Ole Miss Notebook: Collins sets new Rebels' receiving yards record

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
Nov. 2, 2003
OXFORD Chris Collins hauled in 10 of Eli Manning's 30 completions on Saturday, piling up 125 yards and two touchdowns to become the Ole Miss career leader in receiving yards.
The senior wide receiver now has 2,373 yards, which broke Willie Green's old record of 2,274.
Collins entered the South Carolina game needing 27 yards to pass Green's mark, and did so on a nine-yard reception from Manning in the first quarter.
The 10-catch game was the 10th of Collins' career, adding to his school record for games with double digit receptions.
Collins has 55 catches in 2003, marking the third straight season he has pulled in at least 50 receptions a school record. The 55 catches also puts Collins just one reception shy of the single-season school record of 56, set by LeMay Thomas in 1995.
The good
Ole Miss scored quickly yet again against South Carolina on Saturday.
Eli Manning's five-yard touchdown pass to Chris Collins in the first quarter made Saturday the seventh straight game in which the Rebels have scored on their opening possession. In five of those games, Ole Miss has opened with touchdowns.
The bad
The Gamecocks had nowhere to go but up on Saturday after a couple of mental lapses to begin the game.
Receiving the opening kickoff, South Carolina's Troy Williamson caught the ball two years deep in his own end zone, then ran to the two-yard line before considering kneeling for a touchback. He paused, realized he had crossed the goal line and was tackled moments later at the 15.
On their opening play, operating out of the shotgun formation, Gamecocks quarterback Dondrial Pinkins watched a high snap sail over his head. The junior recovered though, scrambled out of the pocket, and threw the ball out of bounds.
The ugly
As impressive as Eli Manning's first half was Saturday, South Carolina's Pinkins struggled just as mightily.
Manning finished the first 30 minutes with 260 yards and three touchdowns. The senior attempted 26 passes and completed 20 with an interception.
Pinkins was 6 of 16 for just 98 yards, 33 of which came on one play. He threw eight incompletions in a row to close out the half.
One-two, one-two
Ole Miss scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, both on scoring passes from Manning to Collins. The Rebels offense had 17 plays during its first two possessions and none of them came on third down.
The closest Ole Miss came to facing third down came on its first two drives with about two minutes remaining in the quarter when it was second down and goal from the 15-yard line. On that play, Manning hit Collins for their second hook-up of the day.
The Rebels faced their first third down of the day on the last play of the quarter. It was a third-and-10 situation, and Manning hit Collins for a 39-yard gain.
Mighty Manning
Eli Manning tied a school record his own with his 391-yard performance on Saturday.
With the effort, Manning enjoyed his fourth 300-yard performance of the season, tying a mark he set last year.
Manning also passed the 9,000-yard mark for his career. At 9,182 yards, the senior quarterback became the sixth-highest passer in Southeastern Conference history, moving past LSU's Tommy Hodson and Florida's Rex Grossman.
Next up on the SEC's career list is former Gators quarterback Shane Matthews, who had 9,287 yards.
Manning's three touchdowns gave him 73 for his career, just one behind Matthews and Kentucky's Tim Couch, who are tied for fifth in SEC history with 74 scoring passes.
Vacation plans?
A week after becoming bowl eligible with its sixth win, a 19-7 victory over Arkansas, Ole Miss hosted several bowl representatives in the press box during Saturday's game.
Agents from the Music City Bowl, Independence Bowl, Peach Bowl and Cotton Bowl were all on hand for the Rebels' game against South Carolina.
A strong finish over the season's last three games could bring Ole Miss a change of postseason venue. Since 1998, Ole Miss has made three appearances in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
In 2000, the Rebels faced West Virginia in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn. A year later, a 7-4 Ole Miss team failed to make the postseason.
Same ol' seven
At 7-2, Ole Miss' win total matches a regular-season win total it has had in four of the last six years.
With one more win, the Rebels will earn more than seven wins during the regular season for the first time since 1992, when Ole Miss was 8-3. A 13-0 win over Air Force in the Liberty Bowl that season gave the Rebels a 9-3 record.
Points piling up
With the 43-40 win, Ole Miss broke the 300-point barrier for the fourth straight season and the eighth time in school history.
The Rebels have now scored 342 points in 2003 the most ever for an Ole Miss team through nine games. The single-season record for most points ever scored by Ole Miss is 391 in 2001.
Not going down
South Carolina's lone second-half touchdown came in unusual fashion.
On the final play of the third quarter, Ole Miss defensive end Ken Bournes wrapped up Gamecocks running back Daccus Turman and dragged him down behind the line of scrimmage.
Unfortunately for the Rebels, Turman came down on top of Bournes. The Ole Miss junior leaped to his feet in celebration as Turman hopped up and began running toward the end zone.
Only after the officials signaled did disbelieving players on both sides realize that Turman's knees never met the ground.
The 29-yard touchdown run cut the Rebels' lead to 43-21.