Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 38

1 80 TheOariorvledger Surttey, October 1 1,1998 r-j nn nnn fflr (WWW I LAJ tats) G( Dff Rushing yards I Ole Miss i 3 221 Alabama 3 162 Crimson Tide extends series winning streak to eight with 20-17 victory By Robert Falk off Clarion-Ledgar SUM WrIUf Passing yards Ole Miss 3 250 272 Alabama TUSCALOOSA It was as inevitable as the rising of the sun. Sooner or later, you knew Ole Miss would lose a football game because of shaky place-kicking. The Rebels got away with it last year. They got away with it through; the opening five games this year. But; they didn't get away with it Saturday in a 20-17 overtime loss to Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

On a day when Deuce McAllister ran for 188 yards and Romaro Miller Total yards I Ole Miss 'ZZJ mMHw mamma 47-1 rTTT Alabama 'QJZs Mfo iff. f- J-tODssr First downs Third downs threw for 230 yards, Ole Miss kept stubbing its toe, primarily because it has no one with a golden foot. Ole Miss 6 of 18 33 Donald Juneau missed a 19- is ib yard field goal and had another blocked from 32 yards. Coach Alabama 4 of 12 33 Ole Miss Alabama Tommy Tuberville's answer for 10-10-98 1 2 3 40T field-goal problems has always been the fourth-down gamble. But when Tuberville went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2 just before the half, he came up empty.

The Rebels could second-guess until they play Alabama next year. 0 7 7 3 0 17 Ole Miss 3 7 0 7 3 20 Alabama Nell BrakeThe Associated Press But the bottom line was an eighth consecutive loss to the Tide that makes Ole Miss 4-2 and makes for Ole Miss wide receiver Grant Heard, No. 88, goes up in the end Miller, as Alabama's Kelvin Sigler defends on the play. The Rebels zone but can't come down with a pass from quarterback Romaro forced the game into overtime, but couldn't pull out a victory. Rebs expected to win, just didn't ALABAMA: Ryan Pflugner kicked a 28-yard field goal, capping a 10-play, 69-yard drive in 4:33.

Key play: On sec-ond-and-7 from the Alabama 38, Shaun Alexander ran 29 yards to the Ole Miss 33. Alabama 3, Ole Mis 0. a much tougher path as the Rebels try to reach a bowl game. "Can anybody here kick a field goal?" Tuberville asked at his postgame news conference. To his credit, Juneau did knock through a 20-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.

But the earlier chip-shot problems came back to haunt Ole Miss. "I just rushed it," Juneau said of the 19-yarder, a low line drive which sailed wide left. "On the other one, I hit it well, but they just "It was a shame any-body had to lose," Tuberville said. "Our motto this week was to earn some respect. I think we earned a little bit, but we also wanted to win the game." Another Ole Miss motto for the week was blocked it.

Tuberville said if he had it to do over, he'd change two things. Staff Writer I OLE MISS: Grant Heard caught a 1 7-yard touchdown pass from Romaro Miller, capping a seven-play, 49-yard drive in 2:58. Donald Juneau added the extra point. Key play: On second-and-4 from the Alabama 3 1 Deuce McAllister ran 21 yards to the Tide 10. The Rebels went backward on two running plays, but then Miller and Heard struck for the touchdown.

Ole Miss 7, Alabama 3. OLE MISS: Juneau's 32-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Alabama linebacker Eddie Hunter. The Rebels had a first down on the Tide 1 1, but the Tide stiffened to force the field-goal attempt. ALABAMA: QB Andrew Zow ran 9 yards for a touchdown, capping a five-play, 82-yard drive in 1:47. Pflugner added the extra point.

Key play: Zow completed a 59-yard bomb to Calvin Hall, who beat left cornerback Gary Thlg-pen. On third-and-9, Zow scrambled up the middle for the score. Alabama 10, Ole Mis 7. OLE MISS: Ole Miss went 78 yards in 15 plays just before the half, but came up empty. The Rebels had a shot from the 1 but Joe Gunn was stopped for a yard loss and Miller, on fourth-and-2, was flushed left and threw the ball out-of-bounds.

Alabama 10, Ole Mis 7. "I would have kicked the field goal just before the half and I'd have gone for the touchdown at the end (of regulation), he said. TUSCALOOSA There was an odd kind of hush all over the Ole Miss locker room beneath Bryant-Denny Stadium here Saturday. In the midst of the silence, the long faces told the story as much as any words could. Ole Miss came to Alabama not just hoping to win but fully expecting to.

And that made the 20-17 overtime loss to the Crimson Tide all the more difficult to bear. "It's a letdown. We know for a fact we could've beaten them," said junior linebacker Armegis Spearman. It says a lot about the state of Ole Miss football that the Rebels come to a place where they've won just once in their history, into this storied stadium packed with 83,818 people, and expect to beat Alabama. Granted, Alabama isn't the national power it used to be, but still The last time we were over here, we got embarrassed," said Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville, referring to the Crimson Tide's 37-0 win in 1996.

They were so much better than us then." They were much more evenly matched Saturday, and it showed in a game crammed with dramatic moments. terback Andrew Zow in his grasp but, biting on the fake, let Zow go. Alexander slipped open in the secondary, and Zow found him for a 33-yard touchdown that put the Tide ahead 17-14. After Ole Miss tied it with 3:38 left in regulation, Zow and Alexander hooked up on a 40-yard pass that put the Tide in position for a potential winning field goal that was blocked as time ran out. When the Tide got the ball in overtime after Ole Miss' Romaro Miller lobbed an interception into the Alabama end zone they called on Alexander again.

He fought for 19 yards to the 6. That was enough. Three plays later, Ryan Pflugner kicked the game-winner. "We knew we could win today," said Ole Miss cornerback Tim Strickland. "We just didn't make the plays we have to make.

We didn't get the ball in the end zone when we needed to, and we gave up a couple of big plays on defense." 1 It's significant that the difference between Ole Miss and Alabama on Saturday was a few plays. The difference used to be players. Contact Mike Christensen at 961-7344 or mchristenJackson.Gannett.com With 3:38 remaining in regula tion, Ole Miss faced fourth-and- gUCU MAC i HO.KU.XIIU U. VIC ITAIOO called timeout, then Alabama called timeout. Miller came back 1 to the field, looked over the Tide "Stop No.

37," Alabama running back Shaun Alexander. "He's not the best I've seen," Spearman said. "He's not a Kevin Faulk (of LSU). He (Alexander) has good days and bad days. I guess today was one of his good days." For the most part, the Rebels kept Alexander (125 rushing yards, 72 receiving) in check.

But the junior from Florence, made two huge plays that figured prominently in the outcome. Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Tide trailing 14-10, Alabama faked a reverse that had worked like a charm two plays before. Rebels safety Kenny Woods had quar defense at the line of scrimmage OLE MISS: Joe Gunn ran 5 yards for a touchdown, capping a six-play, 65-yard drive in 2:10. Juneau added the extra point. Key play: Miller threw 27 yards to Jamie Armstrong, setting up Ole Miss at the Alabama 8.

Ole Mis 14, Alabama 10. and called another timeout. At that point, Tuberville reversed gears and sent in the field-goal team. "We were going to throw the ball," he said. Miller, who would go on to throw a killer interception in overtime, talked like a guy who felt he had called one timeout too many.

They really wanted me to run the play," Miller said. "But I didn't like the defense. I wanted to talk it over again." Tim Strickland's Worked fiolrl 7r! (r: HOW? goal forced overtime and Ole Miss! OLE MISS: Juneau missed a 19-yard field goal after Ole Miss had driven 67 yards in 13 plays. Ole Mis 14, Alabama 10. ALABAMA: Alexander caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Zow, capping a five-play, 72-yard drive in 2:10.

Pflungner added the extra point. Key play: On first-and-10 from the Alabama 39, Freddie Milon ran the reverse 16 yards to the Rebel 46. Alabama 17, Ole Mis 14. I OLE MISS: Juneau kicked a 20-yard field goal, capping a nine-play, 78-yard drive in 3:05. Key play: On third-and-1 from the Ole Miss 39, McAllister ran 26 yards to the Alabama 35.

Ole Mis 17, Alabama 17. 1 umi 1 i seemed poised for a third consecutive dramatic win when a Miller-to-Morris pass earned a first down at the Alabama 14. But on the next play, Ole Miss I i I1! uxy self-destructed. Miller threw the one pass he'd love to have back as Rufus French failed to get a clean break off the line and Travis Carroll applied pressure. With French blanketed in the -'U'fi 4 Xj I A I -xi Ax ALABAMA: Pflugner kicked a 22-yard field goal after Alabama had advanced 2 1 yards in four plays.

Alabama 20, Ole Mis 17. Neil BrakeThe Associated Press Neil BrakeThe Associated Press Ole Miss Alabama 37 30 23 15 1 1 0-0 1-1 5-41 3-15 7-73 34:42 55:18 Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow dives past Ole Miss free safety Ole Miss QB Romaro Miller tries to find running room against Alabama Passes Completions Had intercepted Fumbles-lost Punts-avg. Penalties-yards Time of possession cornerback Reggie Myles. Miller finished with 40 yards rushing. Anthony Magee for the Crimson Tide's first touchdown.

Deuce runs wild with 188 yards on 24 totes lobbed the ball with nothing on it and Steve Stanley made an easy interception as if he were making a fair catch. That set the stage for. Ryan Pflugner to win it with a 22-yard field goal. "Romaro will learn from this," Tuberville said. "You don't throw it up for grabs in overtime.

Take a sack, do anything. But don't throw it up for grabs." Especially on first down. Alabama had taken a 17-14 lead with 6:38 remaining on a razzle-dazzle play. Tide quarterback Andrew Zow faked a reverse and hit Shaun Alexander with a 33-yard touchdown pass. Rebel defender Kenny Woods had his hands on Zow, but let him go as Zow faked the reverse.

Ole Miss stormed right back down the field as McAllister broke off spectacular runs of 26 and 29 yards. On the 29-yarder, McAllister slipped a bevy of would-be tack-lers and took Kelvin Sigler along for a ride to the 7 as Sigler tried to 1T7ETT 1 am ALABAMA FG Pflugner 28; OLE MISS Heard 18 pass from Miller (Juneau kick); ALABAMA Zow 9 run (Pflugner kick); OLE MISS Gunn 5 run (Juneau kick); ALABAMA Alexander 33 pass from Zow (Pflugner kick); OLE MISS FG Juneau 20; ALABAMA FG Pflugner 22. Attendance: 83,818. i 'I RUSHING Ole Miss, McAllister 24-188, Miller 6-40, Gunn 15-5, Cannion 5-0, Morris 1 -(minus 12). Alabama, Alexander 22-125, Milons 1-15, Locke 1-12, Zow 4-5, McClintock 3-3, Richard 1-2.

PASSING Ole Miss, 22-36-1 230, King 1-1-0 20. Alabama, Zow 15-30-1 272. RECEIVING Ole Miss, Peterson 6-60, Heard 5-60, Morris 4-44, Gunn 3-21, Armstrong 2-37, French 2-22, McAllister 1-6. Alabama, Alexander 3-72, Vaughn 3-30, Locke 3-23, Hall 2-104, Jackson 2-41, Milons 2-2. McAllister emulates ex-Crimson Tide star Palmer, who had same nickname By Robert Fatkoff Ctarion-Ledger Staff Writer TUSCALOOSA Bryant-Denny Stadium must bring out the best in guys called "Deuce." First, there was for Open date The Rebels will take this week off before playing Arkansas State on Oct.

24. "We really need an open date," coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We've played six straight weeks. We'll regroup and get ready to start our second season." Untimely interception When Romaro Miller was picked off in overtime Saturday, it was Ole Miss' first turnover since the fourth quarter oftheSMU game. The Rebs went through the South Carolina game and the four regulation quarters against Alabama without fumbling or throwing an interception.

What: Tommy Tubervill eShow When: Today, 2:30 p.m. Where: WAPT, Channel 16 mance was the eighth-best in school history. But the 20-17 overtime loss spoiled McAllister's big day. "I look at it as though we must face defeat before we can achieve success," McAllister said. "We played well today.

We just didn't execute on a few key plays and that turned victory into defeat." Strickland again When cornerback Tim Strickland temporarily saved the Rebels from a loss on the last play of regulation, it wasn't really a big surprise. Strickland, who came up the middle to block a 35-yard field-goal attempt, did the same thing on two occasions last year. Fake punt The Rebels executed the fake punt for the first time since the Arkansas game last year. Punter Reagan King completed a 20-yard pass to Sheldon Morris in the midst of a 15-play, 78-yard drive just before the half. But after reaching the Alabama 1, Joe Gunn lost a yard and Romaro Miller's pass to Rufus French sailed out-of-bounds.

mer Alabama great David Palmer, who was strip the football. "I don't think the best team won today," McAllister said. "Coming in here, they didn't respect us. We earned some respect, but not the way we wanted. We got the ball to the goal line, but we have to be able called Deuce because he wore No.

2. Now, there's Ole Miss' Deuce McAllister. Against the Tide Saturday, McAllister was brilliant in defeat. He ran for 188 yards on 24 carries and seemed to get stronger as the game wore on. McAllister's rushing perfor- The opponent: Arkansas State, 3-3 Where they're playing: Oxford Game time: Oct.

24, 1 p.m. Rebels' record v. opponent: 13-1-2 Last meeting: Ole Miss 38, Arkansas State 2 1 (1996) to execute and finish it off." i.