Game Primer: Ole Miss vs. Southeastern Louisiana

			OLE MISS (1-1, 1-0 SEC) vs. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (1-0, 0-0 SLC) Saturday, Sept. 14 • 3 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)
Watch • Listen • Live Stats • Buy Tickets • Gameday Info Ole Miss Game Notes • Southeastern Louisiana Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This is just the second all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Southeastern Louisiana.
• Ole Miss won the lone meeting between the two teams 52-6 in 2009.
• The Rebels are 3-0 all-time against current members of the Southland Conference.
• Ole Miss is 97-33-3 (.741 winning pct.) in September home games (including home contests played in Memphis
and Jackson), including a 72-20-2 (.777 winning percentage) mark in September games played in Oxford after
vacated wins.
• Ole Miss is 107-40-6 (.719 winning pct.) all-time versus non-conference opponents during the month.
• The Rebels haven't lost a non-conference home game since 2012 (Sept. 15 vs. Texas, 31-66)
• The Rebels tallied 10 tackles for loss Saturday vs. Arkansas, the most by Ole Miss in an SEC game since recording 10
vs. the Razorbacks on Oct. 28, 2017.
• DB Keidron Smith leads the Rebels with 12 total tackles this season, including 10 solo stops.
• 18 Rebels have made their Ole Miss debut during the first two weeks of the season.
• RB Scottie Phillips ranks fourth in the conference in rushing yards (205).
• P Mac Brown is second in the SEC and sixth in the NCAA in punting average (48.0).
• Matt Luke is in his 12th season at Ole Miss and third season at the helm, taking the reins of his alma mater full time
prior to the 2018 campaign as the 38th head coach in program history.
• QB Matt Corral was named the SEC Freshman of the Week following his performance vs. Arkansas.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH MATT LUKE
Matt Luke (Ole Miss, 2000) is in his 12th season at Ole Miss and third season at the helm, taking the reins of his alma mater as the 38th head coach in program history. He was born a Rebel as his family has ties to Ole Miss that span three generations. During his 25 years as a player and coach at the collegiate level, Luke has risen through the ranks while learning from a number of successful veteran coaches. He has worked alongside national champion Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and former Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville, among others. Luke, a four-year center for the Rebels (1995-98), spent five seasons as the team's co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before being promoted to interim head coach for the 2017 season. During his first stop in Oxford (2002-05), he served four seasons coaching the Ole Miss tight ends and offensive line under Cutcliffe. Following his playing career, he served as a student assistant coach at Ole Miss in 1999, helping the Rebels to an 8-4 mark with regular-season wins against Auburn, South Carolina, LSU and Arkansas as well as a 27-25 triumph over Oklahoma in the Independence Bowl. He graduated in May 2000 with a degree in business administration. His father, Tommy, was a defensive back at Ole Miss in the 1960s while his brother, Tom, quarterbacked the Rebels from 1989-91. Tom is also on the Ole Miss football staff as assistant athletics director for player development.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA HEAD COACH FRANK SCELFO
Frank Scelfo (ULM, 1981) is in his second year as Southeastern Louisiana's head coach and comes into Saturday's game with a 5-7 record early into his head coaching campaign in Hammond, Louisiana. The Lions finished with a 4-7 overall record in their first season under Scelfo, posting a 4-5 record in Southland Conference play. Among SLU's victories were a win at FCS playoff participant Lamar and a victory over No. 11/12 McNeese. Scelfo's charges in his debut season included 10 All-Southland Conference players and one All-America selection. Scelfo came to Hammond with over 30 years of coaching experience. Scelfo took over the Southeastern program after spending the previous two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UTSA. In 2016, his offense set 15 school records and helped the Roadrunners to their first-ever bowl game, the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. Prior to his time in San Antonio, Scelfo coached for three seasons with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars as an offensive assistant working with the quarterbacks. In his final season in Jacksonville, quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 4,428 yards and 35 touchdowns under Scelfo's tutelage. Scelfo was a four-year letterwinner on the baseball diamond at ULM from 1978-81, earning the school's Athlete of the Year award as a senior. He earned his bachelor's degree from his alma mater in 1981, before completing his graduate studies in 1983.

LION SCOUTING REPORT
The Southeastern Louisiana Lions head into Oxford 1-0 after a season-opening upset win over No. 6 Jacksonville State (FCS) on Aug. 29. The Lions' week two matchup vs. Bethune-Cookman was cancelled due to the effects of Hurricane Dorian on the Daytona Beach, Florida, area. In their win over JSU, the Lions jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back on the way to a convincing 35-14 victory. SLU (1-0) picked up its first win over a top 10 team since a 34-21 victory over No. 4 Sam Houston State on Nov. 16, 2013. The Lions jumped on the visiting Gamecocks (0-1) from the outset and sent the five-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champions to just its 13th loss since the start of the 2014 campaign. SLU recorded six sacks and two interceptions in the victory. On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Chason Virgil returned after he led the Southland with 3,034 passing yards as a junior and headed into his senior season with a wealth of receiving weapons at his disposal, led by All-Southland returners Juwan Petit-Frere and Bransen Schwebel, as well as veterans CJ Turner, Austin Mitchell and Lorenzo Nunez. Senior defensive end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, who led SLU with 10 tackles for loss and six sacks as a junior, is one of two All-Southland returners on a young Lion defense, along with senior safety Xavier Lewis, who finished with 66 tackles.

OLE MISS-SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA SERIES HISTORY
• This is just the second all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Southeastern Louisiana.
• Ole Miss won the lone meeting between the two teams 52-6 in 2009.

REBELS VERSUS SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TEAMS
• Ole Miss has a 3-0 record against current members of the Southland Conference.
• The Rebels' last game against a Southland Conference team was a 52-6 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in 2009.

OLE MISS IN SEPTEMBER
• Ole Miss is 154-89-7 (.630 winning pct.) all-time during the month of September after vacated wins.
• Ole Miss is 97-33-3 (.741 winning pct.) in September home games (including home contests played in Memphis and
Jackson), including a 72-20-2 (.777 winning percentage) mark in September games played in Oxford after vacated
wins.
• Ole Miss is 107-40-6 (.719 winning pct.) all-time versus non-conference opponents during the month.

LOUISIANA REBELS
The Ole Miss roster features three players who hail from Louisiana: ILB Zikerrion Baker (Mooringsport), OL Peyton Cox (Metairie), TE Jason Pellerin (New Iberia).

REBEL-LION CONNECTIONS
• DL Josiah Coatney, with the Lions' Jarius Gooch and Jake Rottenberry, all attended Holmes Community College.
• OL Bryce Ramsey and the SLU's Noah Vance both went to Harrison Central HS in Gulfport, Mississippi.

HARD TO CORRAL
QB Matt Corral was cool under pressure Saturday vs. Arkansas. When under pressure, Corral earned an ELITE overall grade of 90.4, which ranked No. 1 among SEC QBs in Week 2. Just 40.7 percent of Corral's passes on Saturday were targeted short of the first down marker, which was the third lowest percentage among the 14 SEC QBs with 15-plus attempts in Week 2. On the targets 15 yards or further downfield, Corral completed 4-of-his-8 targets for 91 yards.

O-LINE IMPROVEMENT
The Ole Miss offensive line took a major step forward in pass protection from Week 1 to Week 2. After being charged with seven total pressures on 27 opportunities in Week 1, the unit improved to allow just three total pressures on 26 opportunities in Week 2 (zero sacks, one QB hit and two hurries) on 26 pass plays. Royce Newman and Eli Johnson both pitched a shutout, allowing zero pressures in pass protection, while participating in each passing snap. LT Michael Howard was also significantly better than he showed in Week 1. Howard played just 12 pass blocking snaps, but he was perfect on them, allowing zero QB pressures.

BROTHERLY COMPANY
Ole Miss is one of only nine FBS schools in the country to have brothers on the same coaching staff as running backs coach Derrick Nix enters his 12th year at Ole Miss and Tyrone Nix is in his fifth overall season (second stint) coaching outside linebackers. If you include support staff, Matt and Tom Luke (Assistant A.D. for Player Devolpment), the Rebels are the only school in the country to have two sets of brothers on staff.

    • Jeff, Brian & Greg Brohm (HC, OC, Ops) - Purdue
    • Travis & Trent Greene (GAs) - Syracuse
    • Thomas & Tyquan Hammock (HC & GA) - Northern Illinois
    • Willy & Colton Korn (Co-OC & Def. GA) - South Alabama
    • Matt & Tom Luke (HC & Player Dev.) - Ole Miss
    • Joey & Kevin Lynch (AHC/OC & RB) - Ball State
    • Derrick & Tyrone Nix (RB & OLB) - Ole Miss
    • Jake & Zac Spavital (HC & DC) - Texas State
    • Matt & Luke Wells (HC & TE/IR) - Texas Tech
    • Kyle & Freddie Whittingham (HC & TE) - Utah

THE MACINTYRE EFFECT
When Mike MacIntyre was hired in December 2018, he was tasked with improving an Ole Miss defense that ranked towards the bottom of the SEC and NCAA in several defensive categories last season. The two-time national coach of the year hasn't disappointed through the first two games of the 2019 campaign. The Rebels are coming off back-to-back solid defensive performances to start the year. In their season opener, the Rebels' defense allowed just 13 points at Memphis, the fewest allowed by a Rebel defense unit since 2016 when Ole Miss beat Wofford 38-13. One week later, the Rebel defense was just as stingy, holding Arkansas to just 10 points and 61 yards rushing, the fewest allowed by an Ole Miss defense since the Rebels allowed three points and just 58 yards vs. A&M on Oct. 24, 2015. Ole Miss also currently ranks second in the SEC and 19th nationally in tackles for a loss (9.0 per game).

MORE OF MOORE
WR Elijah Moore was outstanding for the Rebels on Saturday. Six of the wideout's seven receptions resulted in either a TD (two) or a first down (four). Moore did excellent work after the catch in Week 2, contributing 56 of his 130 total receiving yards with his feet. The 8.0 yards after catch per reception is a career-high for Moore in games in which he has multiple receptions. What was most impressive about Moore's outing was the efficiency. He only ran 22 routes on the day, and his 5.91 yards per route run led all SEC WRs with at least five targets.

A SPECIAL WEAPON
P Mac Brown ranks second in the SEC and sixth nationally in punting average (48.0). Nearly half of Brown's punts this season have been more than 50 yards. Brown, a member of the Wuerffel Trophy watch list and Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominee, only had six punts that surpassed 50 yards last season; he has four already in 2019.

WILLIAMS IN OPPONENT'S BACKFIELD
OLB Sam Williams shined the most of anybody on the Rebels defense in Week 2. He was relentless getting after the QB, contributing five total pressures (one sack, four hurries) on 25 total rushes. Those five pressures were tied for the second most in the SEC this week, while his 28.0 percent pass rush win rate ranked sixth among all SEC defenders with 15+ pass rushes this week. With eight pressures on the year now, Williams ranks tied for sixth in the SEC in that statistic, regardless of position.

SCOTTIE TODDY
After a late-season injury hampered RB Scottie Phillips in 2018, the second-year Rebel running back is hoping to regain his early season magic from last year. Phillips ranks first in the SEC in rushing touchdowns (three) and fourth in rushing yards per game (102.5). Phillips has recorded at least one rushing TD in both of the Rebels' games to start the season.

BIG MAN IN THE MIDDLE
NT Benito Jones showed off his run defending ability this week, completing four total tackles against Arkansas. Jones refused to give way, as his average tackle fell half of a yard behind the line of scrimmage. While the men in the middle of the defensive line can often go unnoticed, Jones is putting together a solid start to the season. He now has three total QB pressures to go with six tackles and the rare interception. Jones' 84.8 run defense grade in Week 2 is also a new career high for a single game.

125 SEASONS OF OLE MISS FOOTBALL
This year is the 125th season of football at Ole Miss and the third under head coach Matt Luke. The Rebels boast an all-time record of 639-525-35 (.548 winning percentage) after vacated wins. 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.

LUKE'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW ON TUESDAYS
RebTalk, the official weekly radio show of Ole Miss Athletics, is moving to a new day and location for this season. Beginning Aug. 27, RebTalk will be broadcast each Tuesday this fall at Bouré in downtown Oxford from 7-8 p.m. The show, which is hosted by the "Voice of the Rebels" David Kellum and includes special guests, will air live on the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network. Ole Miss Football head coach Matt Luke and select players will join the broadcast each Tuesday throughout the season.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Nine Rebels have made their first career starts during the first two weeks of the 2019 season: (Offense) Matt Corral (QB), Dontario Drummond (WR), Michael Howard (OL), Eli Johnson (OL), Jonathan Mingo (WR), Royce Newman (OL); (Defense) Jon Haynes (DB), Lakia Henry (ILB), Sam Williams (OLB).

DEBUTS
Nineteen players made their Ole Miss debut so far this season: Nick Broeker (OL), Ashanti Cistrunk (DB), Snoop Conner (RB), LeDarrius Cox (DE), Jalen Cunningham (OL), Dontario Drummond (WR), Jerrion Ealy (RB), A.J. Finley (DB), Demarcus Gregory (WR), Casey Griffith (K), Jon Haynes (DB), Lakia Henry (OLB), Jadon Jackson (WR), Jalen Jordan (DB), Patrick Lucas, Jr. (NT), Jonathan Mingo (WR), Deantre Prince (DB), Jay Stanley (DB), Sam Williams (OLB).

MAC BROWN RAISES NEARLY 70K FOR ALS
When he was in seventh grade, Ole Miss punter Mac Brown had a modest goal of raising $500 for a childhood friend's dad who had been diagnosed with ALS. Along with a group of neighborhood friends, Brown started a lemonade stand, Awesome Lemonade Stand, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to help his friend's family. Eight years later, that $500 goal has ballooned to nearly $70,000 raised by Brown and his friends for ALS research. The Awesome Lemonade Stand is held on a late day in June and this year's fundraiser raised more than $17,000 alone.

HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE
After the 2018 campaign, Matt Luke found himself in the market for both an offensive and defensive coordinator, and he delivered in a big way. Mike MacIntyre, a two-time national coach of the year and coaching veteran with nearly three decades of experience, will take over the reigns as the Rebels' defensive coordinator while Rich Rodriguez, considered one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football, will serve as Ole Miss' offensive coordinator. Ole Miss is one of only two teams in the nation, along with Alabama, to have three coaches with Power 5 head coaching experience.

CHUCKY MULLINS COURAGE AWARD
In the spring, senior DE Austrian Robinson became the 29th different Rebel to be awarded the Chucky Mullins Courage Award, which goes to a standout defensive player each year. The award honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away May 6, 1991. Robinson wears the No. 38 jersey in Mullins' honor this season.

WATCH LIST REBELS
Ole Miss players have garnered a bunch of preseason honors this year, including several players tabbed Preseason All-America and Preseason All-SEC by media outlets. The following Rebels have been recognized on watch lists for some of the biggest awards in college football:

    • Mac Brown: Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, Wuerffel Tropy
    • Octavious Cooley: Mackey Award
    • Matt Corral: FWAA Freshman All-America Team
    • Jerrion Ealy: FWAA Freshman All-America Team
    • Luke Logan: Lou Groza Award
    • Scottie Phillips: Doak Walker Award, Maxwell Award
    • MoMo Sanogo: Butkus Award

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Players Mentioned

Zikerrion Baker

Nick Broeker

Mac Brown

Ashanti Cistrunk

Josiah Coatney

Snoop Conner

Octavius Cooley

Matt Corral

LeDarrius Cox

Peyton Cox

Jalen Cunningham

Dontario Drummond

Jerrion Ealy

AJ Finley

Casey Griffith

Jon Haynes

Lakia Henry

Michael Howard

Jadon Jackson

Eli Johnson

Benito Jones

Jalen Jordan

Luke Logan

Patrick Lucas Jr.

Jonathan Mingo

Elijah Moore

Royce Newman

Jason Pellerin

Scottie Phillips

Deantre Prince

Bryce Ramsey

Austrian Robinson

MoMo Sanogo

Keidron Smith

Jay Stanley

Sam Williams

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