2001 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss football game

The 2001 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss football game was a college football game played on November 3, 2001, between the University of Arkansas Razorbacks and the University of Mississippi Rebels; it broke a then–NCAA record for the longest football game ever played. The game included seven overtime periods, one of five games to ever do so.^[1] The lead went back and forth, with Ole Miss leading in the first quarter. The game was tied at halftime, and in the third quarter Arkansas gained a lead that Ole Miss would not get back until the fourth overtime.^[2] The game ended in the seventh overtime period when Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning failed to complete a pass on a two-point conversion play.^[2]

Longest game in NCAA Division I-A history
Commemorative football on display at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta
Arkansas Razorbacks Ole Miss Rebels (4–3) (6–1) 58 56 Head coach:  Houston Nutt Head coach:  David Cutcliffe
1 2 3 4 OT 2OT 3OT 4OT 5OT 6OT 7OT Total Arkansas 0 7 3 7 7 0 6 6 6 8 8 58 Ole Miss 7 0 3 7 7 0 6 6 6 8 6 56
Date	November 3, 2001
Season	2001
Stadium	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium
Location	Oxford, MS
Referee	Thomas Ritter
Attendance	47,464
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN2
Announcers	Mike Golic, Bill Curry, Dave Barnett

Before the game

Arkansas

Main article: 2001 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

The Arkansas Razorbacks entered the game 4–3, led by 4th-year head coach Houston Nutt. They opened their season on a Thursday night, beating UNLV in Little Rock 14–10. The Razorbacks then dropped three straight SEC contests, first to No. 8 Tennessee, 3–13. Following a week off due to the September 11 attacks, the 1–1 Razorbacks then lost to Alabama and Georgia, both on the road. The Hogs won their homecoming game the next week, beating Weber State 42–19. Now 2–3, Arkansas upset No. 9 South Carolina, and, following their bye week, upset No. 17 Auburn. Those two wins put them at 4–3 going into their contest with Ole Miss.^[3]

Ole Miss

Main article: 2001 Ole Miss Rebels football team

The Ole Miss Rebels entered the game 6–1 under 3rd-year head coach David Cutcliffe. They opened their season with a win at home against Murray State, but dropped their first SEC game on the road to Auburn. Following a 21-day break, the Rebels returned to the field and defeated Kentucky for their first conference win of the season. The Rebels then rose to 3–1 following a road win at Arkansas State. Ole Miss then returned home to face Alabama and Middle Tennessee, defeating them both. In their last game before playing Arkansas, Ole Miss beat LSU on the road, 35–24, to post a 6–1 record.^[4]

Game summary

Game information

Game Time	Weather
Kickoff: 6:06 p.m. End of Game: 10:20 p.m. Duration: 4 hours, 14 minutes	Temperature: 65 °F (18 °C) Wind: NE 5 mph (8.0 km/h) Weather: Clear skies
Game officials
Tom Ritter (referee), W. Hackett, Jr. (umpire), Lea Rutter (linesman), Al Matthews (line judge) Dale Keneipp (back judge), Richard Morales (field judge), Jay Vines (side judge)

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ARK MISS 1 8:20 12 80 5:07 MISS Joe Gunn 1-yard touchdown run, Jonathan Nichols kick good 0 7 2 0:25 13 81 4:00 ARK Cedric Cobbs 2-yard touchdown run, Brennan O'Donahoe kick good 7 7 3 5:37 6 15 0:45 ARK 46-yard field goal by Brennan O'Donahoe 10 7 3 3:00 7 26 0:57 MISS 32-yard field goal by Jonathan Nichols 10 10 4 10:44 15 85 15:34 ARK Mark Pierce 2-yard touchdown run, Brennan O'Donohoe kick good 17 10 4 4:54 13 72 3:56 MISS Jason Armstead 4-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning, Jonathan Nichols kick good 17 17 OT 4 25 ARK Cedric Cobbs 16-yard touchdown run, Brennan O'Donohoe kick good 24 17 OT 7 25 MISS Jason Armstead 11-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning, Jonathan Nichols kick good 24 24 3OT 1 25 ARK Matt Jones 25-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed 30 24 3OT 5 25 MISS Joe Gunn 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass incomplete 30 30 4OT 4 25 MISS Bill Flowers 22-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning, 2-point pass incomplete 30 36 4OT 2 25 ARK George Wilson 24-yard touchdown reception from Matt Jones, 2-point run failed 36 36 5OT 4 25 ARK Matt Jones 8-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 42 36 5OT 4 25 MISS Doug Ziegler 12-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning, 2-point pass failed 42 42 6OT 2 25 MISS Doug Ziegler 15-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning, 2-point run good 42 50 6OT 2 25 ARK Mark Pierce 3-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good 50 50 7OT 7 25 ARK Mark Pierce 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good 58 50 7OT 9 25 MISS Jason Armstead 4-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning, 2-point pass failed 58 56 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 58 56

• Source^[5]

Game statistics

• Source^[2]

Team statistics

Stat Arkansas Ole Miss Stat Arkansas Ole Miss First Downs 32 28 Fumbles–Lost 1–1 1–1     Rushing 22 10 Penalties–Yards 4–40 4–16     Passing 10 17 Punts–Yards 5–188 5–181     Penalty 0 1     Avg per Punt 37.6 36.2 Total Offense 531 457 Time of Possession 33:34 26:26     Rushing 370 145 3rd Down Conversions 16/26 7/17     Passing 161 312 4th Down Conversions 3/3 2/2 Rushing Att–TD (Avg.) 80–7 (4.6) 50–2 (2.9) PATs–Attempts (2pt–Attempts) 3–3 (1–5) 3–3 (2–5) Passing Comp/Att (TD–Int) 12/26 (1–1) 27/42 (6–0) Field Goals–Attempts (Long) 1–2 (45) 1–1 (32)

Game leaders

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Arkansas	Passing	Zak Clark	9/20, 100 yds, 1 INT
	Rushing	Fred Talley	23 car, 113 yds
	Receiving	George Wilson	8 rec, 105 yds, 1 TD
Ole Miss	Passing	Eli Manning	27/42, 312 yds, 6 TD
	Rushing	Joe Gunn	31 car, 102 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Bill Flowers	7 rec, 97 yds, 1 TD

See also

• 2003 Arkansas vs. Kentucky football game – the second game to feature seven overtimes
• 2006 North Texas vs. FIU football game – the third game to go to seven overtimes, and the first such non-SEC game
• 2017 Western Michigan vs. Buffalo football game – the fourth game to go to seven overtimes
• 2018 LSU vs. Texas A&M football game – the fifth and most recent game to reach seven overtimes
• 2021 Illinois vs. Penn State football game - the first game to feature nine overtimes

References

1. Kay, Stanley (October 7, 2017). "Western Michigan beat Buffalo in Seven Overtimes". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
2. "Arkansas 58, Ole Miss 56 (7 OTs)". olemisssports.com. University of Mississippi Athletics. November 3, 2001. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
3. "2001 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
4. "2001 Ole Miss Rebels Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
5. "Arkansas vs. Ole Miss - Box Score". espn.com. ESPN. November 3, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2017.