Ole Miss Overpowers Texas

(Ole Miss Athletics)

AUSTIN, Texas (WCBI Sports/AP) – Senior running back Jeff Scott ran for a career-high 164 yards and had a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown here Saturday night as Ole Miss scored 30 unanswered points to run past Texas 44-23 in front of the third largest crowd at DKR Stadium (101, 474). With the win, the Rebels improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1989.

Bo Wallace passed for two touchdowns and ran another for the Rebels, who led 14-0 midway through the first quarter before Texas scored 23 straight points.

The Rebels rallied when Andrew Ritter kicked a 52-yard field goal on the last play of the first half and Wallace directed consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter. Scott eluded six tacklers on a weaving, cross-field touchdown return that put the Rebels ahead 37-23 late in the third.

Scott recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing game, second of the year, and moved into a tie for ninth on the Rebels’ all-time rushing TDs list with his 17th career rushing score (5-yarder in the first quarter).

Texas, which gave up 550 yards rushing a week earlier in a loss to BYU, surrendered 272 on the ground to Ole Miss. The Rebels eclipsed 250 rushing yards for the second straight game (272 vs. SEMO) and have posted 200-plus rushing yards in all three games.

Case McCoy started at quarterback for Texas (1-2) in place of injured David Ash. McCoy passed for 196 yards and one touchdown.

The Rebel defense shut out the Longhorns in the second half and allowed UT to convert only 4-of-15 3rd-down attempts and 1-of-3 4th-down tries in the game. Junior linebacker Serderius Bryant led the Rebels with 11 tackles (six solo), his second straight double-digit performance. He also had a career-high 3.0 TFLs as the Landshark defense produced a season-high nine tackles for loss against the Longhorns.

Dating back to last season, this was Ole Miss’ fifth consecutive victory. The Rebels’ five-game winning streak is their longest since an eight-game streak between the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

The Rebels have a bye week before heading to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 28 to face the No. 1 Crimson Tide.