McAllister shows he's indispensable for Rebels

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Ole Miss senior tailback Deuce McAllister wasn't supposed to play against Nevada-Las Vegas last Saturday because of a sprained left ankle, and for the game's first 60 minutes, he didn't.
But when Nevada-Las Vegas scored a touchdown on the game's last play of regulation, then got a two-point conversion to tie it 37-37 and force overtime, McAllister hobbled off the bench to help save Ole Miss.
"I told the coaches that they kept me out of regulation, but they weren't going to keep me out of the overtime," McAllister said.
McAllister, who has scored 12 touchdowns this season and averaged 127.3 yards in total offense, convinced the coaching staff to let him dive off his right foot in short-yardage situations.
"I just wanted to do whatever it took to win the game," he said. "I was just happy they put me in."
The final stats show he rushed 4 times for 5 yards, but it was McAllister's dives that kept Ole Miss from going under.
With Ole Miss trailing 40-37 after a Nevada-Las Vegas field goal in overtime and facing third-and-1 at the 16, McAllister dived over the line for a 2-yard gain and first down.
When Ole Miss faced third-and-1 at the 5, McAllister again dived for a 2-yard gain and a first down.
At second-and-goal from the 1, McAllister was stopped for no gain, but on the next play his dived for the winning touchdown.
"McAllister looked about 12 feet tall," Nevada-Las Vegas Coach John Robinson said. "I'm glad I don't have to face him again."
Ole Miss Coach David Cutcliffe said he hopes he'll be able to use McAllister for more than dive plays when the Rebels (5-2, 2-2) play Arkansas on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
"We need to get Deuce back out to practice and see how he can run and explode," Cutcliffe said. "Hopefully, we can get him back to full speed. We're trying to get to that point."
McAllister, who was touted by Ole Miss as a Heisman Trophy candidate coming into the season, has been slowed by shoulder and ankle injuries, and the Rebels have struggled.
Ole Miss remains in the jumbled SEC West race, but the Rebels have lost their two biggest conference games so far -- 35-27 to Auburn and 45-7 to Alabama -- and they were booed by fans at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium when Nevada-Las Vegas rallied to force overtime.
"That was definitely disappointing," Rebels sophomore center Ben Claxton said. "That's not what Ole Miss is about.
"UNLV is not an SEC-caliber team, everybody realizes that. But they are a good, solid team. For people to boo when things went wrong for us ... I'm just going to say it was disappointing and leave it at that."
"You would hope the fans wouldn't do that," said Rebels senior wide receiver Grant Heard, had a career-high 7 catches for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns. "As long as we win, that's what matters.
"We were up all day until the end of regulation. Some days, the defense has to win it; some days, the offense has to win it."
Ole Miss got three touchdown passes from senior quarterback Romaro Miller.
Miller said he didn't blame the fans for their reaction.
"We have to give them something to cheer about," Miller said. "At the end of regulation, I was angry, too. I was ready to get to the locker room and chew some people out."
Nevada-Las Vegas rushed for 378 yards against Ole Miss and put together a 99-yard touchdown drive in the final five minutes of regulation, capped by Jeremi Rudolph's 17-yard scoring run on a draw.
"For some reason, they couldn't stop our delay draw," Robinson said of a play that worked consistently well against Ole Miss.
Nevada-Las Vegas' two-point conversion that tied the game also was on a running play, an option pitch from Jason Thomas to Kevin Brown.
"If we can't get that addressed, we're going to have serious problems," Ole Miss senior cornerback Ken Lucas said of the rush defense. "We have to correct that real quick."
Part of Ole Miss' problems stemmed from defensive tackle Anthony Sims missing the game because of a shoulder injury and defensive end Shan Elam injuring his knee and missing the second half.
Sims is questionable for the Arkansas game. Elam is doubtful and will undergo arthroscopic surgery today.
The Ole Miss offensive line also has been hit by injuries this season, with three different players starting at center, and the team has been without its top linebacker, Eddie Strong, who has been forced to redshirt because of a foot injury.
"There have been years as a coach where it seems like we've had the same starting lineup every week, and you just learn to count your blessings," Cutcliffe said. "When it doesn't occur, you just have to close ranks and keep marching.
"[Injuries] are just part of the game, and a part you can't focus on. You have to focus on the people available to you and go out on the practice field and do the very best job you can to get better.
"I'm real proud of our team for continuing to push through what have been some tough times."
There is still time for Ole Miss to have some good times this season, if the Rebels can finish strong. They still can win at least a share of their first SEC West title.
"It's right in front of us, and it's all there available," Cutcliffe said. "Now it's time to get it done."
For that to happen, Ole Miss likely will need McAllister running, as well as diving, at full speed.

This article was published on Tuesday, October 31, 2000

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