Eli Manning reflects on battles with LSU, Nick Saban during his Ole Miss playing days
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Former Ole Miss great Eli Manning will have his jersey retired on Saturday during a ceremony at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The No. 12 Rebels will be playing host to LSU, and Manning has fond memories of playing against the Tigers, who were coach at the time by Nick Saban.
Manning went 1-2 in his career against LSU, the lone win coming in 2001 when as a sophomore Manning passed for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 35-24 win.
“Got to sit down with Coach Saban this summer for a little bit,” Manning told On3.com reporter Tim Verghese. “Went to Tuscaloosa and sat down with him and talked a little about that game, my sophomore year in Baton Rouge. He didn’t like talking about that one all that much. He kind of liked talking about the one my senior year.”
That season, LSU won 17-14, keeping the Rebels out of the SEC Championship game, while the Tigers would go on to win a national title.
The time that Manning spent with Saban came during the summer in preparation for a segment on Manning’s ESPN+ show “Eli’s Place.”
Said Manning: “Coach Saban, have so much respect for him and what he’s been able to do, and we had fun having him on the show and for me getting to hang out with him for a little bit.”
"Chris Wallace covers college football for Saturday Down South. He has covered college athletics for multiple newspapers and also worked previously for Rivals.com and GolfChannel.com."
