Ole Miss Football Game Notes

Updated Nov. 28, 2001

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE: Saturday, December 1, 2001
TIME: 11:30 a.m.
SITE: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field (45,577) in Oxford, Miss.

TV: Saturday's game will be televised by Jefferson Pilot (Dave Neal, play-by-play, Dave Rowe, color analyst, Charles Davis, sideline reporter)

RADIO: Saturday's game and all Ole Miss games can be heard on stations along the Ole Miss Football Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play, Pete Cordelli, color analyst, Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter, Gary Darby, pregame show host). The radio broadcast can also be heard on the official Ole Miss athletic website at www.OleMissSports.com.

IN THE POLLS: Neither Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are ranked in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches or Associated Press polls.

SERIES INFO: Saturday's game will be the 76th meeting all-time between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt dating back to 1894 ... The Rebels lead the series 41-32-2, including an 18-3 advantage in Oxford ... Ole Miss has won seven of the last eight against Vanderbilt, including 12-7 last year in Nashville ... The Commodores' only win during that span was a 37-34 overtime win in Oxford in 1999 ... The last two meetings have been decided by a total of eight points.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE: David Cutcliffe is in his third full season as head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. He is 22-13 with the Rebels since taking over the program on Dec. 6, 1998, less than a month prior to leading Ole Miss to a 35-18 win in his head coaching debut against Texas Tech in the Sanford Independence Bowl. This is Cutcliffe's first head coaching position. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, he spent 17 seasons as an assistant on both Johnny Majors' and Phillip Fulmer's staffs at Tennessee. Cutcliffe is 1-1 against Vanderbilt and Commodore Head Coach Woody Widenhofer.

VANDERBILT HEAD COACH WOODY WIDENHOFER: Woody Widenhofer is in his fifth and final season at Vanderbilt. He is 15-39 with the Commodores and 27-70-1 in eight-plus seasons as a collegiate head coach. Widenhofer announced that he would resign his head coaching position with the Commodores at the conclusion of the 2001 season. The defensive coordinator for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers during the days of "The Steel Curtain", Widenhofer also coached Missouri for four years from 1985-1988, going 12-31-1. Widenhofer is 1-1 versus Cutcliffe and 1-3 against Ole Miss.

VANDERBILT SCOUTING REPORT: Vanderbilt will bring a 2-8 overall record and an 0-7 SEC mark into Saturday's regular-season finale. The Commodores have been outscored 364-199 this season. Vanderbilt is averaging 19.9 points and 371.7 yards of offense per game. Senior QB Greg Zolman has thrown for 2,226 yards with 11 TDs and seven INTs. He is completing 51.6 percent of his passes, connecting on 163-of-316 passes. Junior WR Dan Stricker is the team's leading receiving with 54 catches for 910 yards and seven TDs. Senior RB Lew Thomas has gained 675 yards on 105 carries with five TDs, and senior RB Rodney Williams has gained 494 yards on 115 carries with four scores. Defensively, the Commodores are allowing an average of 36.4 points and 489.4 yards per game. Junior FS Justin Giboney has a team-high two interceptions.

2001 VANDERBILT SCHEDULE/RESULTS (2-8, 0-7 SEC)AUG.   30   MIDDLE TENNESSEE     L, 28-37SEPT.   8   ALABAMA*              L, 9-12SEPT.  22   RICHMOND             W, 28-22SEPT.  29   AUBURN*              L, 21-24OCT.   13   GEORGIA*             L, 14-30Oct.   20   at South Carolina*   L, 14-46Oct.   27   at Duke              W, 42-28Nov.    3   at Florida*          L, 13-71NOV.   10   KENTUCKY*            L, 30-56Nov.   17   at Tennessee*         L, 0-38Dec.    1   at Ole Miss*        11:30 a.m.
* - SEC Game     All Times Central

REBEL GAME NOTES
REBEL NOTEBOOK:
* Ole Miss is on its first three-game losing streak since losing the final three regular season games of 1998.
* 1998 was also the last time the Rebels dropped three consecutive SEC games.
* The Rebels have not dropped four straight since 1994.
* A win Saturday, would give Ole Miss its fifth straight season with at least seven wins for the first time since having 12 consecutive seasons with at least seven victories from 1952-1963.
* At 6-4, Ole Miss is bowl eligible for the fifth straight year. The Rebels are currently the only SEC West team to have advanced to a bowl in each of the past four seasons, making trips to the 1997 Motor City, 1998 and 1999 Independence and 2000 Music City Bowls.
* Ole Miss is 15-14 (.517 winning percentage) versus the SEC Eastern Division since the conference began divisional play in 1992.
* The Rebels have been outscored 52-13 in the second half in the last two games against Georgia and Mississippi State.
* Ole Miss ranks first in the SEC for the fewest penalties per game (4.9) and penalty yards per game (42.0).

REBELS IN DECEMBER: Today's game will mark Ole Miss' first December game (not including bowl games) since 1970, when the Rebels lost to LSU, 61-17 on Dec. 5 in Baton Rouge. The last time Ole Miss played a home game in December was back in 1964, losing 20-17 to Mississippi State on Dec. 5. Overall, the Rebels are 6-2 in December contests since 1947 (not including bowl games).

METCALF TABBED FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICA BY FOOTBALL NEWS: Senior OT Terrence Metcalf (Clarksdale, Miss.) has been named a first team All-American by the Football News. He is 39th Rebel all-time to be named a first team All-American, and the second in the past two years. DB Ken Lucas (1997-2000) was a first team All-America selection last season by Rivals.com.

METCALF, TAYLOR EARN ALL-SEC HONORS FROM FOOTBALL NEWS: Senior OT Terrence Metcalf and senior DB Syniker Taylor (Gulfport, Miss.) were selected to the Football News All-SEC team, released Nov. 20. Metcalf is a two-time selection to the Football News All-SEC team, as he also earned the honor last season. He also earned first team All-SEC accolades in 2000 from The Birmingham News, the SEC Coaches, Collegefootball-news.com, College Sports Southeast, and Rivals.com. Taylor was a second team All-SEC selection last season by The Associated Press.

SENIOR SALUTE: Ole Miss will have 20 seniors suiting up for their final home game in an Ole Miss uniform Saturday against Vanderbilt. This year's senior class has compiled a four-year mark of 28-18 (.609 winning percentage), and has helped lead Ole Miss to trips to the 1998 and 1999 Independence Bowls, and the 2000 Music City Bowl. A win Saturday against Vanderbilt would also make the Class of 2001 the fifth four-year senior class in the post World War II era to post four straight winning seasons (freshmen were ineligibile to play from 1954-72). This year's senior class includes: WR Jamie Armstrong (Plantersville, Miss.), DL Dusty Braddock (Laurel, Miss.), specialist Cory Burrow (Shannon, Miss.), LB Billy Calvert (Porterville, Miss.), WR Shawn Clark (Holly Springs, Miss.), DB Justin Coleman (Columbus, Ga.), LB Thomas Gee (Shickley, Neb.), RB Joe Gunn (Amory, Miss.), DT Kenny Jackson (New Orleans, La.), OL Matt Koon (Myrtle, Miss.), RB Chris Leverson (Coldwater, Miss.), OL Travis Macon (Starkville, Miss.), RB John Meeks (Walnut, Miss.), OL Terrence Metcalf (Clarksdale, Miss.), WR Omar Rayford (Holly Springs, Miss.), DT Anthony Sims (Memphis, Tenn.), TE Mitch Skrmetta (Biloxi, Miss.), RB Charles Stackhouse (West Memphis, Tenn.), DB Syniker Taylor (Gulfport, Miss.) and LB Kevin Thomas (Courtland, Miss.).

ZEIGLER OUT FOR SATURDAY'S GAME: Junior TE Doug Zeigler (Wilmington, Ohio) underwent surgery on Nov. 18 to have a plate inserted into his right forearm, after he broke it against Georgia on Nov. 17. He will miss Saturday's game versus Vanderbilt and his status will be re-evaluated if the Rebels' earn a bowl berth. Zeigler had caught 21 passes for 281 yards and four TDs in nine games this season, starting in seven of those contests.

REBELS ON TV:
* Saturday's game will mark the Rebels'seventh TV appearance of the season, one shy of the Ole Miss school record of eight set last season.
* This will be Ole Miss' fifth straight game to be televised, including its second appearance on Jefferson Pilot during that span. JP televised the Nov. 17 contest versus Georgia.
* This will be the Rebels' fourth appearance on JP this season. In addition to the Georgia contest, JP also carried Ole Miss' Sept. 8 game Auburn and its Oct. 13 game versus Alabama.
* Saturday's game with Vanderbilt was originally scheduled to be carried by JP on Sept. 15, but the game was postponed to Dec. 1 following the nation's tragedy on Sept. 11.
* This will be the Rebels' 23rd appearance all-time on JP. Ole Miss is 11-11 (.500) on JP.
* Saturday's game will mark the fourth straight year that Jefferson Pilot has carried the Ole Miss-Vanderbilt contest.
* The Rebels are 2-2 all-time against Vanderbilt in TV games. JP has carried three of the four contests, the other was aired on CBS in 1982, a game which the Commodores won 19-10 in Nashville.
* Saturday's game will be the Rebels' 119th all-time TV appearance dating back to their television debut against Georgia Tech in the 1953 Sugar Bowl.
* The Rebels are 52-64-2 (.449 winning percentage) all-time in TV games.
* The Rebels will be making their 23rd appearance on regional or national television under Head Coach David Cutcliffe.

NOTING ELI (MANNING):
* Ranks fifth nationally in TD-to-INT ratio (4.5-1), sixth in TD passes (27) and sixth in completions per game (23.6).
* Passed for two scores against Mississippi State (11/22) to give him five straight games with at least two TD passes.
* Named as a finalist for the 2001 Conerly Trophy, which is presented to the top collegiate player in the state of Mississippi. The award is named in honor of former Ole Miss All-American Charlie Conerly.
* Has thrown multi-TD passes in 8-of-10 games this season, and in 9-of-11 since last December's Music City Bowl.
* 16 completions and 213 yards passing against Mississippi State was his lowest output of the season in both categories. His previous low for completions was 19 at Kentucky (9/29), and his previous low for passing yards was 233 versus Georgia (11/17).
* Has completed at least 20 passes in 8-of-10 games this season.
* Has a pass efficiency rating of 151.36 in the fourth quarter this season, completing 50-of-84 passes for 660 yards with nine TDs and four interceptions. The only quarter in which he has a higher pass efficiency rating is the second, with a rating of 151.93.
* Nine TD passes in the fourth quarter is the most in any quarter, one more than his eight in the second quarter.

MANNING ADDS MORE RECORDS: Sophomore QB Eli Manning (New Orl-eans, La.) added two more school single-season records to his list of accomplishments this season, and tied another, against Mississippi State last Thursday. His 16 completions against the Bulldogs gives him 236 for the season to break Stewart Patridge's (1994-97) 1997 record of 228. Manning also had 229 yards of total offense versus Mississippi State to increase his season total to 2,670 yards, breaking Patridge's single-season mark of 2,559. He also tied Charlie Conerly's (1942, 1946-47) 1947 record for TDs responsible for with 27. For the season, Manning has set 10 Ole Miss records. The following is a list of Manning's record setting accomplishments this season.

* 27 TD passes is a new school single-season record, nine better than the previous mark of 18 set by Conerly in 1947 and Romaro Miller (1997-2000) in 2000.
* Current streak of 11 straight games with a TD pass, dating back to last December's Music City Bowl, is three better than the previous Ole Miss record of eight set by Archie Manning (1968-70) and Miller.
* Has thrown for at least 200 yards in all 10 games this season to set a school record for consecutive 200-yard passing games.
* Passed for at least 250 yards in the season's first six games to establish a new school mark for consecutive 250-yard passing games.
* 368 passing attempts is 16 more than Patridge's record of 352 set in 1997.
* 236 completions breaks Patridge's 1997 record of 228.
* Has accounted for 2,670 yards of total offense to eclipse Patridge's record of 2,559 set in 1997.
* 27 TDs responsible for is currently tied with Conerly for the Ole Miss single-season record.
* Passed for six TDs against Arkansas (11/3) to break his own single-game record of five set in the season opener versus Murray State (9/1).
* Threw 12 TD passes in a three-game span versus Middle Tennessee (10/20), LSU (10/27) and Arkansas (11/3) to set a school record for the most TD passes in a three-game span.

MANNING LOOKS TO ADD A FEW MORE RECORDS AGAINST THE COMMODORES: Sophomore QB Eli Manning will enter Saturday's regular-season finale against Vanderbilt looking to add a few Ole Miss single-season records to his portfolio this season. Manning is five passing yards shy of Stewart Patridge's 1997 school single-season record of 2,667. He also enters the Vanderbilt contest with the school's highest single-season pass efficiency rating of 145.84. The current school record is 136.4 set by Glynn Griffing in 1962. Manning's completion percentage of 64.1 percent also ranks second on the Ole Miss single-season list behind Patridge's 64.9 set in 1997 (see the updated Ole Miss Record Book on page 7).

MANNING'S INTERCEPTION RATE ONE OF THE LOWEST IN SEC HISTORY: Sophomore QB Eli Manning enters today's game against Vanderbilt with the third lowest percentage of interceptions for a single-season (min. 300 attempts) in SEC history. Only 1.63 percent of Mann-ing's passes have been picked off this season, as he has thrown six interceptions in 368 passing attempts. His older brother, Peyton, set the SEC single-season record in 1995 with an interception percentage of 1.05 percent.

REBEL OFFENSE BECOMES HIGHEST SCORING UNIT IN SCHOOL HISTORY: With 28 points against Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night, the Ole Miss offense became the highest scoring unit in school history. The Rebels have totaled 353 points this season, breaking the old mark of 329 set by the 1959 team.

OFFENSIVE NOTES:
* The Rebels are 13th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 35.3 points per game.
* Ole Miss needs nine first downs to tie the school single-season record of 245 set in 1980.
* Ole Miss has gained a first down passing 127 times this season to break the school record of 116 set in 1997.
* Ole Miss leads the SEC in fourth-down conversions, converting on 13-of-18 attempts for a 72.2 percent success rate.
* Junior WR/KR Jason Armstead recorded a season-high 174 all-purpose yards on nine touches against Mississippi State. He caught three passes for 47 yards, returned one punt for four yards and returned five kickoffs for 123 yards.
* Senior WR Ross Barkley (New Albany, Miss.) caught his first career TD pass against Mississippi State with a 19-yard reception from Eli Manning in the fourth quarter.

SOPHOMORE WR CHRIS COLLINS (GLOSTER, MISS.)
* Recorded his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season against Mississippi State, catching six passes for 110 yards to tie Floyd Franks' (1968-70) Ole Miss career record of four.
* His four 100-yard receivng games this season is an Ole Miss single-season record.
* With 51 receptions this season, is just the fourth Ole Miss player in school history to record 50 catches in a season.
* Needs five receptions against Vanderbilt to tie the Ole Miss single-season record of 56 set by LeMay Thomas in 1995.

SENIOR RB JOE GUNN (AMORY, MISS.)
* Is eight rushing yards away from reaching the 2,600-yard mark for his career.
* Enters today's game as the SEC's active career rushing leader, and ranks second among active SEC players in TDs scored, fifth in all-purpose yardage, and seventh in total points scored.
* Currently third on the Ole Miss career rushing list with 2,592 yards. He needs 62 yards rushing to tie Kayo Dottley (1947-50) for second place on the school's career rushing list.
* With two rushing attempts against Vanderbilt, Gunn will reach 600 career carries. He is 18 rushing attempts away from the Ole Miss career record of 616 set by Deuce McAllister (1997-2000).
* Has 100-yard rushing games this season against Kentucky (113, 9/29), Middle Tennessee (111, 10/20) and Arkansas (102, 11/3).
* 11 career 100-yard rushing games is second all-time at Ole Miss, three shy of Deuce McAllister's (1997-2000) school record of 14.

COLLINS, ARMSTRONG RATE AS ONE SCHOOL'S TOP RECEIVING DUOS: Sophomore WR Chris Collins and senior WR Jamie Armstrong have combined for 87 receptions for 1,084 yards and seven TDs this season to form one of the top receiving duos in school history. With three receptions by Armstrong versus Vand-erbilt Saturday, Collins and Armstrong would become the sixth receiving pair in Ole Miss history to both record at least 40 receptions in a season. Their 87 combined receptions is third among the top Rebel receiving tandems, and their 1,084 combined yards ranks seventh. The following charts show the top Rebel receiving tandems in school history:

RECEPTIONSPlayers, Year                               No.1.  LeMay Thomas/Ta'Boris Fisher, 1995      1012.  Floyd Franks/Jim Poole, 1969             973.  Chris Collins/Jamie Armstrong, 2001      87
RECEIVING YARDSPlayers, Year                                   Yards1.  Willie Green/Pat Coleman, 1989              1,4112.  LeMay Thomas/Ta'Boris Fisher, 1995          1,2943.  Floyd Franks/Jim Poole, 1969                1,1764.  Ta'Boris Fisher/Roell Preston, 1994         1,1715.  Cory Peterson/Grant Heard, 1998             1,1606.  J.R. Ambrose/Willie Green, 1987             1,1037.  Chris Collins/Jamie Armstong, 2001          1,084

METCALF RATED HIGH FOR NEXT APRIL'S NFL DRAFT: Senior OT Terrence Metcalf has been projected to be one of the top offensive linemen selected in next April's NFL Draft by both The Sporting News and ESPN.com draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. In its 2002 NFL Draft Preview, The Sporting News listed Metcalf as the nation's top prospect at offensive guard, even though, Metcalf has started all 10 games at left tackle this season. Metcalf has played both guard and tackle during his career at Ole Miss. In its preview, The Sporting News went on to say that Metcalf could go as high as some of the top offensive tackles. Kiper lists Metcalf as the nation's 16th best senior prospect, fourth among offensive linemen.

DEFENSIVE NOTES:
* Ole Miss ranks third nationally in passing yards allowed (148.8 ypg) and is eighth in completion percentage defense (48.29).
* Ole Miss failed to record at least one takeaway for the first time in 24 games against Mississippi State. The last time the Rebels did not record at least one takeaway was against Georgia on Nov. 20, 1999.
* The 263 yards passing by Mississippi State was the first time Ole Miss had allowed 200 yards passing in a game this season.
* Sophomore DB Marcus Woodson (Moss Point, Miss.) saw his first action since Oct. 13 versus Alabama in the Mississippi State game, after having missed the previous four games due to injury.
* Senior DB Syniker Taylor enters today's game as the SEC's active career leader in interceptions (10) and passes defensed (41).
* Junior LB Eddie Strong (Batesville, Miss.) leads the Rebels with 100 tackles (49 solo) to become the first Ole Miss player since Nate Wayne in 1996 to record at least 100 stops in a season.

THOMAS WEARING CHUCKY MULLINS' NO. 38: Senior LB Kevin Thomas (Courtland, Miss.) received the 2001 Chucky Mullins Courage Award this spring, and as a result, is wearing the late Mullins' No. 38 this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
* Junior Jason Armstead ranks seventh nationally in kickoff returns, averaging 29.0 yards per return.
* Armstead's 29.0-yard average per kickoff return ranks first on the Ole Miss single-season list with a minimum of 10 returns.
* Redshirt freshman PK Jonathan Nichols has set new Ole Miss single-season records for PATs made (42) and attempted (44). Cloyce Hinton held the previous records for PATs (39)and attempted (42), both set in 1971.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos