56 Years After Stunning Upset, Wildcats Take on a New Manning

By Michael Ruehling

When Kentucky takes the field for the Oct. 18 Homecoming game against the Texas Longhorns, the Wildcats will be squaring off against a team expected to be led by the Southeastern Conference’s Pre-Season All-Conference Quarterback, Arch Manning.

It will be the highly touted sophomore’s Lexington debut. However, it will not be the first time UK has hosted a quarterback with a near-identical name and reputation –that being University of Mississippi football legend Archie Manning, who also happens to be Arch’s grandfather.

The night Archie Manning came to town was Sept. 27, 1969. The location was Stoll Field, predecessor to Commonwealth Stadium and Kroger Field, located across the Avenue of Champions from Memorial Coliseum. The occasion was the SEC opener for both teams.

Ole Miss, the pre-season SEC favorite largely due to the presence of their junior-year quarterback Manning, was ranked No. 8 after a 28-3 opening game win over Memphis State. Kentucky, meanwhile, had experienced a 58-30 thumping by Indiana in its first game under new Head Football Coach John Ray.

So, what happened on that Saturday night 56 years ago?

One of the most stunning upsets in UK football history. The final score: UK 10, Ole Miss 9.

Here’s how John McGill, sports editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader, described it in the Sunday morning newspaper:

“Kentucky proved it is on the right path to a football comeback Saturday night. Hitting heavily favored Mississippi with furious offensive and defensive play, the Wildcats scored an astounding 10-9 upset to smash a nine-game Southeastern Conference losing streak.”

The game was a nail-biter from the start. Mississippi scored first early in the second quarter on a 24-yard field goal and two minutes later, the Rebels added six more when Manning ran 64 yards for a touchdown. UK safety David Hunter blocked the extra point kick, leaving the score at 9-0. UK finally hit the scoreboard after a 36-yard field goal by Bob Jones with just six seconds left before halftime.

A six-yard, third-quarter run by UK quarterback Bernie Scruggs tied the game at nine. Jones’ extra-point kick was perfect and suddenly the Cats were ahead 10-9. Ole Miss threatened a comeback in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard pass from Manning to Riley Myers that made it first and goal from the UK five-yard line. A Manning run gained two, but on the next play tailback Leon Felts was hit hard by linebacker Wilbur Hackett, with help from Joe Federspiel and others, knocking the ball loose. The fumble was recovered by defensive back Paul Martin, turning the ball over to UK with about seven minutes left.

The Cats were unable to convert the opportunity into points, but punter Dave Hardt was able to pin Ole Miss back on its own five-yard line with just 90 seconds left. Not to worry – the UK defense held firm with linebackers Hackett and Federspiel stopping two attempted runs before defensive back Dave Van Meter picked off a last-ditch desperation pass by Manning deep in UK territory with 56 seconds left. All that remained was for Scruggs to run out the clock to secure the UK win.

UK’s offense totaled 246 yards with 172 coming on the ground. The running game was led by tailback Roger Gann’s 93 yards, earning him SEC Back of the Week honors from the Associated Press. Fullback Bill Duke added 83, averaging an impressive nine yards per carry. Scruggs was 8-for-18 with no interceptions in the passing department for 74 yards.

Clutching the game ball in the post-victory celebration, UK Coach Ray was still processing the outcome. “What was the final score? 10-9? All I know is we won,” he said. “They played the kind of ball they can play. They zipped around there pretty good and they know they can win now.”

Blindsided by the loss to the Wildcats, the Rebels did not immediately regain their swagger. They also fell to 15thranked Alabama (33-32) and unranked Houston (25-11) before reversing course at mid-season with a vengeance. They roared back to stun unbeaten No. 6 Georgia (26-23); shut out third-ranked and undefeated Tennessee (38-0); defeated an unbeaten No. 8 LSU team (26-23) and ended the regular season with a 48-22 blowout of in-state rival Mississippi State.

The Rebels went on to knock off third-ranked Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, 27-22, with Manning being named the game’s MVP. They finished with an 8-3 record and ended up No. 8 in the final AP rankings – exactly where they had been before the UK ambush.

Manning went on to be the No. 2 overall selection in the 1971 NFL draft by New Orleans. He spent 14 years with the Saints, twice selected to the Pro Bowl. He finished his career in 1984 after brief stints with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings. His NFL career stats included 23,911 passing yards,125 touchdown passes and 18 rushing touchdowns.

As fate would have it, UK linebacker Federspiel – who as a sophomore played a key defensive role in the Ole Miss upset – was a fourth-round draft pick of the Saints in 1972. He would end up being Archie Manning’s New Orleans teammate for nine seasons (1972-1980). Both he and Manning are enshrined in the Saints Hall of Fame. They were also named to the Saints All-50th team in 2016, which recognized the top 50 players in team history on the franchise’s 50th season.

Even though Archie led Ole Miss to wins over Kentucky in his rookie season as a sophomore in 1968 (30-14) and senior year in 1970 (20-17), he is the only member of the famed Manning football clan ever to lose to UK. His sons, Peyton and Eli (Arch’s uncles), went undefeated against the Cats during their collegiate days. UT was 4-0 over the course of Peyton’s four-year career at Tennessee (1994-97) while Ole Miss was 2-0 in games against Kentucky during Eli’s time there (2000-03). ■

Before his career in politics and government, Michael Ruehling ’69 AS, was an aspiring sportswriter. He knows a good sports story when he sees one and decided to share this one with readers of the Kentucky Alumni magazine.