Bo Wallace watches the jumbotron during the fourth quarter of the Idaho game.
Photo by Austin McAfee I The Daily Mississippian
Author’s note: I never saw Archie Manning play. This is purely a statistical analysis. But based on the word “Manning” being plastered around campus and the displeasure fans have with Wallace, one would think Archie Manning would have far superior stats to Wallace. This is not intended to belittle Manning, but rather to point out Wallace’s accomplishments.
Against LSU, junior quarterback Bo Wallace surpassed Archie Manning on the Ole Miss all-time passing yards list. Wallace now sits seventh on that list, one yard behind sixth, while Manning is eighth. Also, Wallace will likely surpass Manning in total offense when Ole Miss takes on Arkansas Saturday since Wallace is just 62 yards behind Manning. The Arkansas game will be Wallace’s 22nd with Rebels, while Manning played in 29 during his time at Ole Miss.
The initial reaction to this is that Wallace has benefited from the up-tempo offense that head coach Hugh Freeze runs. Some say that Wallace is getting more opportunities to throw the football, therefore more chances to rack up yardage.
But that isn’t true.
In fact, Wallace has attempted 130 fewer passes than Manning did. He’s had 86 fewer carries than Manning did, meaning Wallace will have had at least 150 fewer passing and running attempts than Manning but still surpass his career totals.
Does Wallace throw the ball more times per game than Manning did? Sure, but it isn’t a drastic split.
An average game for Wallace would finish 19 of 30.1 passing for 236.7 yards, while Manning averaged 13.9 of 26.2 for 163.9 yards — roughly four more passes for Wallace results in just under 73 more yards per game.
Also, Manning once threw 56 passes in a loss to Southern Miss. Wallace has never thrown 50 passes in a game. So don’t think Manning was playing in an offense that didn’t give him the chance to put up huge stats.
Now, take a look at completion percentage. Wallace has completed 63.4 percent of his passes, while Manning finished with a rate of 52.8 percent. Maybe that is indicative of the way football is played now, but Wallace is on pace to obliterate the career completion percentage mark at Ole Miss of 60.8 percent.
Maybe it was Manning’s running ability that made him the superstar to whom Wallace can seemingly never live up.
Both quarterbacks average 10.9 carries per game, including sacks. Manning did edge Wallace by averaging 28.4 yards, better than Wallace’s 25.9. But is 2.5 rushing yards the difference between fans lauding you as an all-time great and fans screaming for senior Barry Brunetti to take your job?
Maybe it is the winning that separates Manning from Wallace. With Manning as the quarterback, Ole Miss went 21-9-1, a winning percentage of 70. Much better than Wallace’s 57 percent winning rate.
But in an era when Ole Miss played 10 regular season games plus a bowl game, Ole Miss lost at least three games each season Manning was quarterback. Judging individual players by team victories is a foolish exercise, but it is one that persists in our sports culture, and it is how we remember players, but Manning never led his teams to a national or conference title.
Well, Wallace struggled with interceptions last season, as he threw 17, the most in FBS. In Manning’s first season as the Rebel quarterback, he too threw 17 interceptions. But where Wallace threw for 22 touchdowns to help offset that, Manning threw for just eight.
On a per-game basis, Manning threw 1.6 interceptions, while Wallace has thrown just .95. Manning threw a pick every 19 passes; Wallace throws one every 31.6 passes.
But Manning was a touchdown machine. His career total of 56 touchdowns stood as the Ole Miss record until his son Eli Manning came along. Wallace has already a 45 total touchdowns in his career. Combining carries and pass attempts, Archie Manning scored a touchdown every 19.2 plays. Wallace gets in the end zone every 19.1 plays.
When Wallace is finished at Ole Miss, he’ll have numbers that dwarf Manning’s. Only Eli will have better numbers, and Wallace may surpass some of Eli’s records, too.
Although fans will still urge for Brunetti the next time Wallace makes a mistake, Wallace is one of the greatest quarterbacks to play at Ole Miss. Appreciate it.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss football, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
-Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
