History of the SEC: Ole Miss Rebels

When it comes to the University of Mississippi, its football team reflects both the small-town charm and big-time sophistication that the Oxford campus is know for.

No home to big-time college football is quite as quant, gracious, charming or Southern, and not in a geographical way. It features Rowan Oak, once the home of William Faulkner, Oxford Square, and The Grove, once described by The Sporting News as the “Holy Grail of tailgating experiences.” Just don’t forget the words to the “Hotty Toddy” cheer (but if you do, they’ll be more than happy to help you out). 

The school is so entrenched in its roots and that doesn’t even use its own name. “Ole Miss,” was selected during a contest to name the yearbook in 1986, and over the years became synonymous with the university. Somehow, it’s just more fitting.

“There is a valid distinction between the university and Ole Miss even though the separate threads are closely interwoven,” alumnus Frank Everett Jr. wrote. “The university is buildings, trees and people. Ole Miss is mood, emotion and personality. One is physical, and the other is spiritual. One is tangible, and the other intangible. The university is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. The university gives a diploma and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss.”

At Ole Miss, the men don’t boast about having once dated the homecoming queen, they brag about having escorted a Miss America. And they take honor in remembering their sports icons, even if Casey Stengel did only coach the baseball team briefly in 1914. He’s considered part of their heritage and family, as are all the football players and coaches.

Georgia coach Vince Dooley once said: “When you hear forty-six thousand Rebels screaming for your blood, and meaning it, it can be eerie.” Now Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field, the state’s largest facility, has a capacity of 60,038.

Ole Miss football dates back to 1890, when Dr. A.L. Bondurant was instrumental in the formation of the school’s athletic association. With the future dean of the graduate school serving as manager/coach, the first game was played against Southwest Baptist University of Jackson, Tennessee, a 56-0 victory that helped lead to a 4-1 season.

Almost immediately, the sport was popular. Among one of the more telling quotes in early school history was from James ‘Bobo’ Champion in 1893: “The athletic fever has now taken full possession of the university … and the time is already here when, in order to rank high in college or society, one must join the running crowd and play on the football team.”

It’s believed that C.D. Clark was the first paid football coach in 1894, when Ole Miss first faced a few of its future SEC rivals. It squeaked out a 6-0 victory against Alabama and beat LSU 26-6, but lost 40-0 to Vanderbilt to finish 6-1.

 Like most of its collegiate counterparts, the early years saw numerous coaching changes and Ole Miss was no exception. Prior to 1925, the team had 22 different head coaches, the most noteworthy being a 7-1 finish under Dr. Nathan P. Stauffer in 1910. Over three seasons he had a 17-7-2 record.

Homer Hazel was the first coach to provide some stability, when from 1925-29 Ole Miss tallied a 21-22-3 mark. Ed Walker had a similar record during his eight years at the helm, and led the Rebels to their first bowl appearance. A 9-2 season brought a bid from the Orange Bowl, but during the 14-6 regular season finale against Mississippi State, fullback Clarence (Big Un) Hapes sustained a knee injury. He would be missed against Catholic University from Washington D.C.

A 67-yard sweep around the left side by Ned Peters put Ole Miss on the scoreboard, and sophomore halfback Ray Hapes returned from an injury to lead a second-half comeback, but despite being outgained 265 yards to 172, and in first downs 15 to seven, Catholic U. held on for a 20-19 victory.

Walker also coached Ole Miss’ first All-American, Frank “Bruiser” Kinard in 1936-37, before Harry Mehre took over the following season (Note: The 1937 season was also known for Ole Miss making the first en masse flight by a college team, traveling from Memphis to Philadelphia on American Airlines flagship Maryland).

In the pre-World War II years, the Rebels finished 9-2, 7-2, 9-2 and 6-2-1 before dipping in 1942 and the sport being banned by trustees in 1943. The 1938 team featured Parker “Bullet” Hall, who led the nation in scoring (73 points), all-purpose rushing (1,558 yards), rushing average, kick return average, interceptions, and touchdowns (22). Although his teams were best remembered for the dominating backfield of Junie Hovious and Merle Hapes, nicknamed the H-boys, Mehre’s accomplishments included the first victory against Vanderbilt (14-7 in 1939), the first win in 11 years against LSU (20-7 in 1938), and the first victory against Tulane in 25 yards (20-13 in 1941).

Mehre returned for two more seasons in 1944 and 1945, and left Ole Miss on the brink of its glory years. C.M. “Tad” Smith succeeded him as director of athletics, a post he would hold until 1971, and many believed that longtime Alabama assistant Harold “Red” Drew, who was hired as coach, would be the one to being greatness to the program. He was, sort of. After a 2-7 season, Drew returned to Tuscaloosa to succeed legendary coach Frank Thomas at Alabama. When assistant John Vaught decided to stay at Ole Miss and replace Drew rather than follow him back to Tuscaloosa, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to the Rebels.

“I’ll do anything for Ole Miss."John Vaught

During his first season alone, the former All-American at Texas Christian guided Ole Miss to a 9-2 record and captured its first SEC title. Charlie Conerly, a combat Marine in the South Pacific during World War II, led the nation in pass completions with 133 and emerged to be the school’s first Heisman candidate, finishing fourth. Prior to the start of the season, Vaught promised to play his alma mater at the Delta Bowl in nearby Memphis if possible. Even after receiving an invitation for the Sugar Bowl, the coach kept his word, though the stubborn Horned Frogs almost made him regret it.

Bobby Berry’s 28-yard interception return for a touchdown and a blocked punt gave TCU a 9-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter, when Conerly connected on touchdown passes to Joe Johnson and Dixie Howell to lead the 13-9 comeback.

From there, things only got better for Ole Miss and Vaught, who brought the split-T formation to the South, but really made his mark on defense. During his 24 years the Rebels had just one losing season, 4-5-1 in 1949. During the 1950s, when Ole Miss won three SEC titles, only Oklahoma had a better overall record than Ole Miss’ 80-21-5.

The Rebels did go to the Sugar Bowl after finishing the 1952 regular season undefeated at 8-0-2, thanks to a 21-14 victory over No. 1 Maryland, but ran into a talented Georgia Tech team and some bad breaks. Wissy Dillard opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown, but when he was stopped short of the goal-line on two different drives, one on a controversial call, the Rebels lost the momentum for good. Though the Ole Miss media guide called it the “game of the big grumble,” with even Governor Hugh White voicing his displeasure, the Engineers won  24-7.

Ole Miss didn’t have better fortune in the 1955 Sugar Bowl against Navy. Coming in, the SEC champions had outscored the opposition 283-47, but the “Team of Desire” won out that day. Navy outgained Ole Miss 442 yards to 121 and won 21-0.

The Rebels’ first major bowl victory came in the 1956 Cotton Bowl. Led by Jim Swink, who scored the first two touchdowns of the game, TCU was favored against the SEC champions, but Ole Miss had Eagle Day, who would earn the nickname “The Mississippi Gambler” that day.

With Paige Cothren setting up his own 3-yard touchdown with a 21-yard fullback draw, the Rebels drove 66 yards in four plays to close within 13-7 at halftime. Day’s 25-yard run in the fourth quarter set up Billy Lott’s 5-yard touchdown for the 14-13 final.

The 1958 Sugar Bowl was even more impressive. After outscoring opponents 232-52 in the regular season, and posting shutouts in four of the first five games, Ole Miss was 8-1-1 heading into its showdown with Texas. Led by Ray Brown, who threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Don Williams and ran in two more, including a 92-yarder when in punt formation he tucked the ball and ran, Ole Miss won in a rout, 39-7. Brown finished with 157 rushing yards and had three interceptions on defense to be named the game’s outstanding player.

An 8-2 record, with losses to LSU and Tennessee, had Ole Miss in the 1958 Gator Bowl against Florida. With a light rain falling, the Rebels elected to take the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards for the game’s only touchdown. On the way, fullback Charlie Flowers suffered an eye injury that sidelined him, but replacement Jim Anderson and Kent Lovelace kept the possession going along with quarterback Bobby Franklin.

Florida’s best chance to score came early in the fourth quarter after Bobby Joe Green’s surprise kick quick went 76 yards and hit an Ole Miss player, resulting in a fumble recovered at the Rebels’ 10-yard line. But two stops by Jimmy Hall and one by Larry Gratham set up fourth down, when Richard Price burst through the line and dropped quarterback Jimmy Dunn.

[Note: The J. Richard Price Courage and Compassion Award is now presented annually to the rising senior lineman who, in the opinion of his coaches, has demonstrated extraordinary courage and unusual compassion in his dedication to the team and Ole Miss.]

Leaving the game, Gratham started chanting “All the way in ’59, national champs,” and Ole Miss answered by attempting to make the leap from SEC dominance to national prominence. The Rebels gave up just three touchdowns all season, en route to a 10-1 record. The defense was so dominating, allowing just 2.1 points per game thanks to eight shutouts, that the Rebels would often punt on first or second down.

The one gaffe to the season came October 31 at LSU, when Billy Cannon, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy, broke an 89-yard punt return considered one of the greatest plays in college football history. The defending national champion held on, 7-3. Later, Cannon said, “I realized that I could have been tackled any number of times and that if we didn’t score soon the game was going to be over.”

When Ole Miss rebounded by blowing out Chattanooga and Mississippi State by a combined score of 137-7, it earned a rematch with LSU in the Sugar Bowl. This time, the game wasn’t close. Led by Franklin and Grantham, the Rebels easily won 21-0. The Tigers mustered only six first downs, 74 yards of total offense and minus-15 yards rushing.

Although the ’59 Rebels weren’t a consensus national champion (instead, it went to Syracuse), weeks later it was named the SEC Team of the Decade by an Associated Press poll.

Ole Miss did finally get a share of a national championship in 1960, though once again LSU got in the way. After a 6-0 start, the Rebels could only tie the Tigers in Oxford, 6-6, which opened the door for Minnesota to finish No. 1 in both Associated Press and United Press International polls. Against Rice in the Sugar Bowl, All-American Jake Gibbs scored two touchdowns to lead the SEC champions to a 14-6 victory. The Football Writers Association of America rewarded the effort in post-bowl balloting, with Ole Miss the first SEC school to receive the Grantland Rice Trophy.

Incidentally, Gibbs went on to play ten years as a catcher with the New York Yankees (1962-71). After six of them, 1965-70, he returned to campus following the end of the baseball season to serve as an assistant football coach. After his professional playing career ended, Gibbs was Ole Miss’ baseball coach for 19 years.

Another setback against LSU, 10-7, cost a title run in 1961, and All-American fullback Billy Ray Adams was injured in car accident just two days after a 37-7 victory against Mississippi State. The Rebels had outscored opponents 326-40 and were heavily favored against Texas in the Cotton Bowl, but the Longhorns got out to an early lead and were able to hold on.

“I never could get my cleats anchored to throw,” All-American quarterback Glynn Griffing said of the hard surface after the 12-7 loss.

Arguably the best run the Rebels made for a consensus national title was in 1962, when they finally got the best of LSU, 15-7, and went on to finish the regular season 9-0. Against Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, Griffing completed 14 of 23 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown and ran in another. His 257 yards in total offense broke Davey O’Brien’s bowl record which had stood for 24 years.

For the first time, Ole Miss finished the season with a perfect record, and stood along atop the SEC standings. The only problem was something it had no control of, Southern California, which also ran the table in impressive fashion to be voted the consensus national champion. Ole Miss had to settle for No. 2.

Despite an opening 0-0 tie at Memphis State, the Rebels took another shot at it in 1963, and optimism prevailed following a dominating 37-3 victory at LSU. But if a 10-10 tie at Mississippi State didn’t foreshadow what was to come, the four-plus inches of snow the day before Sugar Bowl against Alabama certainly did. Ole Miss fumbled 11 times, losing six, while the Crimson Tide had six fumbles, losing three.

If one play typified the game, it was when Perry Lee Dunn completed an 11-yard pass to end Joe Pettey to the Alabama 9-yard-line, which could have set up a potential game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. But he fumbled along the sideline, with the ball rolling out of bounds against a snow bank and then rolled back in to be recovered by Alabama’s Eddie Versprille. Tim Davis made field goals of 46, 31, 34, and 48 yards as the Crimson Tide won 12-7.

Although Ole Miss was unable to challenge for another national championship, it started a 15-year string of bowl appearances. With seconds remaining in the 1965 Liberty Bowl, Jim Urbanek, Jimmy Keyes, Marvin McQueen and Jerry Richardson broke through and sacked Auburn quarterback Alex Bowden on fourth down at the Ole Miss 9 to preserve a 13-7 victory.

After allowing just 46 points, with five shutouts, for an 8-2 record in 1966, the defense yielded on three long drives by Texas, which won the Bluebonnet Bowl 19-0.

The 1967 season ended in similar fashion. Despite the efforts of Mac McClure, whose 47-yard interception return set up a touchdown, and tackle Dan Smith, Texas-Paso won the Sun Bowl 14-7. But there would be brighter times in the years to follow, when  the Rebels were led by the most beloved player in their history.

Quarterback Archie Manning never won an SEC or national championship (or the Heisman Trophy), but for years his No. 18 was the only retired jersey in school history. Moreover, the road leading to the new indoor practice facility (costing, of course, $18 million) was named Manning Way, and the speed limit for most of campus was 18 mph.

What Ole Miss might have lacked in hardware, it made up for in excitement, even when the Rebels didn’t want any.

For example, 37 seconds into the 1968 Liberty Bowl, which Ole Miss was waiting for Virginia Tech to huddle, Hokies quarterback Al Kincaid scooped up the ball and pitched it to tailback Ken Edwards, who went 58 yards for a touchdown. Manning fumbled on his first possession two minutes into the game and by the end of the first quarter Tech had a 17-0 lead.

Starting with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Hank Shows, Ole Miss dominated thereafter. Though upset about a fourth-down play in which officials ruled that Manning was across the goal-line, but the ball was not, he threw another touchdown pass. Tailback Steve Hindman had 122 rushing yards on 15 carries, and middle linebacker Bailey scored on a 70-yard interception return for a 34-17 final.

One of the most famous games in college football history occurred on October 4, 1969, when No. 15 Alabama hosted No. 20 Ole Miss at Legion Field in Birmingham for the first regular-season college football game televised in prime time.

In the second half, quarterbacks Manning and Scott Hunter of the Crimson Tide seemed to turn the game into a version of “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better).” During the final few minutes, Alabama coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant simply told his quarterback to “Run the best thing you’ve got.” Hunter did, and the Tide scored for a 33-32 victory. Manning completed 33 of 52 passes for 436 yards, ran for 104 yards and had five touchdowns. Hunter completed 22 of 29 passes for 300 yards, with the game-winning touchdown pass to George Ranager.

ABC announcer Chris Schenkel described it the “Greatest duel two quarterbacks ever had. You had to be there to believe it.”

After the game, the coaches shook hands at midfield and Bryant said to his friend, “Wasn’t that the worst college football game you’ve ever seen?”

While Alabama lost its next two games, Ole Miss went on to manhandle No. 3 Tennessee 38-0 after Volunteers linebacker Steve Kiner made the mistake of saying, “Archie who?” Next up was Arkansas, which at 9-1 was coming off No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown against Texas, in the Sugar Bowl.

Although the Razorbacks led the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.6 points per game, the Rebels dominated the first half. Fullback Bo Bowen opened the scoring with a 69-yard run. Manning had two touchdowns, the first on an 18-yard carry set up by his 57-yard pass to Vernon Studdard, followed a 30-yard scoring strike to Studdard for a 24-12 halftime lead.

Arkansas came back, but All-American safety Glenn Cannon intercepted a tailback pass in the end zone. The following Arkansas possession stalled when he broke up three consecutive passes by quarterback Bill Montgomery, and later, with 1:15 remaining, forced and recovered a fumble to preserve the 27-22 victory.

Manning finished fourth in Heisman voting, and placed third in 1970 when health issues forced Vaught to resign as head coach. Their last game was a loss, but one that tugged at the hearts of Rebels fans.

No. 10 Auburn, which was led by 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, and Ole Miss combined for 1,063 yards of offense in the Gator Bowl, but with Manning wearing a plastic sleeve to protect a broken arm, the Rebels couldn’t keep up. Before being replaced by Shug Chumbler, who threw a 23-yard pass to Jim Pooler, Manning had 95 rushing yards and 180 passing in the 35-28 defeat.

“All that scrambling got me,” said Manning, whose career concluded with 4,753 passing yards and 823 rushing yards, often from his legendary improvisations. “My wind left me, and those weeks out of action showed up. That old hospital bed never got off my back. As a matter of fact, I felt like it rode down the field with me a couple of times.”

Manning went on to play 14 years in the National Football League, during which he was also recognized for work with the Boy Scouts, Special Olympics, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, 4-H, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, United Negro College Fund, Easter Seals, United Way, Cystic Fibrosis, Tuberculosis, and others. He was voted Mississippian of the Year in 1981, and was the youngest person ever enshrined into the Ole Miss Hall of Fame.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989, joined the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Board of Directors in 1993, and became the chairman in 2007. In October 2013, Manning was selected to be one of the 13 inaugural members of The College Football Playoff Selection Committee.

Vaught suffered a mild heart attack on October 20, 1970, and stepped down as head coach at the end of the season. University of Mississippi Chancellor Porter L. Fortune, Jr. said on John Vaught Day in 1971, “John Vaught trained the boys to become men while imparting to them some of his own extraordinary skills as an athlete.”

Billy Kinard became the first former Ole Miss player to coach the team when he was hired by his brother “Bruiser” Kinard, the former player and offensive line coach under Vaught who was named athletic director. After early losses to No. 7 Alabama (40-6) and No. 10 Georgia (38-7), the Rebels turned things around and with a 48-0 win at Mississippi State took a 9-2 record into the Peach Bowl. While Georgia Tech was favored, Ole Miss dominated, racking up five touchdowns and a field goal before the Engineers scored a point in the second quarter.

The Rebels converted five turnovers, including interceptions by Mickey Fratesi and Henry Walsh, into points in the 41-18 rout. Jim Porter ran in two touchdowns and quarterback Norris Weese scored two himself, one running, one passing. Weese was named the game’s offensive most valuable player with linebacker Crowell Armstrong his defensive counterpart. The Rebels were ranked fifteenth.

It would be 12 years until Ole Miss returned to the postseason, but the program’s struggles briefly brought the return of Vaught after both Kinards were fired three games into the 1973 season. Despite a 1-2 start the Rebels finished a respectable 6-5, with Vaught retiring from coaching for good while staying on as director of athletics. Vaught’s impressive record of 190-61-12 made him the fourth-winningest coach in SEC history behind only Bryant (323), Lou Holtz and Vince Dooley.

“The worst thing a coach can do is stand pat and think the things that worked yesterday will win tomorrow,” Vaught said. “Intelligent changes must be made.”

From 1972 to 1985, the Rebels won more than six games in a season only once, with one bowl appearance. Both happened during former player Billy Brewer’s first season as coach, 1983 (though the seventh win came from a forfeit by Tulane). A goal-line stand, with a key stop by All-American linebacker Andre Townsend, kept Ole Miss in the game during the rain-soaked Independence Bowl, but Air Force prevailed, 9-3.

The biggest victory during the time period came in 1977, during coach Ken Cooper’s final season. The Rebels were rotten hosts to Joe Montana and No. 3 Notre Dame, with fullback James Storey catching touchdown passes to lead a 20-13 victory. The Irish didn’t lose again that season, beating Texas in the Cotton Bowl to edge Alabama for the national championship, while Ole Miss finished 5-6.

However, the controversy of race continued to cast a shadow over the program well into the 1980s. In 1962, enrollment of the school’s first black student, James Meredith, led to riots in protest. It wasn’t until 1972 that Ole Miss added its first two black players, Ben Williams and James Reed.

“If it hadn’t been for football, they would have probably closed Ole Miss,” Vaught later recalled.

In the ’80s, heated debate questioned whether Confederate flags should continue to be waved during games, which also affected recruiting. However, Brewer was able to led the Rebels to four more bowl games, the first of which was a 20-17 victory against Texas Tech in the 1986 Independence Bowl. Mark Young threw for 343 passing yards, breaking five of Manning’s bowl records, but a 48-yard field goal by Bryan Owens provided the winning points thanks to a last-minute interception by safety Jeff Nobin. Brewer was named SEC Coach of the Year.

Ole Miss picked a good time to win for the first time against the No. 12 Crimson Tide in the state of Alabama, pulling off a 22-12 victory in 1988 to not only spoil homecoming, but the dedication of the Bear Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels went on to finish 5-6.

Inspired by a visit from Chucky Mullins, a player paralyzed during a game earlier in the season, who was making his first trip out of the hospital, Ole Miss jumped out to a huge lead in the 1989 Liberty Bowl en route to a 42-29 victory against Air Force. The combination of quarterback John Darnell and running back Randy Baldwin combined for nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half alone, and Pat Coleman returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. Jeff Carter, a walk-on who wound up starting due to injuries, had eight tackles, an interception and one pass breakup to be named the game’s most outstanding defensive player.

A last-second 21-17 victory against Arkansas sparked Ole Miss to a seven-game winning streak in 1990, but a 9-2 season was overshadowed by a 35-3 loss to Michigan in the Gator Bowl. Defensive back Tyrone Ashley had a 60-yard interception, four kickoff returns for 113 yards, and made four tackles, but led by quarterback Elvis Grbac, running back Jon Vaughn, and future Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, the Wolverines scored 21 points in the third quarter to secure the win.

For the third time in 10 years, Ole Miss was paired against Air Force in the postseason, though the 1992 Liberty Bowl was more of a defensive showdown than its predecessors. Coordinator Joe Lee Dunn’s defense, ranked sixth in the nation, proved worthy of its reputation, yielding an average of just 2.9 yards per play, and earned a shutout, 13-0. Cornerback Danny Boyd made an interception in the end zone, but linebacker Cassius Ware, who had 10 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery, was named the game’s defensive MVP. Ole Miss wouldn’t return to the postseason until 1997, when under coach Tommy Tuberville the Rebels pulled out both a 36-21 victory at No. 8 LSU and a last-second 15-14 win against Mississippi State.

With Marshall led by quarterback Chad Pennington and wide receiver Randy Moss, the teams combined for more than 1,000 yards and swapped the lead six teams during the Motor City Bowl. Quarterback Stewart Patridge matched Pennington with 332 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Deuce McAllister had 39 of his 71 rushing yards on the game-winning drive, and both he and John Avery, who had 110 rushing yards, scored touchdowns in the 34-31 victory.

In 1998, Ole Miss scored 22 points in the final 10 minutes to pull off a stunning comeback against Southern Methodist, which had a 41-19 lead. The Rebels won in overtime 48-41, a win that proved crucial for postseason aspirations after they lost the last three games of the regular season to finish 6-5.

“They’ll have to carry me out of here in a pine box,” Tuberville said when asked about rumors he was up for the Auburn job, which he accepted November 29, a week before Ole Miss was invited to play Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl. David Cutcliffe, the offensive coordinator of national champion Tennessee, was hired and had less than a month to learn his players and the playbook. Making matters worse, while the Rebels were in the middle of final exams Cutcliffe was hospitalized with pancreatitis. After hearing an “against-all-odds” pregame speech, they still came through with an inspired 35-18 victory. Quarterback Romaro Miller, who came back from an injury sustained on the final play against Georgia, passed for 216 yards with three touchdowns and safety Anthony Magee had two interceptions.

Cutcliffe led the Rebels to four bowl appearances in his first five years at Ole Miss, beginning with an impressive 27-25 victory against Oklahoma in the 1999 Independence Bowl. McCallister had 239 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns, including a career-best 80-yard carry, Miller was 18 of 28 for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and senior cornerback Tim Strickland had both an interception in the end zone and a forced fumble. Shortly after quarterback Josh Heupel, who finished 39 of 53 for 390 yards, gave the Sooners a one-point lead with just over two minutes remaining, kicker Les Binkley made a 39-yard game-winning field goal in the final seconds.

In 2000, Cutcliffe was able to tap into a piece of Ole Miss history when Archie Manning’s son Eli took over at quarterback. Like father, like son, Manning wasn’t able to lead Ole Miss to a championship and he would finish third in Heisman voting in 2003, but once again the Rebels were far from boring.

The changeover happened during the 2000 Music City Bowl, after Miller scored on a 7-yard touchdown run and, with Ole Miss down 49-16 to West Virginia, gave way to the redshirt freshman. Manning completed 12 of 20 passes for 267 yards with three touchdowns to pull the Rebels to within 49-38.

The 2001 team set a school record for points scored with 391, but it translated into only seven wins. One of the most dramatic defeats in Ole Miss lore came against Arkansas, a game that took seven overtimes to decide. Eventually, the Razorbacks stopped a two-point conversion for a 58-56 final.

At that point, the biggest upset in school history came against No. 6 Florida in 2002. Manning completed 18 of 33 passes for 254 yards to lead a comeback after being down 14-2 at halftime and win his showdown with Heisman candidate Rex Grossman, 17-14.

“I knew to leave my helmet on,” Eli Manning said. “Everyone was smacking me on the head. I wanted to see the goal post come down, but it was too crazy.”

Not learning their lesson, the Gators lost again the following year at The Swamp, 20-17.

Ole Miss concluded the 2002 season at the Independence Bowl against Nebraska, which had won three national championships and 108 games in the 1990s, but entered the game with a 7-6 record. Manning passed for 313 yards and the defense dominated the second half, yielding just 59 rushing yards and 38 passing yards. Defensive backs Eric Oliver and Travis Blanchard, and linebacker Eddie Strong all reached double-digits in tackles, while defensive tackle Jesse Mitchell had nine.

After a lackluster 2-2 start in 2003, Manning keyed the turnaround as Ole Miss finished 10-3 and tied LSU, which won the national championship, for first in the SEC Western Division. Playing on New Year’s Day, Manning completed 23 of 31 passes for 259 yards and scored three touchdowns to guide Ole Miss to a 31-28 victory against Oklahoma State. While Josh Cooper led the defense, Tremaine Turner scored two touchdowns to help lead the first Rebels’ first victory in the Cotton Bowl since 1962.

Four months later, Manning entered the NFL Draft a year early and was selected first overall, one spot higher than his father. His No. 10 was also eventually retired, and some parts of campus that don't have a speed limit of 18 have a posted limit of 10.

Although Cutcliffe had five straight winning season and a record of 44-29 at Ole Miss, he was fired by athletic director Pete Boone in December 2004 at the end of a disappointing 4-7 season. Brash Ed Orgeron, who was about as opposite in personality as Cutcliffe, was hired and lasted just three seasons, with Houston Nutt staying just four (2008-11). Hugh Freeze followed, and in 2014-15 became the first SEC coach to win back-to-back games against Alabama under Nick Saban, but resigned in 2017 following a scandal. Moreover, NCAA penalties changed his official record with the Rebels from 39-25 to 12-25.

After a three-season stint by Matt Like, Ole Miss rolled the dice and hired former Tennessee and USC head coach Lane Kiffin. In 2021, the offensive mastermind who helped Saban revamp his offense and win a national title at Alabama, Kiffin led the Rebels to a 10–2 regular-season record and No. 8 finish in the College Football Playoff rankings. With quarterback Jaxson Dart, who started his college career with the Trojans and transferred, breaking most of the school passing records, the Rebels finished 11-2 in 2023, and 10-3 in 2024 — the best run by a coach at Ole Miss since Vaught.

"I love Coach Kiff," Dart said after leading the 2024 Egg Bowl win against rival Mississippi State. "He brought me in, had a vision for me, and helped develop me into the player that I am today. Our relationship has grown so much and I love him to death. I'd go to war for him any day of the week."

This is the fifth part of an extended series about the history of SEC football. Some of the material was used in the book "Where Football is King," by Christopher Walsh

Three things that stand out about Ole Miss football:

1. The Grove