In what was the final college football game of the 20th century, the Ole Miss Rebels took on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana on the night of December 31, 1999.
The Rebels were making their second straight appearance in the Independence Bowl as they had defeated the Texas Tech Red Raider 35-18 in what was David Cutcliffe's debut as the Ole Miss head coach.
Cutcliffe had been the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee from 1993 through 1998 where he had coached Peyton Manning, son of former Ole Miss great Archie Manning, and helped the Vols win two SEC titles and the 1998 national title.
Cutcliffe's arrival in Oxford would bring forth the successful recruitment of Peyton's younger brother Eli to Ole Miss who sat out the 1999 season as he was redshirted.
Eli would watch Romaro Miller serve as the team's starting quarterback that along with running back Deuce McAllister led Ole Miss to a 7-4 record as the combined amount of the losses for the Rebels was 15 points.
The Rebels accepted an invitation to once again play in the Independence Bowl where they would face off with the Sooners who were making their first postseason appearance since 1994.
The Sooners' football program had been in decline since Barry Switzer's resignation following the 1988 season as NCAA penalties greatly affected the program as the Sooners did not have a winning season from 1994 through 1998.
The Sooners hired Bob Stoops, the defensive coordinator during the Florida Gators' 1996 national championship season, prior to the 1999 season in hopes of returning the Oklahoma program to glory.
Stoops hired Mike Leach as offensive coordinator, who installed his "Air Raid" pass-happy offense with junior quarterback Josh Heupel at the helms as starting quarterback.
Led by Heupel's 3.460 yards and 30 touchdown passes, the Sooners went 7-4 during the regular season as Oklahoma looked to cap off Stoops' first season in Norman with the team's first bowl win since 1993.
After the Rebels punted on their opening possession of the game, the Sooners got the ball at their 45-yard-line and quickly drove into the Ole Miss red zone as running back Quentin Griffin ran for 14 yards to start the drive which was followed by back-to-back passes by Heupel that totaled 25 yards.
But the drive would stall as Heupel would throw three straight incomplete passes, forcing the Sooners to bring on Tim Duncan to attempt a 35-yard field goal, whose kick sailed wide left to keep the game scoreless as Ole Miss would take over at its 20-yard-line.
A seven-yard pass from Miller to Toward Sanford followed by a three-yard run by Joe Gunn give Ole Miss a 1st down at its 30-yard-line when Miller found wide receiver Maurice Flournoy for 45 yards to put the Rebels at the Oklahoma 25-yard-line when Miller hit McAllister coming out of the backfield for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Rebels a 7-0 lead with 9:09 left in the first quarter.
The Sooners would start their next drive at their 21-yard-line as Heupel would complete three straight passes for 18 yards until the southpaw quarterback completed a short pass to Jarrail Jackson, who fumbled the football after a hit by Ole Miss defensive back Tim Strickland as linebacker Amzie Williams would make the recovery to give the Rebels the ball at the Oklahoma 40-yard-line.
The Rebels seemed poised to increase their lead after McAllister caught a 22-yard pass from Miller to start the drive only to have it followed by a quarterback sack and then an interception as Sooners defensive end
Corey Heinicke, whose 51-yard return gave the Oklahoma offense the ball at the Ole Miss 20-yard-line as McAllister made the tackle to save a touchdown.
The Sooners could only move three yards in three plays as Duncan would come on to attempt a 34-yard field goal, which this time he made, to put Oklahoma on the scoreboard and cut the Ole Miss lead to 7-3 with 5:22 left in the first quarter.
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| Ole Miss running Deuce McAllister would account for 239 all-purpose yards. |
Ole Miss would begin its next drive at its 21-yard-line as two plays gained 14 yards to give the Rebels a 1st down at its 35-yard-line when Miller was intercepted by Oklahoma defensive back William Bartee to give the Sooners offense the ball at the Rebels' 29-yard-line.
However, the Sooners could not cash in on the turnover as Heupel would fumble a snap from center as Ole Miss defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy would make the recovery at the Rebels' 24-yard-line.
The Rebels would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Sooners who took over at their 37-yard-line and drove to the Ole Miss 38-yard-line when Oklahoma lined up to punt, only to run a trick play as Patrick Fletcher, the Sooners' backup quarterback, lateraled the ball to wide receiver Brandon Daniels, who then threw a pass downfield intended for Antwone Savage.
But Ole Miss' Cory Peterson would knock down the pass to give the ball back to the Rebels at their 38-yard-line just 58 seconds into the second quarter.
The Rebels would drive 62 yards in 12 plays as Miller would complete all five of his passes on the drive for 38 yards with his last completion being a nine-yard touchdown pass to tight end Adam Bettis to increase the Ole Miss lead to 14-3 with 8:13 left in the second quarter.
The Sooners would begin their next possession at their 31-yard-line as a 31-yard pass from Heupel to Savage help lead Oklahoma to the Ole Miss nine-yard-line until Heupel was intercepted in the end zone by Strickland on a pass intended for Damian Mackey to give the Rebels the ball back at their 20-yard-line with a chance to extend their lead before halftime.
It would take the Rebels only one play to get into the end zone as Miller handed the ball off to McAllister, who turned a draw play up the middle into a 80-yard touchdown to push the Ole Miss lead to 21-3 with 4:05 left in the first half.
Oklahoma would begin its next drive backed up at its nine-yard-line as Heupel would complete seven of his next nine passes for 71 yards to help put the Sooners at the Ole Miss' nine-yard-line with four seconds to go in the half as Duncan and the field goal unit came as they lined up to attempt a short field goal.
But once again, the Sooners would try to trick the Rebels as the holder Fletcher tried to throw a pass only to be sacked by Ole Miss defensive backs Ronnie Heard and Syniker Taylor for a 17-yard loss as the first half came to an end with the Rebels on top 21-3.
The Sooners would get the ball to start the second half as Heupel would lead Oklahoma on a nine-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Oklahoma's first touchdown of the game as Heupel threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Jackson to cut the Ole Miss lead to 21-10.
The two teams would trade punts until midway through the third quarter when the Sooners got the ball at their 20-yard-line as Heupel would complete six passes in a row with the last completion being a 41-yard touchdown to Daniels to make the score 21-16 as Oklahoma would go for two following the touchdown.
The two-point conversion would be successful as Heupel found tight end Chris Hammons in the end zone to cut the Rebels' lead to 21-18 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
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| Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel completed 39 of 53 passes for 390 yards and threw three touchdown passes. |
The Rebels would respond with their longest drive of the game, a 14-play, 70-yard journey that took nearly eight minutes off the clock and did not end until Les Binkley made a 29-yard field goal to push the Ole Miss lead to 24-18 with 11:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma would get the ball back at its 36-yard-line as Heupel completed his next four passes for 42 yards to help lead the Sooners to the Ole Miss 24-yard-line until Heupel was sacked by Rebels defensive end Shane Elam to force a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Anthony Sims to give Ole Miss the ball at its 20-yard-line with 6:52 to go in the game.
The Rebels would turn to McAllister to milk the clock as Deuce would run the ball four straight times, picking up 14 yards before Miller threw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 7 to force an Ole Miss punt as Heupel would get the ball back at his 21-yard-line with 4:15 left on the clock.
After the drive began with an ineligible receiver downfield, Heupel would throw an incomplete pass, then hit Daniels for 12 yards to set up 3rd & 3 when the Rebels jumped offsides to give the Sooners a 1st down at their 33-yard-line.
The very next play saw Heupel hand the ball off to Griffin who busted loose for a 24-yard run to put Oklahoma in Ole Miss territory at the Rebels' 43-yard-line as the freshman running back would then catch a four-yard pass to bring up 2nd & 6 when Heupel hit Daniels for 22 yards and a 1st down at the Ole Miss 17-yard-line.
That is when Heupel found Griffin for a 17-yard touchdown that with Duncan's extra point gave the Sooners their first lead of the game at 25-24 with 2:17 to go in the game.
Needing at least a field goal to win the game, the Rebels would get great field position to start their ensuing possession as McAllister returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the Ole Miss 43-yard-line.
The drive would begin with two straight runs by McAllister that totaled 17 yards and put Ole Miss at the Oklahoma 40-yard-line as Miller would throw an incomplete pass, then hit L.J. Taylor for eight yards to set up 3rd & 2 with 65 seconds to go.
That is when the Sooners were called for having too men in the field as they had huddled with 12 men which drew a five-yard penalty and gave the Rebels a 1st down at the Oklahoma 27-yard-line.
Clearly in field goal range, the Rebels would not put the ball back in the air as two straight running plays picked up five yards to set up a 39-yard field goal attempt by Binkley with three seconds to go.
The Sooners called timeout in hopes of icing Binkley but it was to no avail as the junior kicker would calmly make the 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Rebels a 27-25 win and their second straight Independence Bowl win.
The win would propel Ole Miss into the final rankings as they voted in at #22 in both the final AP and coaches polls with their 8-4 record while Oklahoma finished the season unranked with a 7-5 record.
McAllister would return for his senior season in 2000 as the Rebels would go 7-5 and lose to West Virginia in the Music City Bowl as Manning would be inserted in the game in the 4th quarter and lead Ole Miss to 22 straight points as Eli would become the Ole Miss starting quarterback for the next three years.
As for the Sooners, they would return to prominence as Heupel would throw for 3,392 yards and 20 touchdown passes in leading Oklahoma to a 13-0 season and its first national championship since 1985.
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