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The University of Mississippi Athletics
FRIDAY FLASHBACK: Ole Miss - Georgia 1996
9/23/2011 | Football
Sept. 23, 2011
FRIDAY FLASHBACK rewinds to some of the memorable Ole Miss games from this week's all-time series. This week features the Rebels' 31-27 comeback win over Georgia between the hedges in 1996.
Ole Miss defense steps up to lead Rebs past
By Thomas Harding
The Commercial Appeal
ATHENS, Ga.– Before Saturday afternoon, just four Southeastern Conference football teams had scored fewer points than Ole Miss – and much of the Rebels’ scoring came against two Division I-AA teams.
When an offense struggles that much sometimes the defense has to help.
Linebacker Nate Wayne and defensive end Kyle Wicker scored touchdowns, and linebacker Eli Anding made a cameo appearance on offense to catch the winning touchdown pass in a 31-27 victory over
“One of our goals of our defensive unit was to score more points to help our offense,” said Anding, whose fourth-down, 2-yard touchdown catch from Steward Partridge gave the Rebels the lead with 14:56 left in the game.
“Coming off the field at the halftime, we tried to get our players to look at their sideline,” said Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville. “They thought we had quit.”
The victory put the Rebels (5-5, 2-5 SEC), who will finish the season in
“We’re looking forward to Mississippi State – Bulldogs, same time, different place, but the same outcome,” Ole Miss offensive right tackle Orlando Trainer said.
It also ended the bowl hopes of the Bulldogs (4-6, 3-5 SEC), who played inconsistently and drew boos from all but a few in a crowd that fell about 10,000 shy of capacity. Four of
“This game was typical of our team all year,”
On the game’s second play, Bobo tried to hand the ball to
Bobo, chosen as the first starter over Mike Smith prior to kickoff, threw for touchdowns of 16 yards to Juan Daniels, 40 yards to Hines Ward, and 23 yards Daniels before halftime. Dax Langley field goals of 27 and 38 yards, the latter as the first half expired, gave the Bulldogs a 27-14 lead.
Bobo finished 25-of-42 for 366 yards but couldn’t lead his team to any second-half points.
Early in the third quarter, after
Ole Miss’s offense came to life in the second half, possessing the ball for 20:34. Avery gained 88 yards in the second half to finish with 119 yards on 29 carries. Held to 46 total yards in the first half, the Rebels outgained the bulldogs in the second half, 226-149.
Patridge threw 27 yards to Grant Heard to set up Tim Montz’s 51-yard field goal with 3:19 left in the third quarter. A 25-yard pass to Heard keyed Ole Miss’s 45-yard, six-play winning drive.
The defense held from there. Cornerback Derek Jones ripped the ball out of the hands of Bulldogs tight end Larry Brown to end the drive at the Ole Miss 24 with 10:56 left; Kreitz chased down Ward, who had caught a Bobo pass that went from the Bulldog 1 to the Rebel 16 with 2:49 left, and Ole Miss went on to hold on downs; and safety Timothy Strickland (Memphis Hamilton) jerked Daniel’s shoulder just hard enough to prevent him from catching a desperation pass in the end zone on the final play.
