Something Nice - Ole Miss You've got to hand it to the Ole Miss football team and their head coach Tommy Tuberville, they're not only competitive, but they're a pain in the butt to many of their fellow SEC schools. They're not supposed to be any good. A few years ago the NCAA slapped the Rebels with a pretty hefty punishment for recruiting violations that resulted in the loss of a ton of scholarships. Couple this with the fact that Ole Miss is the second smallest school (enrollment size) in the SEC, the third smallest school in it's state (both MSU and S. Miss have more students) and is twice as small as geographical rival Memphis State, and what do you have? A recruiting nightmare. But starting with the December 1982 hiring of Billy Brewer and carrying in to the Tuberville era, the Rebs have managed to become a solid football team. Their success on the field and the school's commitment to the program (not to mention major prodding by Tuberville) has allowed for a major expansion of venerable old Vaught-Hemingway stadium. By adding more luxury boxes and seats, the place will be able to seat more then 50,000. There weren't any luxury boxes when it opened in 1915. In fact all they had were bleachers, constructed by student volunteers. It remained nothing more than just a field and bleachers until the late 1930's, when with aid from the federal government, an actual 24,000 seat stadium was able to be constructed. It was originally named Hemingway Stadium after Judge William Hemingway, who served as a law professor and chairman of the university's Committee on Athletics. Through the years the stadium grew, adding a 80 yard long pressbox (in 1950), artificial turf (in 1970), luxury boxes (in 1988) and lights (in 1990). Fortunately the turf was ripped out in 1984 and since then the Rebels have played on natural grass (speaking of natural grass, the University of Mississippi houses a farm where marijuana is grown legally for research purposes). In 1982 the stadium's name was officially changed to Vaught- Hemingway Stadium, in honor of former Ole Miss coach Johnny Vaught. Vaught led the Rebs to a 190-61-11 record during his 24 year tenure at the university. His 106 SEC wins are second all- time to only Bear Bryant's 159. It was John Vaught who led the Rebels to what was the most important victory in Ole Miss football history (at least that's what Vaught calls it), their 1952 win over the #3 ranked Maryland Terrapins. On November 15, 1952, the 6-0-2 Rebs faced a tough Terp squad who had crushed Gen. Neyland's Tennessee Vols in Sugar Bowl the year before. While studying Maryland game film, the Ole Miss coaches had noticed that Terp quarterback Jack Scarbath as he lined up to take the snap would look left if he planned on running to the right and would look to the right if he planned on running left. This knowledge gave the Rebels a distinct advantage. In fact they held Scarbath (who would finish second in that year's Heisman balloting) without a completion until the 58th minute of the game. Still with the third quarter coming to an end, the Rebs trailed 14-7. But thanks to a Wilson Dillard three yard run, Ole Miss was able to knot the score at 14. In the fourth quarter, Scarbrath finally completed a pass. But too bad for Maryland the 62 yarder was called back and after a punt the Rebs took over at mid-field. Ole Miss promptly drove down field and Dillard capped the drive by going over from the one giving the Rebs a stunning 21-14 upset over the Terps (the AP voted the game as it's "Upset of the Year"). Ole Miss racked up 461 yards against the nation's #1 ranked defense. The win catapulted the Rebels to their first Sugar Bowl appearance (as well as their first end of the season national ranking) and laid the groundwork for many years of Ole Miss football glory. ESPN's Ron Franklin (who in my opinion is the current voice of college football) was only ten when he attended this contest. It was the first of many college football games for him. Here's what he remembers about that day: "Maryland was ranked #1 in the country (actually #3, but I'll let Ron slide on this one). And, of course we're all thinking there's no way Mississippi is going to beat the best team in the country. But Ole Miss did beat 'em, 21-14. I remember the game was to and fro...every time Maryland would score, Ole Miss would answer. It was one of those afternoons that I didn't want to end. I realized at that moment that I had a love for football...a passion." Another great Reb victory at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium occurred 40 years later as Ole Miss and Mississippi State squared off in their annual battle for the "Golden Egg". A trophy with an egg- shaped football mounted on it goes to the winner. In 1992 the Rebels would carry the egg of the field, but not until they'd completed one of the greatest goal line stands in SEC history. On November 28,1992 the MSU Bulldogs came to Oxford with hopes of knocking off their fiercest rival. Late in the first half it looked they just might do it. Thanks to six Rebel turnovers, the Bulldogs had built a 10-0 lead, but with less then a minute before intermission, the Rebels scored on a seven yard Russ Shows to Marvin Courtney pass. In the third, Ole Miss took the lead on a seven yard Cory Philpot run and in the fourth they boosted their lead to 17-10 with a 22 yard field goal. With under five minutes left in the game the Bulldogs started to rally. They drove inside the Rebel 10, but a pass by MSU quarterback Todd Jordan was intercepted in the endzone and returned to the Rebs three. Two plays later, Philpot fumbled giving the Bulldogs one last chance to pull out the victory. But like the series before, the Rebels defense was too much for MSU. Incredibly in the game's waning moments the Bulldogs had 11 plays inside the Ole Miss ten yard line and couldn't score. There's another important game that needs to be mentioned. Actually the game itself is an after thought considering what happened on the field that day. On October 28, 1989 Ole Miss beat Vandy 24-16, but that's not what most people remember about Homecoming 1989. What's remembered is what happened to Roy Lee "Chucky" Mullins. With 6:57 left in the first quarter, Mullins made a touchdown saving tackle. It would be the last tackle of his career. Mullins had injured himself so bad on the play that he was left paralyzed. Tragedies such as this rarely have silver linings, but Mullins' injury galvanized the Ole Miss community and brought together all kinds of people, black, white, rich and poor. A fund was started to help take care of Chucky and to buy him a house that was equipped with the facilities that he would need. In fact the caring didn't just stop in Oxford, it stretched through out the entire SEC. At each of the conference's stadiums volunteers collected money for Chucky's fund. Two months after his injury Chucky was wheeled into Memphis' Liberty Bowl where the Rebs were meeting Air Force in the '89 Liberty Bowl game. The emotionally charged moment inspired Ole Miss, and they went on to crush the Falcons 42-29. Chucky unfortunately died as result of his injury in May of 1991. But his memory will always remain. Each Spring the "Chucky Mullins Courage Award" is given to the top Rebel defensive back, who then has the honor of wearing Chucky's number 38 the following season. If you thought the Gators rarely played in Tuscalossa, take a look at the handful of times they've managed to make it to Oxford, only five times, with UF holding a 4 game to 1 advantage. What's even weirder is, four of these contests were Ole Miss Homecoming Games (the fifth game in '94 was something called Public Official's Day). The '94 Gators were the first visiting number one ranked team to ever play in Vaught-Hemingway (Ole Miss was ranked number one for awhile during the 1960 season and at the start of the '64 campaign). Like so many of the other SEC campuses, Ole Miss has so much more to offer then just the game on college football Saturdays. Tennessee has the Vol Navy. Auburn has Toomer's Corner and Ole Miss has "The Grove" (and I'm not talking about the field where the pot is grown). The Grove is more than just a beautiful tree lined plot of land surrounded by old campus buildings and just a short walk from the stadium, it is the heart and soul of the university. It's also tailgate central. (IMPORTANT TAILGATING SAFETY TIP: They don't sell cold beer "to go" in Oxford. I lapped a Circle K six times before I realized this.) The word tailgate may be a misnomer, because cars are no longer allowed on the grassy grounds of the Grove. In 1992 cars were banished and a sprinkler system was put in. But this hasn't stopped the pre and post-game festivities. Partying still goes on in this location like it has for years. Personally, I've been to Oxford, but never for a game. While visiting the university in the Summer of 1994, I had the opportunity to sit in the Grove one late afternoon. I witnessed students walking from class and kids playing on the grassy lawn, but one other thing really stuck out to me. Promptly at six o'clock a police car pulled up. Two officers got out and walked over to a flag poll located in the center of the Grove. While one officer carefully brought the flag down the poll, the other one stood at attention. They both folded the flag, saluted it and put it in their squad car and drove off. What was so impressive about this display was they didn't do this for an audience. They weren't putting on a show for anyone. This was how they brought the flag in everyday. There was something so quaint and small town about this display of respect for our country's flag that the whole moment felt surreal. And that's what Oxford is, it's surreal. It's a walk back in time, and a walk I plan on making the next time the Gators come to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.