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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Game Notes
12/14/2000 | Football
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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Thursday, December 28, 2000
TIME: 3:00 pm (CST)
SITE: Adelphia Coliseum (67,000), Nashville, Tenn.
TV: ESPN (Mark Jones, play-by-play, Gino Torretta, color analyst, Rob Stone, sideline reporter)
RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play, Pete Cordelli, color analyst, Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter, Gary Darby, pre-game host), CBS/Westwood One.
RECORDS: Ole Miss finished its regular-season 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the SEC to finish third in the Western Division ... West Virginia went 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big East to tie for fifth-place.
SERIES INFO: This is the first-ever meeting between Ole Miss and West Virginia.
RANKINGS: Ole Miss is unranked but did receives votes in both of the final regular-season polls. The Rebels garnered 34 votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 and 23 in The Associated Press Top 25. Ole Miss received a vote in at least one of the two major polls every week this season, and spent four weeks ranked in the top 25 ... West Virginia enters the Music City Bowl unranked.
COACHES: David Cutcliffe is in his second full season as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. He is 16-8 at Ole Miss, including 2-0 in bowl games. Cutcliffe coached the Rebels to a 35-18 upset win over Texas Tech in the 1998 Sanford Independence Bowl in his Ole Miss debut. This is Cutcliffe's first head coaching assignment. He has never faced West Virginia or Mountaineer head coach Don Nehlen ... The 2000 Music City Bowl will mark the end of the Don Nehlen-era at West Virginia. Nehlen is concluding his 21st season with the Mountaineers and has compiled a 148-93-4 record in Morgantown. Nehlen also served as head coach at Bowling Green for nine seasons from 1968-1976, guiding the Falcons to a 53-35-4 record. Overall, Nehlen brings a career record of 201-128-8 -- ranking fifth among active NCAA Division I-A coaches in victories -- into the Music City Bowl match-up with Ole Miss. This will be, however, Nehlen's first-ever meeting against Ole Miss or Rebel head coach David Cutcliffe. Nehlen is 3-9 in bowl games, all at West Virginia.
OLE MISS BOWL HISTORY: Ole Miss is making its fourth straight bowl appearance and its 29th overall, which ranks tied for the 13th most in NCAA history with Florida State and Georgia Tech. The Rebels are 17-11 in bowl games, tying them with Florida State for the 10th most bowl victories. The four straight bowl appearances by the Rebels is their longest streak since setting a then-national record with 15 consecutive appearances from 1957-72. Ole Miss is currently riding a four-game bowl win streak, having defeated Air Force 13-0 in the 1992 Liberty Bowl, Marshall 34-31 in the 1997 Ford Motor City Bowl, Texas Tech 35-18 in the 1998 Sanford Independence Bowl and Oklahoma 27-25 in the 1999 Sanford Independence Bowl. The four-game bowl winning streak is currently tied for the second-longest active bowl streak in the nation with North Carolina, however, the Tar Heels' last bowl appearance came in the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl. Colorado owns the nation's longest active bowl win streak at six games (1993 Aloha, 1995 Fiesta, 1996 Cotton, 1996 Holiday, 1998 Aloha and 1999 Insight.com). However, only Ole Miss, Georgia and Michigan have won a bowl game in each of the past three seasons.
WEST VIRGINIA BOWL HISTORY: WVU is making its 21st bowl appearance and its 13th under head coach Don Nehlen. The Mountaineers are 8-12 all-time in bowl games, however, they bring an eight-game bowl losing streak into the 2000 Music City Bowl. West Virginia's last bowl win came in the 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl, defeating TCU 31-14. The Mountaineers are returning to postseason action after going 4-7 a year ago. Prior to last season, West Virginia had made three straight bowl appearances: 1997 Gator, 1997 Carquest and 1998 Insight.com.
REBEL GAME NOTES
REBELS MAKE FOURTH STRAIGHT BOWL APPEARANCE: Ole Miss' appearance in the 2000 Music City Bowl marks the fourth straight year the Rebels have earned a bowl berth, their longest run since setting a then-national record of 15 consecutive bowl appearances from 1957-72. The Rebels are the only team from the Southeastern Conference's West-ern Division to earn a bowl bid in each of the past four seasons, and join Florida, Georgia and Tennessee as the only SEC teams to do so. Ole Miss is also one of 17 teams nationally to advance to postseason the past four seasons. The Rebels defeated Marshall 34-31 in the 1997 Ford Motor City Bowl, Texas Tech 35-18 in the 1998 Sanford Indep-endence Bowl, and Oklahoma 27-25 in the 1999 Sanford Independence Bowl.
REBELS LOOK TO CONTINUE RECENT BOWL SUCCESS: Ole Miss is aiming for its fifth straight bowl victory, including its fourth in the last four years. The Rebels blanked Air Force 13-0 in the 1992 Liberty Bowl but did not appear in a bowl game again until the 1997 Ford Motor City Bowl. Ole Miss edged Marshall 34-31 in Ford Motor City Bowl and than scored back-to-back victories in the 1998 and 1999 Sanford Independence Bowls, defeating Texas Tech 35-18 in 1998, and Oklahoma 27-25 last year. The Rebels' four straight bowl victories is one shy of the school record of five consecutive from the 1956 Cotton Bowl to the 1961 Sugar Bowl. Ole Miss is only one of three teams nationally, joining Georgia and Michigan, to win a bowl game in each of the last three seasons.
REBELS SECURE FOURTH STRAIGHT SEVEN-WIN SEASON: Ole Miss' 7-4 record heading into the 2000 Music City Bowl marks the first time the Rebels' have recorded four straight seven-win seasons since registering seven consecutive from 1965-1971. It is also the first time Ole Miss will have four straight winning seasons since that span. With a win against West Virginia, the Rebels can record their first back-to-back eight-win seasons since Ole Miss went 8-4 in 1989 and 9-3 in 1990.
IN A CLASS BY THEMSELVES:With Ole Miss' invitation to the 2000 Music City Bowl, this year's Rebel senior class became the first four-year senior class in school history to earn four straight bowl appearances (freshman were not eligible from 1954-72). This year's seniors are also the fourth, four-year class to achieve four straight winning seasons in post-World War II era. The 2000 seniors bring a 30-17 (.638 winning percentage) mark into the Dec. 28 match-up with West Virginia. It is the best four-year mark by a group of seniors since the 1992 seniors went 31-16 (.660 winning percentage). The 23 members of this year's senior class are: PK Les Binkley (Mem-phis, Tenn.), DE Derrick Burgess (River-dale, Md.), LB Chad Cook (Calhoun City, Miss.), P Ben Craddock (McComb, Miss.), WR Tom Davis (Batesville, Miss.), DE Shane Elam (Covington, Tenn.), OL Shane Grice (Shannon, Miss.), WR Grant Heard (Lake Jackson, Texas), DE Walker Hunsicker (Oxford, Miss.), LB Demond James (Pontotoc, Miss.), LB Shawn Johnson (Brewton, Ala.), P Reagan King (Ackerman, Miss.), DB Ken Lucas (Cleve-land, Miss.), DB Anthony Magee (Collins, Miss.), RB Deuce McAllister (Morton, Miss.), QB Romaro Miller (Shannon, Miss.), C Charlie Perkins (Macon, Miss.), DE John Romm (Costa Mesa, Calif.), DE Antionne Scott (Memphis, Tenn.), WR L.J. Taylor (Clewiston, Fla.), OL Keydrick Vincent (Bartow, Fla.), LB Amzie Williams (Philadelphia, Miss.) and DB Kenny Woods (Grenada, Miss.).
CUTCLIFFE IN ELITE GROUP: With Ole Miss' 45-30 victory over Mississippi State on Nov. 23, second-year head coach David Cutcliffe joined Harry J. Mehre and the legendary John Vaught as the only coaches in school history to win at least seven games in their first two seasons with the Rebels. Mehre posted marks of 9-2 and 7-2 in his first two seasons in 1938 and 1939, and Vaught went 9-2 and 8-1 in his first two campaigns in 1947 and 1948. With a win in the 2000 Music City Bowl, Cutcliffe can join Vaught as the only two coaches in Ole Miss history to win at least eight games in each of their first two seasons.
Cutcliffe is also the only Rebel coach to have led his team to postseason in his first two seasons, and is the only coach to win his first two bowl games as an Ole Miss head coach.
LUCAS, BURGESS EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Senior CB Ken Lucas and senior DE Derrick Burgess both earned All-America honors for their performances this fall. Lucas earned a spot on four All-America teams, including garnering first team honors from Rivals.com. He was second team selection by Collegefootballnews.com and Gannett News Service, and Football News named Lucas a third team All-America. Football News also tabbed Burgess as a third team All-America.
SIX REBELS SELECTED FOR ALL-SEC TEAMS: Ole Miss had a total of six players tabbed for various All-Southeastern Conference teams: senior DE Derrick Bur-gess, senior CB Ken Lucas, senior RB De-uce McAllister, junior OT Terrence Metcalf (Cleveland, Miss.), senior QB Romaro Miller and junior FS Syniker Taylor (Gulf-port, Miss.). The Rebels had five players selected for the Coaches All-SEC team with Metcalf and Lucas named to the first team. Five Rebels also made The Associated Press All-SEC squad with McAllister making the first team as an all-purpose player, and Burgess selected to the first team defense. The list on the following page shows Ole Miss' All-SEC honorees and the teams they were selected to:
DERRICK BURGESS Associated Press (first team) Birmingham News (first team) Coaches (second team) Football News (first team) Rivals.com (second team)
KEN LUCAS, CB Associated Press (second team) Birmingham News (first team) Coaches (first team) Collegefootballnews.com (first team) College Sports Southeast (first team) Football News (first team) Rivals.com (first team)
TERRENCE METCALF, OT Associated Press (second team) Birminghan News (first team) Coaches (first team) Collegefootballnews.com (first team) College Sports Southeast (first team) Football News (first team) Rivals.com (first team)
DEUCE McALLISTER, RB Associated Press (first team)* Coaches (second team) Rivals.com (second team) Rivals.com (second team)**
ROMARO MILLER, QB Coaches (second team)
SYNIKER TAYLOR, FS Associated Press (second team)
* -- selected as an all-purpose player.**-- selected as a punt returner.
REBELS ON TV: ESPN's telecast of the 2000 Music City Bowl will mark Ole Miss' school record eighth TV appearance of the season, bettering the previous mark of seven set in 1997 and 1999. The Rebels are 3-4 in TV games this season, including 1-1 on ESPN (see chart below). Overall, it will be the Rebels' 112th TV appearance, dating back to Ole Miss' first network TV appearance in the 1953 Sugar Bowl against Georgia Tech. The Rebels are 50-59-2 (.459 winning percentage) in TV games, including 16-10 (.615 winning percentage) in bowl games.
OFFENSE ONE OF SEC'S MOST EFFICIENT: The Ole Miss offense ranked as one of the Southeastern Conference's most efficient in terms of red zone scoring and drive efficiency (number of offensive scores divided by total offensive possessions) this season. The Rebels finished second in the SEC in red zone scoring, scoring on 28-of-32 (87.5 percent) trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line (19 TDs, 9 FGs). In drive efficiency, Ole Miss ranked third, scoring on 32.9 percent of its possessions (46-of-140). The following charts show the top five SEC offenses in terms of red zone scoring and drive efficiency for the 2000 season:
-- RED ZONE SCORING --Team Scores-Chances Pct.Georgia 37-42 88.1Ole Miss 28-32 87.5Florida 52-60 86.7Tennessee 46-55 83.6Mississippi State 36-44 81.8
-- DRIVE EFFICIENCY --Team Scores-Drives Pct.Florida 70-165 42.4Tennessee 59-151 39.1Ole Miss 46-140 32.9LSU 47-150 31.3Georgia 46-149 30.9
REBELS LOOK TO KEEP NON-CONFERENCE WIN STREAK GOING: Ole Miss will look to continue its recent success against non-conference opponents in the Dec. 28 Music City Bowl against West Virginia. Dating back to Nov. 12, 1994, the Rebels have won 22 straight games against non-conference foes. Ole Miss is 3-0 in bowl games during that span. Ole Miss was 3-0 in non-conference games this season, defeating Tulane 49-20 in the season-opener on Sept. 2, Arkansas State 35-10 on Oct. 7, and UNLV 43-40 in overtime on Oct. 28. Head coach David Cutcliffe is 8-0 against non-conference opponents during his time at Ole Miss. During the 22-game streak, Ole Miss' average margin of victory has been 16.5 points, outscoring its non-conference foes 735-373. Three of the Rebels wins have come in overtime: Central Florida (24-23, 8-30-97), SMU (48-41, 9-26-99) and UNLV (43-40, 10-28-2000) The last time the Rebels lost a non-conference game was against Memphis, 17-16, in Oxford back on Nov. 5, 1994.
CHARTING THE POLLS: Ole Miss received 34 votes in the regular-season's final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25, and 23 votes in The Associated Press Top 25. The Rebels received at least one vote in one of the two polls during each week of the regular-season. After being ranked No. 22 in both polls after last year's bowl games, Ole Miss was ranked No. 18 in both the Coaches and AP pre-season Top 25. Including the pre-season rankings, Ole Miss was ranked in three straight ratings to start the season. The Rebels spent a total of four weeks in the Top 25 as they cracked the Oct. 8 ESPN/USA Today poll with a No. 25 ranking after falling out of the Top 25 for four weeks.
MEL'S BIG BOARD: ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper, Jr., rated both RB Deuce McAllister and CB Ken Lucas as one of his top 25 collegiate seniors for next April's National Football League Draft in his weekly draft column on ESPN.com (Dec. 6). Kiper rated McAllister as the No.1 collegiate senior prospect, and Lucas No. 15. Lucas was also the top corner and defensive back on Kiper's top 25 list.
DEUCE RATED AS TOP SENIOR FOR THE 2001 NFL DRAFT: In addition to all of his numerous pre-season accolades, Deuce McAllister was rated by National Football Scouting, Inc., as the No. 1 rated college senior for next April's NFL Draft. National Football Scouting, Inc., is one of two combine services that provide analysis to 27 NFL teams. The other, Blesto, rated Deuce as the No. 2 college senior. Deuce was also been named as the top collegiate prospect by Lonestar Football.
DEUCE RE-WRITES THE RECORD BOOK: The 2000 season was certainly one that saw RB Deuce McAllister re-write the Ole Miss record book. McAllister broke six career marks, three single-season records during the season and tied one single-game record. He finishes his four-year career at Ole Miss having set or tied 18 school career, season or single-game records. The chart on the following page lists McAllister's career, season and single-game records*:
--Career--Most Rushing Attempts: 616Most Rushing Yards: 3,060Most Rushing TDs: 37Most 100-Yard Rushing Games: 13Most All-Purpose Yards: 4,889Most Total TDs Scored: 41Most Points Scored: 246
--Season--Most Rushing TDs: 14 (Tied, 2000)Most TDs Scored: 17 (2000)Most Points Scored: 102 (2000)Most Kickoff Return Yards: 652 (1999)Most All-Purpose Yards: 1,692 (1999)Avg. All-Purpose Yards PG: 169.2 (1999)
--Single Game--Most All-Purpose Yards: 317 (11-6-99)Longest Kickoff Return: 100 (11-6-99)Most Kickoff Returns: 6 (11-18-00)Most Kickoff Return Yards: 158 (11-6-99)Most Rushes: 40 (11-26-98)
DEUCE CRACKS SEC TOP 10 LISTS: Senior Deuce McAllister will end his four-year career at Ole Miss ranked seventh on the SEC's all-time list for career rushing TDs (37) and total TDs scored (41). His 242 career points also ranks tied for 18th on the SEC's career scoring list.
DEUCE PASSES THE 3,000-YARD MARK: With his 121-yard rushing effort against Mississippi State on Nov. 23, senior RB Deuce McAllister became the 19th player in SEC history, and the first in Ole Miss history, to surpass the 3,000-yard mark in career rushing. McAllister finished his career with 3,060 rushing yards, ranking 19th on the SEC's all-time career list.
DEUCE LEADS SEC IN TDS, SCORING: Senior RB Deuce McAllister scored an SEC-leading 17 TDs in 2000 en route to establishing a new Ole Miss single-season record. The previous mark was 14 set by Kayo Dottley in 1949 and Archie Manning in 1969. McAllister scored 14 of his 17 TDs on the ground to also tie Dottley's and Manning's school single-season record for rushing TDs. McAllister's 102 total points in 2000 was also a school single-season mark, breaking Manning's record of 86 established in 1969. McAllister led the SEC and was tied for 14th nationally in scoring, averaging 9.3 points per game.
STRIKING PAYDIRT: Dating back to Oct. 16, 1999, senior RB Deuce McAllister has scored 28 TDs in Ole Miss' 17 games -- an average of 1.65 TDs per game -- including the 1999 Sanford Independence Bowl. McAllister scored three TDs in four of the Rebels' 11 games this season, and has done so in five of the last 17, including the regular-season finale against Mississippi State on Nov. 23. He opened the season by scoring at least one TD in the Rebels' first five games before suffering a high left ankle sprain in the first quarter of the Alabama contest on Oct. 14. McAllister failed to score a TD in back-to-back games against LSU (11/11) and Georgia (11/18) for the first time since the final four games of the 1998 regular season. Mc Allister, though, rebounded with three TDs in the regular-season finale against Mississippi State, and also recorded his first career TD pass with a 20-yard toss to QB Romaro Miller on a halfback-pass. McAllister has scored 26 of his school career record 41 TDs over the course of the Rebels' past 16 regular season games dating back to Oct. 16, 1999. The chart on the following page shows McAllister's TD production in the Rebels' 17 games, including the 1999 Sanford Independence Bowl:
Date Opponent Rush Rec. KR PR Total10-16-99 Alabama 2 0 0 0 210-30-99 LSU 2 0 0 0 211-6-99 Arkansas 2 0 1 0 311-20-99 Georgia 2 0 0 0 211-25-99 Miss. State 0 0 0 0 012-31-99 Oklahoma -1 1 1 0 0 29-2-00 Tulane 2 1 0 0 39-9-00 Auburn 2 0 0 1 39-16-00 Vanderbilt 1 0 0 0 19-30-00 Kentucky 1 0 0 0 110-7-00 Arkansas St. 2 1 0 0 310-14-00 Alabama 0 0 0 0 010-28-00 UNLV 1 0 0 0 111-4-00 Arkansas 2 0 0 0 211-11-00 LSU 0 0 0 0 011-18-00 Georgia 0 0 0 0 011-23-00 Miss. State 3 0 0 0 3 Total 23 3 1 1 28
1- Sanford Independence Bowl.NOTE: Bowl games do not count in career totals.
DEUCE DOES IT ALL: With his 20-yard TD pass to Romaro Miller against Mississippi State on Nov. 23, senior RB Deuce McAllister is believed to have become the first player in school history to score a TD rushing, receiving, on a kickoff return and on a punt return, and also throw a TD pass. Earlier this year against Auburn on Sept. 9, McAllister returned a punt 87 yards for a TD to become the third player in Ole Miss history to score a TD rushing, receiving and on a kickoff and punt return. Doug Cunningham (1964-66) was the first to pull the feat and was later joined by Bobby Knight (1969-71).
McALLISTER CRACKS 1,000 ALL-PURPOSE YARD MARK AGAIN: Senior RB Deuce McAllister finished the 2000 season with 1,488 all-purpose yards -- the third highest single-season total in Ole Miss history -- to become the first player in school history to record three consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 all-purpose yards. McAllister entered the season as one of five players in Ole Miss history to record back-to-back seasons with at least 1,000 all-purpose yards. The others were: Kayo Dottley (1949-50), J.R. Ambrose (1985-86) Pat Coleman (1988-89) and John Avery (1996-97).
McAllister surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in all-purpose yards this season with his 186-yard effort against Arkansas on Nov. 4. McAllister recorded 1,286 all-purpose yards as a sophomore in 1998 and set a school single-season record with 1,692 all-purpose yards, while playing 10 games last season. He finished his career with an Ole Miss career record of 4,889 yards on 744 touches -- an average of 6.57 yards per play. The charts on the following page show McAllister's 2000 game-by-game and year-by-year all-purpose yard totals:
--2000--Opponent Rush Rec. KR PR TotalTulane 29 52 48 6 135Auburn 104 1 56 96 257Vanderbilt 143 47 2 23 215Kentucky 75 5 51 9 140Arkansas St. 85 35 0 9 129Alabama* 10 0 0 0 10UNLV* 5 0 0 0 5Arkansas 131 16 22 17 186LSU 48 34 23 20 125Georgia 16 0 80 6 102Mississippi St. 121 0 61 2 184Total 767 190 340 191 1,488
* - missed majority of the game with a high left ankle sprain.
Number of touches: 214Average per touch: 6.95Touchdowns: 17
--CAREER--Year Rush Rec. PR KR Total1997 402 71 0 0 4731998 1,082 154 0 0 1,2361999 809 201 30 652 1,6922000 767 190 191 340 1,488Total 3,060 616 221 992 4,889
Number of touches: 744Average per touch: 6.57Touchdowns: 41
IT'S MILLER TIME, ONE FINAL TIME: Senior QB Romaro Miller will enter the 2000 Music City Bowl as one of the most prolific passers in Ole Miss history. A three-year starter, Miller will leave Ole Miss as having broken four career marks and tying another. The Music City Bowl contest against West Virginia will also mark Miller's 35th career start, and he brings a career record of 22-12 (.647 winning percentage) into the game as a starter. The following is a list of career, season and single-game records set by Miller during his career at Ole Miss:
--Career--Most Passing Yards: 6,311Most 200-Yard Passing Games: 18Most 250-Yard Passing Games: 8Most 300-Yard Passing Games: 3 (Tied)Most TD Passes: 43
--Season--Most TD Passes: 18 (Tied, 2000)
--Single Game--Most TD Passes: 4 (Tied, 10/31/98)
MILLER GETS 2,000 IN 2000: Senior QB Romaro Miller achieved a first in 2000 as he became the only player in Ole Miss to record two seasons of at least 2,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards of total offense. Miller finished the year with 2,012 passing yards and 2,099 yards of total offense. During his sophomore year in 1998, Miller passed for 2,273 yards and recorded 2,306 yards of total offense. In 1999, while learning a new offense, Miller just missed the 2,000-yard mark, passing for 1,999 yards and registering 1,987 yards of total offense.
Miller's 2,000-yard passing season is only the sixth in Ole Miss history. Kent Austin (1982), John Darnell (1989), Josh Nelson (1994) and Stewart Patridge (1997) are the others to do so, however, Miller is the only one to have two seasons with at least 2,000 yards passing. Miller's 2,099 yards of total offense marks just the eighth time Ole Miss has had a player accumulate more than 2,000 yards of total offense in a season, and Miller joins former QB John Fourcade (1978-81) as the only players to have two seasons with at least 2,000 yards of total offense.
HEARD BECOMES OLE MISS RECEIVING KING: With five receptions in the regular-season finale against Mississippi State on Nov. 23, senior WR Grant Heard became Ole Miss' all-time leader in receptions with 142, breaking Ta'Boris Fisher's (1993-96) mark of 139. Heard caught his record tying 139th career pass on a eight-yard TD toss from Romaro Miller in the second quarter. He would later break the record with a seven-yard TD catch from Miller to put Ole Miss up 21-16 before the halftime break.
HEARD TOPS 2,000-YARD PLATEAU: In addition to ending his career as Ole Miss' all-time receptions leader, senior WR Grant Heard is also just the third player in school history to record more than 2,000 career receiving yards. Heard finished his career with 2,029 career receiving yards, ranking second on the Ole Miss career list. Willie Green (1986-89) and J.R. Ambrose (1984-87) are the only other players to go over 2,000 career receiving yards at Ole Miss. Green set a career record with 2,274 yards, and Ambrose finished his career with 2,012 yards.