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Rebels Fall As Vanderbilt Rallies In Second Half
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss
sophomore quarterback Bo Wallace passed for a career-high 403 yards,
and junior wide receiver Ja-Mes Logan had eight receptions for 160
yards – both career highs – but the Rebels (5-5, 2-4 Southeastern
Conference) couldn’t hold on and fell to Vanderbilt (6-4, 4-3 SEC)
27-26 on Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The Rebels were attempting to win their sixth game of the season and
become bowl eligible for the first time since 2009, but couldn’t hold
on to the lead in the second half.
“Obviously we’re very disappointed and hurting in that locker room
right now,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “Those seniors,
especially, who are helping us start the foundation here. There’s just
a lot of hurt and disappointment right now. Certainly this is a tough
profession, and it’s really tough when you see kids that you care about
hurt, and their coaches and families. The bottom line is they scored
touchdowns and we scored field goals, and they’re a good football team.
They didn’t quit. They didn’t panic. I give them credit. We’ve got to
score touchdowns when we get in the red zone, and we just didn’t.”
Defensively, the Rebels were led by sophomore defensive back Cody
Prewitt, who had a team-high seven tackles, and two tackles for losses.
Mike Marry and Denzel Nkemdiche each had six tackles for the Rebels.
Ole Miss recovered a fumble on the second play of the game, and
converted on the turnover seven plays later with a nine-yard touchdown
pass from Wallace to Vince Sanders in the back left corner of the end
zone. Sanders finished the game with five receptions for a career-high
96 yards.
Senior kicker Bryson Rose was a busy man in the second quarter,
knocking in three field goals of 22, 28 and 41 yards. Rose’s three
field goals moved him up to fourth on the Rebels’ career field goals
made list, and third in career points scored by a kicker.
The Rebels opened the second half strong, scoring on the opening drive
with a nine-play, 56-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by
Wallace, his sixth rushing touchdown of the season. The touchdown gave
Ole Miss a 23-6 lead.
Vanderbilt scored 14-unanswered points in the third quarter to cut the
Rebels lead to three points. A Rose field goal with 5:28 remaining, his
fourth of the game, gave Ole Miss a 26-20 lead. Vanderbilt then won the
game with a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jordan Rodgers to
Chris Boyd with 1:51 remaining on the clock.
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