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PONTIAC, Mich.- Deuce McAllister's 1-yard touchdown run with 31
seconds remaining lifted Mississippi to a 34-31 victory over Marshall in
the inaugural Motor City Bowl on Friday night. Marshall's last-ditch bid
for a comeback ended when Randy Moss, who finished fourth in the Heisman
Trophy voting, had the ball stripped away by linebacker Broc Kreitz
after a 40-yard completion on the final play of the game. Moss finished
with six receptions for 173 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown.
Stewart Patridge completed 29-of-47 passes for 332 yards and three
touchdowns with one interception for Ole Miss (8-4), which tied for
third in the West division of the Southeastern Conference. John Avery
rushed 27 times for 132 yards and one TD for the Rebels. Chad Pennington
hit 23-of-45 for 337 yards and also had three TD tosses for Marshall
(10-3), the Mid-American Conference champion.
The lead changed hands five times in the second half. Ole Miss, behind
the passing of Patridge, rallied for two third-quarter touchdowns to
take a 21-17 lead. The Thundering Herd, with Pennington completing
4-of-9 passes for 59 yards, put together an 80-yard, 11-play drive to
grab a 24-21 lead with 10:12 remaining. Doug Chapman took a short pass
in the flat from Pennington and ran in untouched from 6 yards for the
score. With McAllister rushing four times for 32 yards, the Rebels went
59 yards in eight plays to take a 27-24 lead on Patridge's 19-yard
touchdown pass to Grant Heard with 5:39 remaining. Steve Lindsey, who
missed a 46-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, was wide on
the point-after attempt.
Marshall took a 31-27 lead as Doug Chapman, who rushed 19 times for 153
yards, scored on a 9-yard run with 2:57 remaining, capping an 88-yard,
nine-play drive. The game got off to an electric start with two
touchdowns on just three snaps in the first 41 seconds. Ken Lucas got it
started, returning the opening kickoff 29 yards to the Ole Miss 45. On
the first snap, Patridge hooked up with Heard down the sideline for a
54-yard pass play. Avery dove over for a touchdown on the next play and
Ole Miss led 7-0 with 24 seconds gone.
The Herd answered with an 80-yard touchdown bomb from Pennington to
Moss, who got behind cornerback Malikia Griffin, on Marshall's first
snap (video). That tied it 7-all with 14:19 still to play in the first quarter.
It was the 54th touchdown catch for Moss, who has scored in every game
he has played for Marshall. He set a Division I-A record with 25 TD
receptions during the 1997 regular season. Things settled down after
that.
Marshall took a 10-7 lead late in the first quarter on Billy
Malashevich's 36-yard field goal. Early in the second quarter,
Marshall's Larry Moore picked off Patridge's pass and returned it 16
yards to the Ole Miss 44. Six plays later, Pennington hit LaVorn
Colclough in blown coverage on a crossing pattern in the end zone for a
17-7 lead. Andre Rone's 22-yard punt return, coupled with a 10-yard
penalty, early in the third quarter set Ole Miss up at the Marshall 29.
Six plays later, Rone took a swing pass from Patridge and slanted in for
a 13-yard touchdown, cutting Marshall's lead to 17-14. On their next
possession, the Rebels went 72 yards in 11 plays as Patridge completed
4-of-5 for 58 yards, including a 20-yard scoring toss to McAllister for
a 21-17 lead with 6:00 left in the third quarter. Ole Miss had given a
sign of things to come just before halftime. The Rebels, starting at
their 11, were on the Marshall 3 as the half expired. |
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Attendance- 43,340
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
MISS- Avery 1 run (Lindsey kick),
MAR- Moss 80 pass from Pennington (Malashevich kick)
MAR- FG Malashevich 36
Second Quarter
MAR- Colclough 19 pass from Pennington (Malashevich kick)
Third Quarter
MISS- Rone 13 pass from Patridge (Lindsey kick)
MISS- McCallister 20 pass from Patridge (Lindsey kick)
Fourth Quarter
MAR- Chapman 6 pass from Pennington (Malashevich kick)
MISS- Heard 19 pass from Patridge (kick failed)
MAR- Chapman 9 run (Malashevich kick)
MISS--McCallister 1 run (Lindsey kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
MISS- Avery 27-110, McCallister 8-71
MAR- Chapman 19-152, Pennington 2-9, Turner 2-9
Passing
MISS- Patridge 29-47-332
MAR- Pennington 23-45-337
Receiving
MISS- Peterson 7-66, French 6-37, Heard 3-81, Rone 3-36, Morris 3-33,
Avery 3-28, Reed 2-20, McCallister 1-20, Lucas 1-11
MAR- Colclough 8-84, Moss 6-173, Poole 3-29, Chapman 3-20, Long 2-18,
White 1-13
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