Eli Manning describes favorite Ole Miss memories beating Alabama, going to Cotton Bowl

Unsurprisingly, former Ole Miss great Eli Manning has a lot of fond memories from his time in Oxford.

In town for his jersey retirement at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Manning spoke with the media about some of his most notable times as a Rebel in the early 2000s.

“A lot of great memories. I think home games, beating Alabama my sophomore year was pretty special,” Manning said. “Hadn’t beaten them in 12 years and had a 2-minute drive heading toward Sanford down the right sideline, hitting Joe Gunn on a swing route to the left to beat them in the rain was awesome.”

In the aforementioned contest, Ole Miss trailed 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter. The Rebels scored 14 unanswered points, including the 3-yard touchdown pass to Gunn with 0:56 left in the game, to win 27-24. Manning beat Alabama in 2003 as well.

His junior year highlight was a win over No. 6 Florida. The victory was their highest-ranked win since 1997. 

“Senior year, just being with a lot of the guys,” Manning added. “We came in, a lot of us redshirted, and to kind of be there with five years with a lot of those guys, and to have the senior year that we did and go to the Cotton Bowl and finish it off with a win there was pretty special as well.”

In 2003, Ole Miss alternated wins and losses in their first four games before winning seven of their last eight games en route to Dallas. They beat three ranked teams that season, including No. 3 LSU in late November. The Rebels topped Oklahoma State 31-28 in the Cotton Bowl to finish 10-3, their first 10-win season since 1971. 

Manning finished his career at Ole Miss with 10,119 passing yards, 86 total touchdowns and 35 interceptions in 43 games. He won the Maxwell Award and was first-team All-SEC and SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2003. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy race that season.

Manning-filled weekend in Oxford

The jersey ceremony on Saturday will be complete with an amazing end zone design at Vaught-Hemingway which says “Manning” in Eli’s honor. Of course, his father, Archie, is also of Rebels lore.

The Manning name in the end zone could also serve as a recruiting effort for Eli’s nephew, Arch Manning, the top recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, who will be in attendance for his uncle’s ceremony. The younger Manning is a high priority target for Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and is likely the most talked about recruit in the country, despite still being a junior in high school.