Final from Oxford: Ole Miss 47 South Alabama 27

[jbcarol]

Parrish Alford‏ @parrishalford

#OleMiss-South Alabama predictions post is up and running. http://www.djournal.com/sports/ole-miss-south-alabama-predictions-anyone/article_c8ec9606-f877-5983-a896-7e6241e9534e.html ... @DJournalnow

Will the Rebels hit Xavier Johnson, South Alabama's preseason All-Sun Belt Conference running back? He ran for 831 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago and most certainly would have been a handful then for an Ole Miss defense that gave up just south of 250 rushing yards a game.

Will the Rebels be better overall defensively but specifically against the run? If they can improve their run defense other areas will follow.

It doesn't generate great excitement to see a redshirt freshman starting at middle linebacker, but coaches have praised Donta Evans. He's not only making his first college start, he's playing in his first college game. We'll see how that goes.

Middle linebacker was a revolving door last season before the spot was finally manned by Rommel Mageo for the last four games.

Nobody the Rebels put in that spot was much better than average, including Detric Bing-Dukes, who is suspended for this game. His absence has created a great opportunity for Evans. It will be a great boost for Ole Miss if Evans can seize the day.

Carpe Diem as they say...

In the end the Rebels will get it done on offense.

Prediction: Ole Miss 31, South Alabama 24

[jbcarol]

USA 3  Ole Miss 10  7:35  2nd


19 play, 95 yard drive leads to Jaguar FG

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Gary Wunderlich made his 18th consecutive FG earlier

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USA 10  Ole Miss 10  3:00 2nd

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Earlier:

Antonio Morales‏Verified account @AntonioCMorales 14m14 minutes ago

Wilkins fumbles, South Alabama recovers at the 40.

Wesley McGriff mentioned Jamarius Way as someone Ole Miss account for Monday. Way just beat Jalen Julius for a TD to tie the game at 10.

[jbcarol]

USA 10  Ole Miss 13  Halftime

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Matt Luke: We've just got to score points when we get it in the red zone and not turn it over.

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USA 13  Ole Miss 26  5:11 3rd

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USA 13  Ole Miss 33  4:48 3rd

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USA 13  Ole Miss 40  2:24 3rd

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 Antonio Morales‏Verified account @AntonioCMorales 7m7 minutes ago

Four true freshmen on the field for Ole Miss' defense to start the fourth.

[jbcarol]

 Antonio Morales‏Verified account @AntonioCMorales 39s40 seconds ago

A 44-yard gain by A.J. Brown puts him at eight catches for 233 yards.

[jbcarol]

USA 13  Ole Miss 47  9:00 4th

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USA 20  Ole Miss 47  8:42 4th

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USA 27  Ole Miss 47  2:00 4th

[jbcarol]

Final from Vaught Hemingway

USA 27  Ole Miss 47

[jbcarol]

Creg Stephenson‏Verified account @CregStephenson

Game story: Explosive Ole Miss pulls away from South Alabama for 47-27 victory |

South Alabama had no answer for Ole Miss' passing game on Saturday night, and thus couldn't pull off a second straight season-opening stunner over an SEC opponent.

Shea Patterson threw for 429 yards and four touchdowns -- including three in the third quarter -- as the Rebels pulled away from the Jaguars 47-27 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels outscored the Jaguars 27-3 in the third after leading just 13-10 at halftime.

Patterson -- who went 28-for-35 passing in the game -- connected on scoring passes of 71 and 77 yards in the early moments of the third quarter as Ole Miss pulled away. South Alabama -- which beat Mississippi State 21-20 to open last season --

[jbcarol]

Antonio Morales‏Verified account @AntonioCMorales

.@HkellenbergerCL and I share our thoughts on a variety of topics in our Ole Miss/South Alabama exit survey

A.J. Brown's first touchdown was cool. He adjusted his route to find the space between the linebacker and the high safety, and Shea Patterson made one of his better throws of the night. Touchdown. But the second touchdown was really special — when Patterson starts scrambling, Brown is in the middle of the field at the 30 (about six yards from the line of scrimmage). Brown catches the ball — yanking it from the defensive back who probably thought he had a pick, by the way — at the numbers just past the 50.

There's a reason why it still rankles a lot of Mississippi State fans that Brown, who is from Starkville, is the one that got away from town, and to Ole Miss, no less. He's a really terrific wide receiver, and we saw evidence of that against South Alabama.

...A.J. Brown was the dragon and South Alabama's secondary was like the Lannister Army. The third quarter is when he burned it all down.

The first touchdown showed off his speed. The second one gave us a look at his strength. The combination is why he's such a dangerous threat in the passing game, one of many in Ole Miss' stable.


...It's a nonconference game that was decided in the third quarter. We'll move on. But I will take this opportunity to mention that Ole Miss averaged 3.5 yards per carry on Saturday and its leading rusher gained 34 yards. That's a problem not solved, and we could very well be talking about it again next offseason.