Oct. 14, 2011
FRIDAY FLASHBACK rewinds to some of the memorable Ole Miss games from this week's all-time series. This week features the Rebels' 43-28 win over Alabama in 2003.
Ole Miss whips up on Alabama
By Lance Griffin
Dothan Eagle
OXFORD, Miss. - It was supposed to be a measuring stick for both Ole Miss and Alabama.
And it was. The Rebels grabbed the measuring stick and whacked Alabama across the backside, rekindling quarterback Eli Manning's Heisman Trophy hopes with a 43-28 thrashing of the Crimson Tide at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Ole Miss led 38-10 midway through the third quarter before two late Alabama scoring drives in the fourth quarter tightened the margin of victory.
"We just played poorly. I hope I never get to the point where I start pointing fingers at the players, because it starts with me," Tide head coach Mike Shula said. "We've got to go back to the drawing board. We've got to go back and look at every little detail as coaches and become more efficient."
Manning throttled Alabama's big-play-prone secondary, completing touchdown passes of 23, 55, and 41 yards in the first half and then running for another early in the third quarter. Overall, he completed 14-of-22 passes for 230 yards.
Manning's passing prowess was the result of an effective running game. The Rebels ran for 216 yards, making the Alabama defense respect the Rebels' ability to run, opening seams all over the field for Manning. In last season's 42-7 Alabama win at Tuscaloosa, Ole Miss rushed for only 53 yards.
"Early on, that's as good as we've played," Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe said.
Meanwhile, the Alabama offense played from behind throughout, forced out of their game plan early. Shula chose to start quarterback Brodie Croyle, who missed last week's game with a separated left shoulder. Croyle threw for 134 yards in the first half, but also had two interceptions. He finished well, leading Alabama on two late touchdown drives despite suffering another blow to his injured shoulder. He completed 21-of-29 passes for 248 yards.
"We got in a situation where we had to do some things in an order we didn't want to do them," offensive coordinator Dave Rader said.
The loss drops Alabama to 3-5 and 1-3 in the SEC West after a promising 2-1 start that included a strong showing against top-ranked Oklahoma. Alabama will host Tennessee Saturday before getting a much-needed off week to heal a variety of injuries. Ole Miss improves to 5-2 and 3-0 in conference play, sitting atop the SEC West along with Auburn.
Things started poorly for Alabama and did not improve until the game was decided. After Ole Miss drove for a field goal on the game's first possession, Croyle threw his first interception when receiver Dre Fulgham slipped and fell on an in-route. The ball sailed into the hands of defender Travis Johnson. Two plays later, Manning made it 10-0 on a 23-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone to Taye Biddle. Less than five minutes into the game, Alabama found itself in a hole it would not climb out of.
Manning and Biddle struck again just six minutes later on a 1st-and-10 from the Ole Miss 45. Manning faked a handoff up the middle, freezing Tide defenders. Biddle ran past cornerback Anthony Madison and hauled in the 55-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-0. The Rebels turned it into a full-blown rout with 11 seconds left in the first quarter when Brandon Jacobs (no relation to the Auburn running back) scored untouched from 10 yards out to make it 24-0.
Alabama tried to come back early in the second quarter when Shaud Williams scored from three yards out and Brian Bostick added a 32-yard field goal. However, Manning squashed Alabama's comeback on the next drive when he avoided three Tide rushers and threw a 41-yard strike to Kerry Johnson with 1:39 left in the half making it 31-10.
The Rebels added a 3-yard run from Manning and a 19-yard field goal in the second half. Alabama scored when special teams superstar Chris James blocked a Rebel punt in the third quarter and raced 25 yards for a touchdown, making it 41-16.
After that, Alabama went into its two-minute offense, resulting in a 22-yard pass to Ray Hudson and a 5-yard swing pass to Shaud Williams, both for scores. Ole Miss added a safety when Croyle fumbled a shotgun snap in the end zone in the final two minutes.
The Rebels won the game at the line of scrimmage, limiting Alabama's rushing offense to only 116 yards. Williams had only 63 yards on 18 carries.
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