Video: Revenge Not a Factor for Ole Miss ahead of Memphis Game

GAME 5

#16/17 Ole Miss Rebels (2-2, 1-1 SEC) vs. RV/RV Memphis Tigers (3-0, 0-0 American)

Date: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Venue: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)
Surface: Natural Grass
Ole Miss Rankings: 16 (AP), 17 (Coaches)
Memphis Rankings: RV (AP), RV (Coaches)
Series: Ole Miss leads 48-11-2
In Oxford: Ole Miss leads 19-2
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Twitter Updates: @OleMissFB

Television: ESPN2, ESPNU or SEC Network alternate
TBA, Play-by-Play
TBA, Analyst
TBA, Sideline
Satellite Radio: Sirius 108, XM 191

WHAT TO WATCH FOR…

• At No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 17 in the coaches poll, Ole Miss is ranked for the 37th time in the last 38 rankings.
• Ole Miss is the only school in the country to have faced three top-15 opponents in the first four weeks of the season.
• Ole Miss is coming off a 45-14 win over No. 11 Georgia, its biggest margin of victory vs. a top-25 team since 1969.
• This is the 62nd meeting all-time between the Mid-South rivals … It is the Rebels’ most frequent rivalry with any school not currently or formerly in the SEC … Ole Miss holds a 48-11-2 lead in the series and had won six straight before last year’s 37-24 loss in Memphis … The Rebels have won 15 of the last 20 meetings dating back to 1988.
• This is the 89th Homecoming game at Ole Miss since 1924 … The Rebels are 71-15-2 all-time and have won 17 of their last 19, including last year’s 52-3 victory over New Mexico State.
• The Rebels have outscored opponents 41-6 in the first quarter and 107-33 in the first half of games this year.
• Ole Miss has had its three biggest home crowds in history this year, including a state of Mississippi record 66,176 for the Sept. 17 Alabama game.
• Ole Miss plays 10 bowl teams from last year, tied for second-most in the country.
• Senior QB Chad Kelly has broken Eli Manning’s school record by throwing a TD pass in 17 consecutive games.
• Senior TE Evan Engram leads all TEs in the nation with 26 catches and 397 receiving yards.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH HUGH FREEZE
Hugh Freeze (Southern Miss, 1992) is in his fifth season at the Ole Miss helm. He inherited a team that went 2-10 and winless in SEC games in 2011 and has led the Rebels to four straight bowl games, including back-to-back “New Year’s Six” bowl berths the last two seasons. He’s the first coach to lead Ole Miss to four straight bowls since John Vaught, and he’s the only Rebel coach to accomplish that feat in his first four seasons at the helm. A 2014 finalist for the Bear Bryant Award and Dodd Trophy, Freeze owns a 36-20 mark in Oxford and a career record of 66-27. His .643 winning percentage at Ole Miss is the second-best of any Rebel coach in the last 100 years. He was named the University’s 37th head football coach on Dec. 5, 2011, coming to Oxford after one year as head coach at Arkansas State where he led the Red Wolves to a 10-2 season and the 2011 Sun Belt Conference title and was tabbed Sun Belt Coach of the Year. It is his second stint at Ole Miss, as he was a member of the Rebel coaching staff from 2005-07, including the final two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with two of the top classes in school history.

MEMPHIS HEAD COACH MIKE NORVELL
Mike Norvell (Central Arkansas, 2005) is in his first season as coach of the Memphis Tigers, his first career head coaching gig. Norvell spent the last four seasons (2012-15) as the deputy head coach and offensive coordinator at Arizona State under head coach Todd Graham. He re-joined Graham at ASU after one season at Pittsburgh (2011). From 2007-10, Norvell was the wide receivers coach on Graham’s staff at Tulsa. Following four years as a starting wide receiver and becoming the all-time leader in receptions at Central Arkansas, Norvell began his coaching career at his alma mater as a graduate assistant in 2006.

MEMPHIS SCOUTING REPORT
Memphis is 3-0 on the season to remain undefeated under first year head coach Mike Norvell. The Tigers have played all three games in their friendly confines of the Liberty Bowl, earning victories over Southeast Missouri State (35-17), Kansas (43-7) and Bowling Green (77-3). Statistically, Memphis has been one of the top all-around teams through the first quarter of the 2016 season, leading the American Athletic Conference in scoring offense and scoring defense. Allowing only 9.0 points per game and scoring 51.7 points per game, the Tigers rank second and fifth in the nation, respectively. The Memphis special teams unit has been impressive as well, leading the conference in net punting (42.3) as well as punt return defense (0.00). Junior signal caller Riley Ferguson has thrown for 843 yards in three games to go along with 11 TDs (leads the AAC) and a passing efficiency of 180.3 (leads the AAC). Redshirt-junior Anthony Miller, a hometown native, is Ferguson’s favorite target with 17 catches for 273 yards, more than double the totals of his closest teammate. On defense, Genard Avery has been a physical force with 16 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, one interception and one forced fumble.

REBEL-TIGER CONNECTIONS
• Ole Miss senior QB Chad Kelly, senior DT D.J. Jones and senior C Jacob Feeley were teammates with Memphis senior DE DeMarco Montgomery on the 2014 East Mississippi CC team that won the NJCAA National Championship.
• Ole Miss junior K Gary Wunderlich and Memphis redshirt-freshman DE Peyton Jones were teammates at MUS.
• Ole Miss junior P Will Gleeson and Memphis backup P Nick Jacobs both hail from Melbourne, Australia.
• Ole Miss junior DT Herbert Moore was teammates with Memphis redshirt-senior DE Latarius Brady at East High School (Memphis).
• Ole Miss junior WR Trey Bledsoe and Memphis junior LBs Genard Avery and Shareef White were teammates at Grenada High School (Grenada, Miss.).
• Ole Miss freshman DB Deontay Anderson, freshman RB D’Vaughn Pennamon and Memphis freshman WR Sean Dykes were teammates at Manvel High School (Houston, Texas).
• Ole Miss freshman WR A.J. Brown and Memphis redshirt-freshman QB Brady Davis were teammates at Starkville High School (Starkville, Miss.) in 2014 where they led the team to a state runner-up finish.
• Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach Jason Jones was a graduate assistant at Alabama in 2004, serving alongside current Memphis defensive line coach Paul Randolph, who was the Crimson Tide’s defensive ends coach at the time.
• Memphis defensive backs coach Marcus Woodson was a two-year starting defensive back for the Rebels from 2000-01; Woodson earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Ole Miss in 2003.

REBELS VERSUS AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
• Ole Miss has a 109-47-3 record all-time against current members of the American Athletic Conference.
• The 11-member conference is in its fourth year in existence (formerly operated as the Big East Conference).
• Ole Miss vs. current American teams:
School W-L Pct. Last Game
Houston 15-3 .833 1970
Memphis 48-11-2 .803 2015
SMU 2-1 .667 1998
Temple 0-1-1 .000 1937
Tulane 43-28 .606 2012
Tulsa 0-3 .000 1964
UCF 1-0 1.000 1997

HOMECOMING AT OLE MISS
• This is the 89th Homecoming game at Ole Miss since 1924.
• The Rebels are 71-15-2 (.818 winning pct.) all-time in Homecoming games and have won 17 of their last 19.
• Ole Miss defeated New Mexico State 52-3 on Homecoming last year.
• The last Homecoming loss was a 27-7 defeat to Louisiana Tech in 2011.

IN THE POLLS
• Ole Miss is 16th in this week’s AP poll (moving up seven spots) and 17th in the coaches poll (up four spots).
• Ole Miss and Oklahoma were the first 1-2 teams to be ranked in the top 25 since Notre Dame in 1999 … Last week at No. 21, Ole Miss was the highest-ranked 1-2 team in college football since Michigan was 19th on Sept. 27, 1988.
• The Rebels finished top 10 in last season’s final polls (No. 9 coaches / No. 10 AP), marking their first top-10 final ranking since the 1969 season (No. 8 AP).
• Ole Miss has appeared in the national rankings in 37 of the last 38 weeks, dating back to the 2014 preseason poll … Current streak is 10 straight weeks in the polls.
• The Rebels’ streak of 27 straight weeks in the national rankings from 2014-15 was the longest since appearing in 69 straight from 1957-62.
• The Rebels have risen as high as No. 3 in the polls each of the last two seasons, their best ranking since they were preseason No. 1 in 1964.
• The Rebels have been ranked top 25 for a total of 42 weeks during Hugh Freeze’s four-year tenure as head coach.

RUGGED 2016 SCHEDULE
• Ole Miss is the only school in the country to have faced three top-15 teams in the first four weeks.
• Ole Miss is one of three schools (USC, Auburn) that have faced three top-25 teams in the first four weeks.
• Ole Miss plays 10 teams that made bowl appearances last year, tied for second-most in the nation with BYU, Colorado and Ohio State … Only USC (11) will play more.
• The only teams on the Rebels’ schedule that didn’t go bowling last year are Wofford and Vanderbilt.
• Teams on the Rebels’ schedule that are currently ranked include No. 1 Alabama, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 12 Florida State, No. 20 Georgia and No. 20 Arkansas.
• Three of the first four games were against national powerhouses Florida State (lost to the No. 4 Seminoles 45-34 in Orlando), Alabama (lost to the No. 1 Crimson Tide 48-43 in Oxford) and Georgia (beat the No. 11 Bulldogs 45-14 in Oxford).

BACK-TO-BACK “NEW YEAR’S SIX” BOWLS
Ole Miss is one of five schools in the country that has played in a New Year’s Six bowl both years of the College Football Playoff system that began in 2014.
Team 2014 Bowl 2015 Bowl
Alabama Sugar (semifinal) Cotton (semifinal)
Florida State Rose (semifinal) Peach
Michigan State Cotton Cotton (semifinal)
Ohio State Sugar (semifinal) Fiesta
Ole Miss Peach Sugar

TICKET AND ATTENDANCE RECORDS AT RENOVATED VAUGHT-HEMINGWAY
• Thanks to a renovated and expanded Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Ole Miss has posted its top three single-game attendances in history this season … The crowd of 66,176 at the Sept. 17 game vs. Alabama broke the all-time Ole Miss and state of Mississippi attendance records for football.
• For the fourth straight season, Ole Miss has sold out of football season tickets.
• This year’s total of 57,200 season tickets purchased broke last season’s previous record of 52,375.
• Previous record-breaking season ticket sellouts were 51,316 in 2014 and 50,386 in 2013.
• The 2014 season attendance record of 430,829 fans is expected to be surpassed again this season.

HOT IN THE RED ZONE
The Rebels rank third in the SEC and 19th in the country with a red zone scoring percentage of 94.4. They have converted 17 of 18 chances from inside the 20, including 14 TDs. The team’s 11 red zone passing TDs are most in the nation.

FIRST-HALF DOMINANCE
Ole Miss has been perhaps the most dominant first-half team in the country this season. The Rebels have outscored opponents 41-6 in the first quarter and 107-33 in the first half of games. However, Ole Miss has been outscored 87-53 in the second half of games. Here are the Rebels’ largest first-half leads in each game this season:
Opponent Largest 1st Half Lead Final Score
vs. #4 Florida State 22 points (28-6) L, 34-45
Wofford 21 points (24-3) W, 38-13
#1 Alabama 21 points (24-3) L, 43-48
#11 Georgia 31 points (31-0) W, 45-14

TOP-FLIGHT TIGHT END
Senior Evan Engram is one of the top tight ends in the country, and has proven so over the last four years. Engram currently leads all the nation’s tight ends with 26 catches and 397 receiving yards this season … Here’s how he stacks up against the nation’s other top active tight ends over their career:
Tight End School Class Games Receptions Yards TDs
Jonnu Smith FIU SR 36 154 1684 14
Evan Engram Ole Miss SR 38 123 1791 10
Jake Butt Michigan SR 39 111 1334 10
Cam Serigne Wake JR 28 106 1172 9
Billy Freeman SJSU SR 35 99 1277 10
Bucky Hodges Va Tech JR 30 97 1206 15

SEC’S TOP RETURNING QB
Senior Chad Kelly is the SEC’s top returning quarterback and one of the best in the nation in 2016. For more stats and notables, see page 3 of the game notes.
• Has broken Eli Manning’s school record by throwing a TD pass in 17 consecutive games
• Already ranks top 10 in Ole Miss history in career passing yards (7th, 5277), passing TDs (4th, 43), total yards (6th, 5901), TDs responsible for (4th, 54), pass attempts (9th, 588), completions (8th, 383) and 300-yard passing games (2nd, 10)
• Has led the Rebels to six wins over top-25 teams in 10 tries as the team’s QB
• Has thrown for 3+ TDs in eight of his 17 appearances as a Rebel … Against Alabama, he threw 3 TDs with 0 INTs for the second time this year and fifth time in his career.
• In his first year as a Rebel, Kelly led Ole Miss to a 10-3 record and its first trip to the Sugar Bowl since 1970.
• First Ole Miss QB to guide the team to wins over Alabama, Auburn and LSU in the same season and the first to lead the Rebels to five wins over ranked opponents in a single season
• Led the SEC in passing (310.9 ypg, 10th in nation), total offense (349.4 ypg, 7th in nation), passing TDs (31, 9th in nation) and points responsible for (246, 7th in nation) a season ago
• Last year, broke or tied 14 Ole Miss single-season records, including total yards (4,542), passing yards (4,042), passing TDs (31), TDs responsible for (41), completions (298), completion percentage (65.1), passing efficiency (155.9) and 300-yard passing games (8)
• His 4,542 total yards and 4,042 passing yards in 2015 were both third-most in a season in SEC history.
• When given more than 2.5 seconds to throw, no returning college QB rates higher than Kelly (Pro Football Focus).
• Off the field, he has gone on back-to-back mission trips to Haiti with teammates during the 2015 and 2016 spring breaks and has performed speaking engagements with Ole Miss FCA … 3.01 GPA as a general studies major.

HISTORIC ROUT OF GEORGIA
The Rebels’ 45-14 win over No. 11 Georgia last Saturday was one for the record books:
• Most points in a game vs. Georgia
• Largest margin of victory in a game vs. Georgia
• Snapped the Bulldogs’ 10-game win streak in the series
• Largest margin of victory vs. a top-25 team since a 38-0 win over No. 3 Tennessee in 1969
• Most points against a top-15 opponent since a 47-34 win over No. 7 Texas Tech in the 2009 Cotton Bowl
• Largest margin of victory vs. an SEC team since a 34-3 win over Tennessee in 2014

ANOTHER CLASSIC AGAINST THE TIDE
For the third straight year, the Ole Miss-Alabama game was decided by less than a touchdown, but this time the No. 1 Crimson Tide was victorious. Alabama’s 48-43 victory in Oxford snapped the Rebels’ two-game win streak in the series. The game featured sizable leads by both teams, and a furious Ole Miss comeback in the final three minutes. But in the end, it was two defensive touchdowns and a punt return touchdown that put the Tide over the top, despite a career-best 421 passing yards and three TDs by Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly.

BIG LEAD NOT ENOUGH FOR REBELS IN ORLANDO
Ole Miss led by 22 (28-6) against the No. 4 team in the nation on Labor Day, but it wasn’t enough to put away the Florida State Seminoles in a 45-34 season-opening loss. The lead was the Rebels’ biggest against a top-five opponent in the Hugh Freeze era. FSU reeled off 33 unanswered points before Ole Miss scored to make it 39-34 early in the fourth quarter. But the Seminoles, behind five sacks, put too much pressure on the Ole Miss passing game for the Rebels to regain the advantage. It was the first season-opening loss for the Rebels since 2011, the year before Freeze arrived.

BIG BLOWS
Ole Miss suffered two big blows in the season opener in Orlando, losing starting CB Ken Webster and backup RB Eric Swinney to left knee injuries that will likely end both of their seasons. The Rebels took another hit against Wofford, as freshman WR D.K. Metcalf (who scored TDs in each of his first two college games) went down with a broken foot that could also end his season.

TRUE FRESHMEN SEE ACTION RIGHT AWAY
Several members of the Rebels’ highly regarded 2016 signing class have seen immediate action in the first four games of the season: WR A.J. Brown (10 catches, 157 yards, 2 TDs, 1 start), WR D.K. Metcalf (2 catches, 13 yards, 2 TDs), RB D’Vaughn Pennamon (13 rushes, 58 yards, 1 TD), OL Greg Little (significant playing time at left tackle), Rover Myles Hartsfield (12 tackles, 4 starts), S Deontay Anderson (15 tackles, 1.5 TFLs), DT Benito Jones (15 tackles, 2.5 TFLs), CB Jaylon Jones (10 tackles, 2 PBU, 1 FF), S Jarrion Street (3 tackles), TE Octavious Cooley.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Ole Miss has had a winning SEC record in back-to-back years (2014-15) for the first time since 1989-90.
• Ole Miss has increased its win total by one game each year under Hugh Freeze – 7 in 2012, 8 in 2013, 9 in 2014, 10 in 2015.
• The Memphis game is the fourth straight at home for the Rebels … The team’s first true road contest isn’t until Oct. 15 at Arkansas, following a bye week.
• The Memphis game is the first of three this season against teams named the Tigers (LSU, Auburn).
• Ole Miss won the coin toss for the first time this year against Georgia.
• The Rebels face Wofford and Georgia Southern for the first time this year.
• Ole Miss is 29-6 under Freeze when leading at the half.
• Ole Miss is 31-3 under Freeze when it rushes for 150 or more yards, 5-17 when it rushes for less than 150 yards.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
• After topping the SEC in scoring, total offense and passing a year ago, Ole Miss is currently fourth in the league in scoring (40.0 ppg), fourth in total offense (457.0 ypg) and second in passing (326.5 ypg).
• Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC and 19th nationally in red zone scoring (94.4 percent).
• Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC and 38th nationally in third-down conversion rate (45.8 percent).
• The Rebels’ aerial attack has been diverse and dangerous, as 13 different receivers have caught a pass and nine different players have caught a TD … Ole Miss tops the nation with 11 passing TDs within the red zone.
• Five of the Rebels’ 14 receiving touchdowns have been scored by freshmen (2 by D.K. Metcalf, 2 by A.J. Brown, 1 by Van Jefferson).
• Evan Engram has had a monster run in the first four games, leading all TEs in the nation with 26 catches and 397 receiving yards … He had nine catches, 100+ yards and a TD against both No. 4 Florida State and No. 1 Alabama, while securing six catches for 95 yards and a TD vs. No. 11 Georgia.
• Senior Akeem Judd leads a depleted Rebel running back corps and has scored two of the team’s five rushing TDs this season … He is backed up by junior Eugene Brazley and freshman D’Vaughn Pennamon.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
• The Rebels are allowing 203.8 passing yards per game, third-fewest in the SEC.
• Ole Miss has surrendered just two TDs through the air to opponents, tied with LSU for the fewest among SEC teams.
• Ole Miss is fifth in the league with a pass defense efficiency rating of 114.0.
• One of the best defensive lines in the country is headlined by junior DE Marquis Haynes, an All-SEC player who logged 16.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks a year ago … Haynes is tied with junior LB DeMarquis Gates for the team lead in sacks this year with 2.0.
• Of the 11 defensive backs listed on the current depth chart, five are freshmen, including both players at Rover – No. 1 Myles Hartsfield and No. 2 Deontay Anderson.
• Senior LB Terry Caldwell has improved greatly from his first season in Oxford (2015) and ranks second on the team with 24 tackles … He collected double-digit tackles against No. 4 Florida State and No. 1 Alabama.
• Graduate transfer (from Oregon State) Rommel Mageo made his first Rebel start at Mike linebacker vs. Wofford and led the team with eight tackles.
• JUCO transfer Detric Bing-Dukes made his first Rebel start at Mike linebacker vs. No. 11 Georgia and produced seven stops.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Junior K/P Gary Wunderlich ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring (8.5 ppg), second in punting (47.1 ypp) and tied for fifth in field goals (1.25/game) … He has made 5 of 6 field goals this year, his only miss coming from 55 yards.
• Senior Carlos Davis and redshirt-freshman Van Jefferson have shared punt return duties this year, while Davis and senior Kailo Moore have shared kick return duties thus far.