Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!
Right now, my Ole Miss Rebels are undefeated and tied for first place in the SEC West (along with six other teams).
Now they won’t hit the playing field for a couple of more weeks but way back when in 1977, the Rebels were in a David and Goliath matchup in Mississippi Memorial Stadium in Jackson.
Thermometers were registering around the 90-degree mark in the 46,000-seat stadium. The Rebels were coming off a loss to third ranked Alabama and now were playing the team many thought would bring home a national championship.
The heat and humidity and mix of fresh Rebel players burnt through the All American Irish roster that day for a 20-13 win. Joe Montana was a third-string quarterback that day and didn’t see the Jackson grass that day for a single play. He would later move up the depth chart and take his Irish to an 11-1 record and eventual National Championship that year. He’d also make some racket on the NFL level as well…lol…
It’s a story that’s often told on a national level and I’m sure is high on the list of Grove tales each season. But it was a band of Sunflower County Rebels that were instrumental in that big win. Football heroes on the high school level who would become backups and practice squad players on the D1 level but each one helped make the Rebels a winner that day.
Inverness’ Mike “Bama” Anderson, Jarrett Price, Moorhead’s (Dr.) Wade Dowell and Indianola’s Jim Lear all were part of the win in one way or another. Anderson stood on the sidelines that day but not dressed out. He had given his all that week at practice though to make the Rebels sharp that day.
“I didn’t get to dress for that game but I was on the dummy squad,” Bama told me years ago. “I was Ross Browner and Willie Frye, two All-American defensive ends for Notre Dame.”
I’ve read stories where the heat that day was quoted as anywhere from 86 to 90 to 100 degrees. The humidity was also said to be a mere 65 percent but it was more than the Irish could handle.
“We beat them because of the heat,” Anderson recalled. “Jarrett Price ran the ball in that game. Wade Dowell played. And Tim Ellis, Bobby Garner and Jim Lear all rotated at quarterback. One reason we beat ’em was because we were rotating fresh men in all the time. Our guys were fresh and those guys were sluggish in that 100-degree weather and it was killing ’em.”
It was the biggest win for the Rebels that season and would be for quite a few years beyond. Ole Miss finished at 5-6 and later revised to 6-5 when State’s win was overturned due to NCAA violations. I write about this event so my heroes are remembered and that history continues to document the winning day. With so many traditions being tarnished and stripped away, the Ole Miss Rebels won that day, 20-13 over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. No one can change that fact and we should celebrate it annually.
Hey, we were number one that day! #hottytoddy!
