Ole Miss Routs Presbyterian 48-0

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics) – The No. 11 Ole Miss football team rushed for 402 yards and passed for another 238 as it cruised to a 48-0 victory over Presbyterian on a cool Saturday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Redshirt-freshman Jordan Wilkins rushed for a career-high 171 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown, and sophomore Mark Dodson logged a career-high 128 yards on just three carries, thanks to a pair of touchdown runs over 60 yards.

“It’s a happy locker room in there,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “Some of the joyous things that happened today are seeing kids like John Ratliff get a catch, who has spent years as a walk-on in this program. LaKedrick King broke up a pass on third down. It was a lot of fun to see our teammates be successful. It was quite rewarding.”

Ole Miss’ 640 total yards is its second-highest total in program history.

The Rebels’ 402 rushing yards were their most since 1979. It’s the first time Ole Miss has had a pair of 100-yard rushers since 2010.

Ole Miss posted its first shutout since 2012, and racked up a season-high 12 tackles for loss, including two sacks. Presbyterian gained just 67 yards through the air and 89 yards on the ground. The Rebels were especially stingy on third downs, holding the Blue Hose to a 2-for-12 conversion rate.

Senior quarterback Bo Wallace went 11-15 for 140 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for one touchdown. The Pulaski, Tennessee, native was taken out at halftime, and redshirt-freshmen Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade handled the second half.

Senior wide receiver Vince Sanders caught four passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Derrick Jones caught his first five career passes for 55 yards and his first touchdown, a 31-yard grab from Kincade.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior defensive end Carlos Thompson led the Rebels with a career-high seven tackles. Senior linebacker Serderius Bryant picked off the first pass of his career, extending Ole Miss’ nation-leading turnover streak to 33 games in the process and giving Ole Miss 19 interceptions this year, which also leads the country. Junior defensive end Channing Ward also caused a turnover, forcing his third fumble of the year, which ties him for the lead in the Southeastern Conference.

The Rebels scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and three more in the second quarter to take a 35-point lead into the halftime break. Three of Ole Miss’ five first-half touchdowns were off 60-plus-yard plays.

Ole Miss scored 13 more points in the second half off a Kincade touchdown pass and a career-long 73-yard touchdown run from Wilkins.

Ole Miss will now go into its final bye week of the season looking to get its health back. The Rebels close out the regular season with games at Arkansas (Nov. 22) and at home against No. 1 Mississippi State (Nov. 29).