded his second career interception. He also notched 1.0 TFL and a pass break-up.

DEBUTS: A total of 19 Rebels made their debut in the Red and Blue in the season opener at Memphis: Ferbia Allen (RFr., TE), Craig Drummond (Fr., DL), E.J. Epperson (RFr., TE), Jesse Grandy (Fr., WR), Melvin Harris (RFr., WR), A.J. Hawkins (Fr., OL), Dan Hoffman (So., FB), Jason Jones (RFr., LB), Joel Kight (Fr., LB), Bobby Massie (Fr., OL), Jared Mitchell (RFr., S), Pat Patterson (Fr., WR), Andrew Ritter (Fr., K), Gerald Rivers (RFr., DE), Brandon Sanders (RFr., LB), D.T. Shackelford (Fr., LB), Nathan Stanley (RFr., QB), Julian Whitehead (RFr., CB), Rudy Wilson (RFr., DB).

FIRST-TIME STARTERS: Three Rebels made their first career start at Memphis, and all were on offense: Brandon Bolden (So., RB); Bradley Sowell (So., LT); Ferbia Allen (RFr., TE).

MEMPHIS OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Junior QB Jevan Snead extended his streak to 10 straight games with a TD pass, completing a pair of fourth-quarter scoring tosses to Markeith Summers (18 yards) and Dexter McCluster (17 yards)... Snead finished 12-of-22 for 175 yards, two TDs and two interceptions ... He had multiple interceptions for the first time in 10 games and for just the third time in his career.
• Sophomore RB Brandon Bolden rushed for a TD for the fourth straight game and sixth time in his career ... He topped the team in rushing with 71 yards on nine carries.
• Senior Dexter McCluster posted 115 all-purpose yards (nine rushes for 50, six passes for 65) and two TDs (one rushing, one receiving, both in the fourth quarter) ... He rushed for a TD for the third straight game and fourth time in the last five games.
• Senior WR Shay Hodge led the team in receiving yards with 77 on three grabs.
• Junior WR Markeith Summers hauled in the first TD pass of his career, an 18-yarder in the fourth quarter ... His only other career score was a rushing TD against LSU last year.

MEMPHIS DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Making his first start since his freshman year, junior S Johnny Brown recorded his second career interception ... Brown also topped the team with a career-high 15 tackles.
• Junior S Fon Ingram notched his second career interception and first touchdown of his career after the 38-yard return.
• Ole Miss registered 10.0 TFLs, including a career-high 2.0 for junior DT Jerrell Powe.

MEMPHIS SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• With six extra points, junior K Joshua Shene extended his streak of successful PATs to 80, which is second on the all-time Rebel charts ... Shene was 1-for-1 on field goals, connecting from 27 yards out.
• In his Rebel debut, freshman K Andrew Ritter handled all eight Ole Miss kickoffs and averaged 64.2 yards per kick (48.8 net) with three touchbacks.

SOLD OUT: Eleven days before the season even started, Ole Miss officials announced that football season tickets were sold out. It is believed to be the first time the Rebels have sold out of season tickets. The approximately 50,600 season tickets sold easily smashed the previous high mark of 48,180 in 2004.

GRADUATING REBELS: Four student-athletes on the Ole Miss football team have already received their undergraduate degrees. DT LaMark Armour, WR J.D. Lawhorn and K-P Justin Sparks are currently working on a second degree, while QB Billy Tapp is enrolled in graduate school.
TEAM CAPTAINS: On August 30, Houston Nutt announced the team captains for the 2009 season. This year's permanent captains, which are all seniors include: on offense, C Daverin Geralds, T John Jerry, WR Dexter McCluster; and on defense, CB Marshay Green, FS Kendrick Lewis, DE Marcus Tillman, LB Patrick Trahan.

REBELS AMONG NATION'S PRESEASON TOP 10: Ole Miss earned its highest preseason football ranking in nearly 40 years, as the Rebels are No. 8 by the Associated Press and No. 10 in the USA Today Preseason Coaches' Top 25. The last time Ole Miss reached this high in the polls was the 1970 campaign, when the Rebels entered the year at No. 5 and rose as high as No. 4. Prior to the regular-season finale with Mississippi State on Nov. 26, Ole Miss stood at No. 10 and has not returned to that point until now. The Rebels were last ranked in the preseason in 2000, when they opened the year 18th. The program's highest preseason ranking came in 1964 with the squad starting the year as the nation's top-ranked team. As defending national champion in various polls, Ole Miss began the 1960 and 1963 seasons second in the polls, and the 1960 team went on to earn the second of Ole Miss' three shared national title. The following chart shows where all of the preseason polls and various media outlets have tabbed the Rebels this summer:
The Sporting News 5th
Sports Illustrated 6th
Phil Steele 6th
Associated Press 8th
FWAA 8th
Lindy's 9th
USA Today/Coaches 10th
Athlon 10th

REBELS ON WATCH LISTS: Junior QB Jevan Snead headlines six Rebels that have been named as preseason candidates for some of college football's highest honors. Below charts the watch lists in which Rebels have been included:
Daverin Geralds Rimington Trophy (C)
Greg Hardy Bednarik Award (Defense)
Greg Hardy Hendricks Award (DE)
Greg Hardy Nagurski Trophy (Defense)
Shay Hodge Fred Biletnikoff Award (WR)
John Jerry Outland Trophy (IL)
Joshua Shene Groza Award (K)
Jevan Snead Walter Camp Award (Player)
Jevan Snead Maxwell Award (Player)
Jevan Snead Manning Award (QB)
Jevan Snead Davey O'Brien Award (QB)

OLE MISS IN SEPTEMBER
• Ole Miss is 142-74-7 (.652 winning pct.) all-time during the month of September.
• Ole Miss is 98-35-6 (.727 winning pct.) all-time versus non-conference opponents during the month.
• Ole Miss is 88-27-3 (.759 winning pct.) in September home games (including home contests played in Memphis and Jackson), including a 63-14-2 (.810 winning percentage) mark in September games played in Oxford.
• The Rebels have an all-time mark of 54-47-4 (.531 winning pct.) in road games during September.
• The Rebels are 44-38-1 (.536 winning pct.) in September SEC games, including a 11-8 (.579 winning percentage) record in games played in Oxford.
• The Rebels went 2-2 in September last season (at Wake Forest, L, 28-30; Samford, W, 34-10; Vanderbilt, L, 17-23; at Florida, W, 31-30). Prior to 2003, Ole Miss posted at least a .500 record in 14 consecutive Septembers.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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