The 2009 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

during the

2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

. The team was led by

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football player and coach. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University ( ...

, who was in his second season as the Rebels' head coach. Ole Miss has been a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) since the league's inception in 1932, and has participated in that conference's Western Division since its formation in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. The Rebels played their seven home games in 2009 at

Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Vaught–Hemingway Stadium at Hollingsworth Field is an outdoor athletic stadium located in University, Mississippi, United States (although it has an Oxford address). The stadium serves as the home for the University of Mississippi Rebels colle ...

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Oxf ...

, which has been Ole Miss football's home since 1915. The Rebels finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play and won their second straight

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

21–7 against

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

Previous season

First year head coach Houston Nutt led the team from four straight losing seasons to a 9–4 record and a 5–3 mark in conference play. The improvement from 2007–2008 was the best single-season improvement for an Ole Miss team since 1947, when

Johnny Vaught John Howard Vaught (May 6, 1909 – February 3, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) from 1947 to 1970 and aga ...

debuted as coach. The Rebels' second- place finish in the SEC Western Division was their second best finish in the division since its inception in 1992. The 2008 squad concluded the season by defeating Texas Tech 47–34 in the 2009 Cotton Bowl.

Key losses from the 2008 season team

Michael Oher Michael Jerome Oher (; né Williams Jr.; born May 28, 1986) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at t ...

– graduated; drafted in the first round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

Peria Jerry Peria Edward Jerry (; born August 23, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Mississippi. Jerry reti ...

– graduated; drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

– graduated; drafted in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Jamarca Sanford Jamarca Deshaun Sanford (born August 27, 1985) is former American football safety. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the 231st pick. He formerly played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels ...

– graduated; drafted in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

* Tony Fein – graduated; signed as a free agent with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

and later was signed by the

before being cut

Rankings

^* Tied with

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Schedule

Schedule notes

*The 2009 Ole Miss Football Schedule was officially released on March 17, 2009. *ESPN.com tabbed Ole Miss' 2009 non-conference schedule as the 3rd softest in the country. *The week one game against Memphis was played on Sunday, September 6 and was nationally televised on ESPN. *The week four game against South Carolina was played on Thursday, September 24, as part of the

ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime ''ESPN College Football Primetime'' is a live game presentation of Division 1-FBS college football on ESPN or sometimes ESPN2. In the past, the presenting sponsor was Cooper Tires, but since the 2006 season, the current presenting sponsor is Appl ...

package. *The 2009 season marked the first time Ole Miss has ever played Southeastern Louisiana, UAB and Northern Arizona in football.

2009 season highlights

On July 7, 2009, the Ole Miss athletic department announced that the 2009 training camp and team would be the subject of a reality television show called '' Gridiron U'', which will air on

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...

(formerly known as Court TV). Filming was scheduled to begin in early August and end September 6. The camera crew came in June to interview players and coaches as well as to film key locations on campus. However, head coach Houston Nutt canceled the team's participation in the new show. Ole Miss was on the cover of

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

for the August 17, 2009 issue. SI's preseason rankings has the Rebels ranked at #6. In late August 2009, the Ole Miss Athletic Department announced that season tickets were sold out for what is believed to be the first time in school history. In the third week of the season, on September 20, 2009, Ole Miss was ranked #4 in the AP poll and #5 in the Coaches Poll, the highest the Rebels have been ranked since the

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints. He played for the Saints from 1971 to 1982 and al ...

-lead, and John Vaught-coached, team of 1970 which also made it to #4. Ole Miss' highest ranking ever was #1 in 1964. Ole Miss set a school record with four straight games, going back to the 2008 season, of scoring forty or more points after defeating Southeastern Louisiana 52–6 on September 19, 2009. Also as of the Southeastern Louisiana win, the Rebels had the second longest winning streak in the nation, having won eight straight games dating back to the 2008 season. The national champion Florida team had the first longest winning streak after Utah lost. Ole Miss' defeat of Tennessee on November 14, 2009 was the first time Tennessee had ever lost in Ole Miss' home stadium. Tennessee now holds a 5–1 mark against Ole Miss in Ole Miss' home stadium. Ole Miss' defeat of LSU on November 21, 2009 was the Rebels first win at home against LSU since 1998.

Game summaries

Memphis

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –17.5

Southeastern Louisiana

Pregame Line: N/A

South Carolina

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –4.5

Vanderbilt

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –10.5

Alabama

Pregame Line: Alabama –3.5

UAB

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –23

Arkansas

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –6.5

Auburn

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –5.5

Northern Arizona

Pregame Line: N/A

Tennessee

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –5.5

LSU

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –6

Mississippi State

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –7.5

Oklahoma State

Pregame Line: Ole Miss –3.5

Coaching staff

Staff notes

*On January 16, Terry Price began his second stint with the Ole Miss Rebels football staff. He coached defensive ends for the Rebels from 1995–98. He then went on to be the defensive line coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008. *On January 20, former Rebel football player Lanier Goethie signed on as a graduate assistant. In his four years playing Linebacker for Ole Miss (1999 to 2002), he had a total of 178 tackles and served as a team co-captain as a senior. He was also the 2002 Chucky Mullins Courage Award recipient.

NFL prospects

Twelve Ole Miss players who ended their career at Ole Miss this year were either taken in the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

or signed free-agent contracts with NFL teams.

Dexter McCluster Dexter Marquise McCluster (born August 25, 1988) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the University of Mississippi. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft and also ...

(

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

; 2nd round; 36th overall pick), OL John Jerry (

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

; 3rd round; 73rd overall pick), S

Kendrick Lewis Kendrick Lewis (born June 16, 1988) is a former American football free safety. He played college football at Ole Miss and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He also played for the Houston Texans, Bal ...

(Kansas City Chiefs; 5th round; 136th overall pick) and DE

Greg Hardy Gregory McKarl Hardy (born July 28, 1988) is an American former football defensive end, mixed martial artist and professional boxer who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played ...

(

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

; 6th round; 175th overall pick) were drafted while QB

Jevan Snead Jevan Bryce Snead (September 2, 1987 – September 21, 2019) was an American football quarterback. He played college football at Mississippi after Colt McCoy won the starting quarterback position over him for the Texas Longhorns football team. H ...

(

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

), RB Cordera Eason (

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

), TE

Gerald Harris Gerald Harris (born November 19, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and current high school science teacher, who most recently fought in Bellator. He was a cast member of Spike TV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and has also compet ...

(

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

), LB Patrick Trahan (Tennessee Titans), WR

Shay Hodge Vareion Deshay "Shay" Hodge (born October 18, 1987) is a gridiron football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Ole Miss. Colle ...

(

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

), CB Marshay Green (

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

), CB

Cassius Vaughn Cassius M. Vaughn (born November 3, 1987) is a former Canadian football defensive back. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Ole Miss. In the NFL, Vaughn has also played for the In ...

(

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

) and DE Emmanuel Stephens (

) signed free agent contracts.OleMissSports.com: Five Rebels Ink NFL Deals
/ref>

References

{{Ole Miss Rebels football navbox Ole Miss Ole Miss Rebels football seasons Cotton Bowl Classic champion seasons

Ole Miss Rebels football The Ole Miss Rebels football program represents the University of Mississippi, also known as "Ole Miss". The Rebels compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of ...