WATCH: Eli Manning's number officially retired at Ole Miss
Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was all about the Manning family.
Ole Miss legend Eli Manning had his No. 10 jersey retired Saturday afternoon, joining his father Archie and Chucky Mullins as the numbers no longer in circulation in Oxford.
Manning was joined on the field by his wife, four children and parents. Also in the building was his nephew, Arch. Arch Manning is the top recruit in the 2023 class and was on a visit to Oxford.
Ole Miss took home the win on Saturday, beating LSU 31-17. They moved to 6-1 on the year.
Manning’s favorite memories are beating Alabama, Cotton Bowl victory
Unsurprisingly, Manning has several notable times from Oxford.
“A lot of great memories. I think home games, beating Alabama my sophomore year was pretty special,” Manning said. “Hadn’t beaten them in 12 years and had a 2-minute drive heading toward Sanford down the right sideline, hitting Joe Gunn on a swing route to the left to beat them in the rain was awesome.”
In the aforementioned contest, Ole Miss trailed 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter. The Rebels scored 14 unanswered points, including the 3-yard touchdown pass to Gunn with 0:56 left in the game, to win 27-24. Manning beat Alabama in 2003 as well.
His junior year highlight was a win over No. 6 Florida. The victory was their highest-ranked win since 1997.
“Senior year, just being with a lot of the guys,” Manning added. “We came in, a lot of us redshirted, and to kind of be there with five years with a lot of those guys, and to have the senior year that we did and go to the Cotton Bowl and finish it off with a win there was pretty special as well.”
In 2003, Ole Miss alternated wins and losses in their first four games before winning seven of their last eight games en route to Dallas. They beat three ranked teams that season, including No. 3 LSU in late November. The Rebels topped Oklahoma State 31-28 in the Cotton Bowl to finish 10-3, their first 10-win season since 1971.
Manning finished his career at Ole Miss with 10,119 passing yards, 86 total touchdowns and 35 interceptions in 43 games. He won the Maxwell Award and was first-team All-SEC and SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2003. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy race that season and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.