Part 2:
Part 1 ended with Ole Miss' 1st great victory over a national powerhouse in
1938- LSU coached by Bernie Moore. Now LSU had had a number of very successful
coaches in it's history but most were only there 1 or 2 years. Edgar Wingard's
1908 team went undefeated and was voted NC's by some organization. But if you
are looking for a name that was LSU's greatest coach before the ir glory years in
the late '50's and early '60's, Bernie Moore is your man. Unlike Wingard, Bernie
coached at a time when college football was much more advanced and competitive
from 1935-1947. During his 13 years he won 67% of his games and produced 4 Top
10 teams and a Top 20 team. His '36 team finished #2 and his '37 team finished
at #8. Although LSU had always played very good football in the South, their 1st
elite program was during this time.
That's what made the 1938 Rebel win over LSU so big. It was our 1st big win over
an elite football program. But it wouldn't be the last. We would win the next 3-
all at LSU as all games since 1936 were played at Baton Rouge by agreement. Back
then, that was the only way LSU would play us. Later we would still agree to
play them all there but at a very high price- more on that later. By the way,
LSU's rise to national prominence roughly coincided to it's new nickname- "Ole
Lou". But tha t name didn't stick and was soon forgotten.
In 1940 and 1941, Ole Miss and it's #1 rival then known as Miss. State were both
playing at a higher level than LSU. The big game for us was still State. But
LSU's slump wouldn't last long and MSU gradually became Ole Miss's #2 rival.
It all began with the hiring of a Texas boy, a defensive line coach who had been
an AA guard and captain for one the SWC's best ever teams- the TCU Horned Frogs
of 1932. Vaught had been an assistant coach at UNC at Chapel Hill and during his
time in the Navy during WWII, he would be fortunate enough to be included into
their V-5 program. This was a physical education program at Navy where football
games were allowed to be played and some of the best college coaches from around
the country would gather and share information. Some of the coaches Vaught was
in that program with were Paul Bryant, Bud Wilkerson and many more "name" future
HC's. He would late r credit that "think tank" with many of his wins at Ole Miss.
Vaught was invited to be Harold "Red" Drew's line coach at Ole Miss. The day he
arrived at the small university of only 2,000 students, he was immediately
attracted to the town and school which like Chapel Hill, "blends cultural and
intellectual achievement with a smalltown atmosphere". Oxford and the
surrounding landscape even had the same type of beauty as it too was located on
the tail end of the same mountain range- the Appalachians, only the mountains
had been reduced to large hills but the prettiest he'd seen. Vaught pretty much
fell in love with Ole Miss from day one.
It wouldn't be long before Vaught would learn just how far behind the larger SEC
schools Ole Miss was in terms of facilities and budgets. The coach's office was
a one room "closet" in an old gym. The coaches' meetings were often held on
steps to the gym or in someone's car. It seems Ole Mis s had no intention of
spending money on athletics.
But unbeknownst to Vaught, he was in the right place at the right time. 1st,
Harold Drew would leave Ole Miss after that '46 season to become Bama's HC and
Vaught [a DL coach with no HC'ing experience] would be named Ole Miss' new head
coach for the '47 season. 2nd, Vaught would inherit a very talented group of
players, including AA QB Charlie Conerly and AA End Barney Poole, who would win
the SEC in his first season at Ole Miss.
It seems that Ole Miss/LSU games in the past have been some of the more
interesting ones that any rivalry has ever had. That '47 game pitted Conerly,
Ole Miss' great AA QB against Y. A. Tittle, LSU's great AA QB [both would go on
to start for the NY Giants]. Actually back then they both technically played RB
[there was no QB position in LSU's "Split T" or Ole Miss' "Notre Dame Box"] but
this game was a battle of two of the greatest passers in coll ege f ootball
history. Both were great in this game. Ole Miss won 20-18 because our extra
point kicker made 2 of 3 attempts and LSU's missed all 3. But it was something
that happened during the game that makes it one of my favorite all time Ole
Miss/LSU bedtime stories.
Ole Miss was driving for a TD in the 2nd Qtr. From about the LSU 25, Conerly
took the snap and flung an interception right into the hands of LSU DB Y. A.
Tittle. As Tittle, who was slow, ran toward the Ole Miss goal line with the
ball, an Ole Miss player, Jack Odom attempted to tackle Tittle at the LSU 38. He
didn't bring Tittle down but he did break his belt. With that, Tittle's pants
fell to his knees, slowing him down considerably while the entire Ole Miss team
laughed histerically as they ran down the much bally hooed LSU passer. Y.A. was
struggling down the field taking very fast, choppy, baby steps as he struggled
to keep his pants above his knees. Farley Salmo n, who is a good friend of mine
and would be the heir apparent to Conerly was actually the one who tackled
Tittle. After Farley tackled Tittle he said "Dammit, quit laughing and help me
get my pants up!".