Ole Miss Rolls Over ULM In Dominating Fashion

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics/WCBI) — Ole Miss Football (4-2, 0-2 SEC) made a habit of finding the end zone early and often against ULM (2-4, 0-2 Sun Belt) in its 70-21 win on Homecoming Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, finishing their non-conference slate with an unblemished record outside of SEC action.

The Rebels recorded a program-best 826 yards (517 passing, 309 rushing) and scored on their first nine drives of the game. Three ‘Nasty Wide Out’ receivers (junior A.J. Brown, senior DaMarkus Lodge, sophomore DK Metcalf) eclipsed 100 yards on the day.

Scottie Phillips (12 carries, 74 Yds, 2 TDs) got the scoring started with a 2-yard rush. It was the fourth time this season Ole Miss has scored on its first drive.

Brown, who racked up a total of 133 yards receiving, extended the lead to 14-0 after reeling in a 20-yard pass, finishing the sequence with a nice juke move.

ULM looked destined to score, but the ‘Landshark D’ made its presence felt on the ensuing possession when junior Myles Hartsfield forced a fumble and sophomore Donta Evans recovered the ball at the Rebel 3-yard line.

The offense responded with a 97-yard drive, capped off by a Jordan Ta’amu one-yard rush up the middle. Ta’amu finished 21-for-24, scored three times, and tallied 374 yards passing and 63 yards on the ground despite not taking a single snap in the second half.

The snowball effect continued in Ole Miss’ favor with an Armani Linton sack to open the second quarter. With the ball back in his hand, Ta’amu rushed 39 yards to the end zone to extend the lead to 28-0.

ULM answered with an 11-yard rush, but Ole Miss quickly responded with three more touchdowns to end the half up 49-7. Phillips scored again on the ground from 1-yard out, Metcalf caught a 62-yard touchdown pass, and Lodge caught a 16-yard Ta’amu pass. Metcalf’s score was the eighth drive to go under a minute this season. The Rebels ended the first half with the program’s most points scored in the modern era (since 1958).

After the break, Phillips caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Matt Corral (10-for-10, 143 yards passing, 82 yards rushing). Corral was the game’s leading rusher thanks to a 61-yard dash to the end zone, providing Ole Miss with a 63-7 advantage.

Elijah Moore reeled in a 21-yard touchdown catch for the Rebels’ final score of the game, answering a Warhawk touchdown and widening the gap to 70-14.

Saturday was the fifth straight game the Landshark defense had a multi-turnover game, the longest consecutive streak since 2014.

Ole Miss travels to Arkansas to continue SEC play next Saturday, Oct. 13, facing the Razorbacks at neutral-site War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The game will be televised on SEC Network beginning 6:30 p.m. CT.