Eli Manning eases into role as starting quarterback By RALPH D. RUSSO AP Sports Writer September 2, 2001 OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- The next hard hit Eli Manning takes this season will be his first. Mississippi's new starting quarterback set two school records Saturday night, led the Rebels to a resounding victory at home and barely got his uniform dirty in the process. Manning was nearly perfect and well-protected in a 49-14 victory over Division I-AA Murray State. He completed 20 of 23 passes for 271 yards with a team-record five touchdown passes. Only twice did the Racers get close enough to even jostle the 6-foot-4 sophomore, though it wasn't for a lack of trying. Murray State's frequent blitzes were consistently picked off by the Rebels' blockers. ``They were bringing everybody and I still had time to sit back there,´´ Manning said. The degree of difficulty increases immeasurably when Manning makes the second start of his career Saturday at Southeastern Conference rival Auburn -- and he knows it. ``They´re going to have better talent (on) defense. They´ll have some playmakers there,´´ he said. ``We executed really well, but we have to keep getting better and really learn from this film.´´ If they are looking to learn from their mistakes, the Rebels might be hard-pressed to find many. Manning, the son of former Ole Miss All-America quarterback Archie Manning, missed on his first two passes and admitted to having some butterflies for his first college start. ``After that, Eli was right on target,´´ said senior Jamie Armstrong, who caught four passes for 39 yards. ``It was easy. It was pitch and catch.´´ Peyton Manning's younger brother completed 18 straight passes, breaking the team record of 15 held by Kent Austin. ``I didn´t know until they announced it on the loudspeaker,´´ Manning said of the streak. Ole Miss fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter, but Manning directed four consecutive long touchdown drives, capping each with a TD toss, to put the Rebels up 28-7 at half. Chris Collins caught three touchdowns to match an Ole Miss record. Manning and the Ole Miss faithful have been waiting two years for the Eli era to begin. He was redshirted as a freshman and servered as a backup last year. Coming from such a fruitful family tree, the expectation levels were already high for the New Orleans native. Now, with such a stellar start, even against inferior competition, some may expect even more. ``I´m not feeling any more pressure right now,´´ he said. ``I´ve just got to keep going and doing my job and get ready for next week.´´ Looks like another star in the making from the Manning family.
