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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- It looked like a perfectly thrown touchdown
pass from Romaro Miller to Deuce McAllister.
Except that the pass wasn't even intended for McAllister.
Regardless, the 47-yard touchdown was the first of three Mississippi (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) would score in less than five minutes during the third quarter on its way to a 49-20 victory over Tulane on Saturday.
Miller threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns, and McAllister
scored three touchdowns in the season opener.
Tulane led 17-14 and Ole Miss was playing sluggish in the 100-
degree heat before McAllister made an over-the-shoulder catch of a
deep pass that Miller was throwing to Grant Heard.
"I told him (McAllister) he was being greedy," Miller said.
McAllister split out wide on the play and raced by Tulane's Tim
Carter. But McAllister cut inside instead of out and into Heard's
route.
"So, I'm throwing to Grant and I look up and see Deuce coming
in the picture kind of late. I'm glad one of those guys got it,"
Miller said.
McAllister said he was just doing what comes natural.
"I told Grant anytime the ball's in the air and I'm around I'm
going to go get it," McAllister said.
The play gave the Rebels a 21-17 lead and a spark with 7:03 left
in the third quarter.
Less than a minute later, a bounce helped give the Rebels a
28-17 lead. Kenny Woods intercepted a pass that bounced off a
teammate that then was kicked into the air by Tulane receiver Kerwin
Cook as he was falling to the ground. Woods grabbed the ball and
went 33 yards for a touchdown.
Toward Sanford took a screen pass from Miller 67 yards on the
Rebels' next possession to make it 35-17 at 2:41 of the third.
Ole Miss was the second-best running team in the SEC last season
behind the tailback combination of McAllister and Joe Gunn.
But with Tulane playing eight and nine players close to the line
of scrimmage, the Rebels turned to their senior quarterback to be
the focal point of the offense.
Miller was 18-for-26 passing in his 24th career start. It was
his third career 300-yard game, tying Archie Manning's school
record.
"I think he (Romaro) is the most improved player in the
conference," Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe said. "He was
confident and well prepared."
Neither McAllister or Gunn found much running room against a
surprisingly stout Tulane defensive front. Ole Miss had just 118
yards rushing on 35 carries.
"They were determined not to let us run the ball," McAllister
said. "If that's the way they want to do it, then we have enough
weapons where we can put the ball in the air and score as well."
McAllister, touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate by Ole Miss,
had a light workday running the ball.
He ran only nine times for 29 yards, though his three touchdowns
moved him past Manning to become the Ole Miss career leader with
27.
The news wasn't all bad for the Manning family.
Eli Manning, Archie's son, played his first college game. The
redshirt freshman quarterback completed 1-of-5 passes for 5 yards.
McAllister scored the game's first touchdown with a head-first
leap over the line from one yard out. That gave Ole Miss a 7-3 lead
with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
A similar 1-yard vault made in the fourth quarter made the score
42-17.
Tulane had taken a 17-14 at 8:59 of the third quarter when
Patrick Ramsey found Adrian Burnette between two defenders for a
16-yard touchdown.
Ramsey was 12-for-28 passing for 169 yards and took a pounding
from a heavy Rebels rush. He left the game in the third quarter
with a sprained right shoulder.
"Their defense is better than most people give them credit
for," Tulane coach Chris Scelfo said.
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ALSO SEE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Scoreboard
Tulane Clubhouse
Mississippi Clubhouse
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