Way Back Wednesdays: Seven Overtimes to Beat Ole Miss - Nov. 3, 2001
by Stephen Expat on Jul 28, 2010 5:00 PM CDT
in Arkansas Razorback Football
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PrintEach Wednesday, we take a look back at a memorable and/or important (to us, anyway) Razorback game. So, sit back, relax and let the memories (and, in some cases, the heartache and angst) flow.
In the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, Americans were being told seemingly at every turn that "everything's changed." Thankfully one thing that didn't change that fall was Houston Nutt's overly caffeinated sideline demeanor. Nutt's habits of annihilating his finger nails and contorting his face into a variety of crazed expressions never failed to make this fan laugh, and mirth was desperately needed during the nationwide freakout that was unfolding in the final months of that year.
No game that season provided Nutt — or, for that matter, Razorback fans — with more reasons to go bonkers than Arkansas' record-setting, seven-overtime 58-56 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels. For the first four quarters, the game was a fairly unremarkable affair, and regulation ended with the score knotted at 17. And then, all hell broke loose.
The overtimes took more than an hour to complete, and when all was said and done, the Hogs had compiled nearly 400 rushing yards. Three Razorbacks rushed for 100 yards or more: Fred Talley (113 yards), quarterback Matt Jones (110 yards) and Cedric Cobbs (100 yards). On the opposing side, Eli Manning threw for six touchdowns — five of which took place in the overtimes.
The contest set a record for most overtimes in an NCAA Division I-A football game. Amazingly, the Hogs would tie the record just two years later, when they pulled out a 71-63 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. And only one year after the marathon Ole Miss affair, the Razorbacks would lose a six-overtime battle against Tennessee.
Houston Nutt's Hogs weren't always easy on the nervous and circulatory systems, but given the craziness of the times, the craziness of Nov. 3, 2001, was just what the doctor ordered. Highlights from the game after the jump. And before you go up, share your memories of that Ole Miss contest in the comments thread.
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Exhausted
Watching it at home, my mother and brother and I were physically exhausted after that game. Our nerves hung on every snap, and we found ourselves at times in a three person hug when Matt Jones would pull off another miracle of a play. My father was working shifts and didn’t get in until after the game had ended. I remember him telling us how all the guys out at the mill were huddled around radios, living and dying with the outcome of each snap. I think the whole state of Arkansas and its many expats were doing the same thing that night. Who would have ever guessed that night that Nutt would end up coaching those Rebels?
Exhausted is the right word.
I felt exactly the same way. Every commercial break prompted a phone call home to my parents in Little Rock. What a thrilling evening.
That was an amazing sports weekend: the next night, the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees and the seemingly unhittable Mariano Rivera to win Game 7 of probably the most memorable World Series of my 37 orbits around the sun.
by Stephen Expat on Jul 28, 2010 7:20 PM CDT up reply actions
i was there
due east of the south goal line. booya
My wife and I were there
With regular Ole Miss tickets nowhere near the friendly Arkansas section. There were some tense moments between us and the Reb fans, but by around the fifth overtime we seemed to collectively have reached that point in the old boxing adage: fatigue makes friends out of anyone.
Still felt damn good to walk out of there just smiling at those downcast rebel fans.
Nice Neighbors
When this game was played, we had just recently moved into a new home and didn’t have cable tv hooked up yet. Watching updates on tv, I decided I’d go ask my new neighbors if I could watch the end of the game with them when it went to OT. I live in LA, so needless to say my neighbors were not Razorback fans. Anyway, we watched, and watched, and watched. At the end of each successive OT period, I’d sheepishly look at them and ask if it was okay to stay and watch the next period. They graciously agreed, and even though they weren’t Hog fans, they got as excited as me. We still talk about it from time to time as one of the best times we’ve shared since we’ve been neighbors. Good times!
I was supposed to have been there...
2001 was my junior year in Fayetteville. A whole gang of my friends decided to make the trip down to Oxford about two weeks prior. I couldn’t go because a relative of mine was getting married that weekend. The wedding was early afternoon, and we were able to reach the site of the reception before kickoff. So everything’s good, right? WRONG! This is rural eastern Arkansas we’re talking about. There was no cable TV at the reception hall, and even if there had been, the cable package offered in that area did not include ESPN2, which was the network that carried this particular game. So basically all the football fans (most everyone there) sat/stood in the parking lot listening to car radios for the duration of regulation (I felt a little bit bad for the girl getting married). Then when it went to OT, everyone scrambled for the nearest home where there was known to be a satellite dish. For me, that was grandma’s house. My grandma, my dad, and me watched all 7 OT’s from her living room, after which I had to profusely apologize for swearing so much in front of her. What a night!
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