4 notable quarterbacks Ole Miss has defeated in program history

Scrolling through the Ole Miss football records shows that the program has had some memorable victories. Many of those have come against some of the best quarterbacks in college football. Here are the four, which I believe are the most notable, to which Ole Miss has handed defeats.

In the 1997 Music City Bowl, Ole Miss faced one of the scariest quarterback-wide receiver duos in college football history. Chad Pennington had the electric Randy Moss catching his passes, and it was a fruitful partnership during the 1997 season.

In the Bowl game against Ole Miss, that partnership was on full show again, with Pennington connecting with Moss six times for 173 yards and a touchdown. It was not a vintage performance from the Tennessee native, finishing with figures of 23-45, 337 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

Ole Miss handed the MAC Champions their third loss on the season, beating Marshall 34-31 thanks to another top offensive player, Rebels running back Deuce McAllister. Two seasons later, Pennington finished his final season with the Thundering Herd, going 13-0 and winning the final game against BYU in the Music City Bowl.

Pennington held several passing records for the Thundering Herd until the early 2010s. He finished his five seasons with Marshall (four as the starter) with 1,712 completions for 13,143 passing yards and 115 touchdowns. Pennington played with Marshall in the Division I-AA (FCS) in his first season as the starter before they moved to Division I-A (FBS) in 1997. Pennington would likely be among the top 25 of many FBS passing records if his first season counted towards.

The New York Jets drafted him with the No. 18 pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. During his ten seasons in the NFL, the final two as a Miami Dolphin, Pennington struggled with injuries and consistency. He did manage to win Comeback Player of the Year awards in 2006 and 2008.