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The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAMEDAY PREVIEW: Ole Miss vs. Southern Illinois
9/10/2011 | Football
Sept. 10, 2011
Gameday Central | Scouting Report |
TV: Pay Per View | Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network (Sirius 217, XM 197)
OXFORD, Miss. - Coming off a heartbreaking 14-13 loss to BYU to open the 2011 campaign, the Ole Miss Rebels (0-1) look to even their record today when the Southern Illinois Salukis (1-0) pay a visit to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. in Oxford. The game will be televised on Pay-Per-View.
Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt will be looking to avoid the program's first 0-2 start since 2004 and his first since 1993-his first season as head coach at Murray State. Nutt is 2-0 all-time against the Salukis with both wins coming during his tenure at Murray State.
Ole Miss defeated the Salukis 59-3 in 1995-the schools' only previous meeting.
"Our players have a real challenge in front of them," Nutt said. "Our players and coaches felt we should have been 1-0. You can't do anything about that right now and we have to get ready for Southern Illinois and be 100 percent focused."
The Rebels are 11-1 against FCS teams all-time with the only loss coming last year to Jacksonville State, 49-48, in double overtime.
The Salukis, projected to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference, are coming off of a 38-10 road victory over Southeast Missouri, in which they featured a balanced 494-yard offensive attack.
"All you have to do is watch the film to know that they are a scary bunch," says Nutt. "This is a good football team. They have a couple transfers, some good tailbacks and a fast receiver."
The Salukis are paced by the rushing duo of junior backs Steve Strother and Jewel Hampton. Strother, the starter, rushed for 91 yards on nine carries last week, including a 65-yard touchdown gallop. Hampton, a University of Iowa transfer, ground out 64 yards on 14 carries and reached the end zone three times.
Not to be outdone, quarterback Paul McIntosh connected on 14-of-18 passes for 246 yards and rushed for 65 yards. His primary target is senior Cam Fuller. The 6-foot-3, 189-pound wideout hauled in a 70-yard touchdown pass last week and finished with 112 receiving yards on three catches.
The Rebels will counter with a defense that produced a touchdown last week and held a high-powered BYU offense to just one offensive touchdown. Ole Miss safety Charles Sawyer intercepted BYU star Jake Heaps and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown in what was the fifth-longest pick-six in school history.
On offense, Nutt will count on quarterback Zack Stoudt to handle a speedy, blitz-heavy Saluki defense that tallied seven tackles-for-loss against Southeast MIssouri. The junior will draw the start but other Rebel quarterbacks may see action.
"We will keep practicing the other two but most of the reps will go to Zack," said Nutt. "He will start the game and we'll see how everything else flows as far as practice. We'll see where Randall Mackey is. Right now we'll go with Zack."
Stoudt relieved starter Barry Brunetti late in the second quarter against BYU. The junior completed 13-of-25 passes for 140 yards and engineered a pair of scoring drives that led to field goals.
"Zack's strength is his arm. He studies and knows the playbook," explained Nutt. "He is a little older and you can tell he has had a few snaps coming from a junior college. He didn't get rattled and knows where to go with the ball right now. He has always been very cool under pressure."
The Ole Miss running game took a hit against BYU when Brandon Bolden and Enrique Davis went down with injuries. With the status of Bolden and Davis unknown, sophomore Jeff Scott is preparing to shoulder the load for the rushing attack. The speedster rushed for 17 yards and tacked on 25 yards receiving last week.
"Scott has to get ready to go," says Nutt. "Right now we have Jeff Scott, Devin Thomas, and we'll probably move Korvic Neat back to running back."
New for fans in 2011 is the "Rebel Fanfare," sponsored by Baptist Hospital of North Mississippi. It opens three hours prior to kickoff and is located off All-American Drive, across the street from the Starnes Center. Admission is free for all ages. "Rebel Fanfare" includes inflatables, interactive games for kids, food vendors and the pre-game radio show which begins two hours prior to kickoff. It will also feature appearances by former players, cheerleaders, Rebelettes and Rebel.
Visit OleMissFB.com for all the information you need about Ole Miss gamedays this fall, and follow @RebelGameday on Twitter for the most up-to-date news and info each Saturday.
