From Manning to Corral, Ole Miss' Best Modern Seasons Are Tied Together

Eli Manning and Matt Corral come from different backgrounds, but their stories collided in the 2021 Ole Miss football season. The question now is similar to one from 2004: What's next?

The calendar had just turned from 2003 to 2004.

"Hey Ya!" by OutKast was the top song on the music charts, and George W. Bush and John Kerry were gearing up for a presidential election at the end of the year. In about a month, the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers would square off in the Super Bowl. The eventual-champion Patriots were led by a 26-year-old MVP out of Michigan in Tom Brady.

Eli Manning

Eli Manning would be turning 23 years old the day after his final game in an Ole Miss uniform. The youngest son of Ole Miss legend Archie, Eli had cemented himself in Ole Miss lore almost from the moment he stepped on campus. This was partially due to the fact that he was talented and certainly destined for a career in the NFL, but also from the fact that he had chosen to follow in his father's footsteps and come to Ole Miss. His older brother Peyton had blazed his own trail in the 1990s and gone to the University of Tennessee and begun an NFL career of his own in Indianapolis, much to the chagrin of many Ole Miss faithful.

Manning's first three years at Ole Miss were somewhat middle-of-the-road for the Rebels, but the 2003 season put his team, albeit briefly, back on the map. As the page turned to 2004, Ole Miss was looking for its first 10-win season since 1971.

Manning was able to lead Ole Miss to that 10-win mark with a win over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, 2004, and that would be the last time the Rebels reached that mark for the next 12 years.

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Looking back now, Ole Miss' path to 10 wins that season would seem unconventional to modern eyes. The Rebels started the season 2-2, beating Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Monroe and losing to Memphis and Texas Tech before rattling off six-straight wins to set them on a crash course with LSU to decide the SEC West.

Ole Miss missed two field goals, Eli Manning tripped over a lineman's leg on fourth down, and the Rebels lost to the eventual-national-champions by three points at home. The Rebels have still yet to represent the SEC West in Atlanta in the SEC Championship game, but they have been two made field goals and a 4th-and-25 away from doing so over the last 20 years.

Ole Miss vs. Arkansas (2015)

Ironically, Ole Miss was inches away from punching its ticket to Atlanta in its last two double-digit win seasons prior to 2021. Had Ole Miss beaten LSU in 2003 or Arkansas in 2015, that curse would be broken. Instead, the conversation persists, centered around the question of "what if?"

Since Eli Manning's senior year in Oxford, Ole Miss football has been a rollercoaster ride, at least from an overall record perspective. The Rebels have been to six New Year's Six bowl games in that span, counting the 2004 Cotton Bowl and the upcoming Sugar Bowl. They have also had seasons that have featured four wins (2004, 2006, 2010, 2019), three wins (2005, 2007) and even two wins (2011).

Where Ole Miss football has been concerned over the last two decades, the old saying "what comes up, must come down" has surpassed cliche status and been more concrete. The last two times Ole Miss reached double-digit wins in a season (2003, 2015), the following season has featured a losing record.

Now, with Ole Miss already having secured 10 regular season wins for the first time in program history in 2021, its staring another never-before-seen feat in the face at the onset of the new year: 11 wins in a single season. Securing that mark takes precedent over everything else in Oxford currently, but the future is certainly looming in the back of the fans' minds. Will history repeat itself after this season?

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The past met the present at times for Ole Miss in 2021. As the Rebels marched their way toward a 10-win season, Eli Manning, who accomplished a similar feat in his farewell tour in 2003, had his jersey number retired by Ole Miss in October. Ironically, the date for the retirement came in a game against LSU, but this installment of the rivalry went better for the Rebels than the 2003 version as Ole Miss dominated the Tigers 31-17.

As Manning's legacy in Oxford was celebrated, another young quarterback was in the middle of his farewell tour for the Rebels: a fiery California-native named Matt Corral.

Lane Kiffin and Matt Corral  / Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and Mississippi Rebels quarterback Matt Corral (2) during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

In some ways, Corral and Manning have very different backstories. While Corral hails from the West Coast, Manning got his start in New Orleans. One quarterback's father was a legend at his school before him; the other was not. One had huge shoes to fill simply based on his name; the other did not.

Even so, Manning and Corral are somewhat intertwined in their stories at Ole Miss. Both set and broke records in their time under center, and both led their team to 10-plus wins in their final year wearing that uniform. Both finished in the top-10 in Heisman voting that final year, as well.

Sugar Bowl result aside, with the season Corral had in 2021, his name will always be compared to the Mannings by Ole Miss fans for decades to come, both based on talent and results on the field.

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Even if Ole Miss wins the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, it has work to do.

Similar to 2004, its quarterback, who has become a catalyst for this team over the last two seasons, is fixing to find himself on an NFL roster come April. Is Corral's backup, Luke Altmyer, the answer at the position? Will Ole Miss find its man in the transfer portal in the days and weeks to come? The jury is still out, but, as Ole Miss learned following its Cotton Bowl win almost 20 years ago, the right quarterback makes a world of difference.

Arch Manning / The advertiser

It also can't be ignored that when Ole Miss takes the field against Baylor on Jan. 1, it will do so in the hometown of the Mannings: New Orleans. The "next man up" in the family, 2023 quarterback Arch Manning, will be in attendance, and this newest Manning's recruiting cycle will be one of the most anticipated in the modern era. As we've learned with previous bearers of that name, we should expect nothing less.

Manning still has time before his college decision is required of him, and numerous top programs are in the mix, namely Georgia and Texas. You can rest assured, however, that Lane Kiffin wants the newest quarterback in this lineage on his team in Oxford in 2023. Even though the Rebels' bowl game is in the Mannings' backyard, Kiffin is likely to take any opportunity he can to win the prospect over.

Matt Corral / © Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

With that and every other reason in mind, Ole Miss' focus is currently on winning the Sugar Bowl and setting more school history in stone. It's Matt Corral's final stand in an Ole Miss uniform, and instead of opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft, he's made it a point to play in this game in New Orleans.

Like his predecessor Manning, will he go out with a New Year's Six win under his belt? And, regardless of the result, what's next for the Rebels after his departure?

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