Oct 1, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) drops back in the pocket during the fourth quarter of the game against the Memphis Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi won 48-28. Photo Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Even though Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze had downplayed revenge as a factor in Saturday night’s game against Memphis, the Rebels relished the beating they gave the Tigers on Homecoming Night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss.
Chad Kelly threw a touchdown pass for the 18th straight game and won the quarterback duel with Memphis’ Riley Ferguson as the No. 16 Rebels (3-2) danced their way to a 48-28 win.
“Really, really happy to get this one over with,” Freeze told reporters after the game. “They’re a very dangerous football team, and they’re going to win a lot of football games.”
Kelly and running back Eugene Brazley made sure the Tigers (3-1) didn’t win this game.
Kelly completed 30 of 44 passes for 361 yards. His 12-yard strike to tight end Evan Engram late in the third quarter put a halt to any thought Memphis had of coming back from a 20-point deficit and pulling off an upset.
And upset was definitely on the minds of both the Tigers and the Rebels. Last season, Memphis defeated Ole Miss 37-24 and ended the Rebels’ hope of reaching the College Football Playoff.
Fast forward to Saturday and the Rebels made sure history would not repeat.
“I give credit to our kids. We had a very emotional September,” Freeze said, referring to three games Ole Miss had against top-12 teams. Two of those games were losses to Alabama and Florida State. The Rebels did beat Georgia.
Brazley rushed 13 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns. His six-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter extended the Ole Miss lead to 41-21 early in the fourth quarter.
“We worked really hard on a plan to rush the ball against these guys,” Freeze said.
The hard work paid off when Brazley added the exclamation point with a 32-yard run midway through the fourth quarter, and the Rebels had their revenge.
“Yeah, it wasn’t just me,” Brazley said. “It was all the offense — the O-Line, the coaches had a good game plan, we practiced all weekend and through the week. We planned this, so we won the game during the week, not just on Saturday.”
Ole Miss dominated the first half with Kelly and backup quarterback Jason Pellerin carving up the Tigers defense.
First it was Kelly who began a 13-play scoring drive. He completed five passes and ran for another eight yards before giving way to Pellerin on the Memphis 16-yard line. Three plays later, the Tigers struck first on Pellerin’s 1-yard plunge.
Ferguson, who was coming off a Heismanesque performance in a 77-3 win against Bowling Green, found the going a much different against the vaunted “Landshark defense.” Versus the Falcons, he threw for 209 yards and four touchdowns — in the first quarter.
The only touchdown he threw in the entire game Saturday was when he was intercepted by Zedrick Woods and returned 31 yards to put the Rebels up, 14-0.
Memphis coach Mike Norvell lamented his team’s many errors.
“We turned the ball over. We had some communications issues. We committed penalties, missed tackles,” he said.
The Tigers did show quick-strike ability when Anthony Miller scampered around right end from 7 yards out to cap a four-play, 62-yard drive on the first play of the second quarter to make the score 14-7.
Miller was Ferguson’s favorite target. Miller caught 10 passes for 132 yards. It was his fifth career 100-yard receiving game and his second this season.
“Anthony had 10 catches for 130 yards, but we still had some missed opportunities out there,” Norvell said. “We battled. There wasn’t anything to do with effort, just some little things we’ve get cleaned up.”
Trailing 27-7 early in the third, Ferguson got the Tigers rolling and took momentum after he led them on a 13-play, 99-yard scoring drive that was highlighted by a successful fake punt and a key pass interference penalty.
Ole Miss needed someone to step up and make a big play. Kelly was just the man. The senior led the Rebels on a seven-play, 65-yard drive completing four passes, the final one to Engram to put Ole Miss back in control.
Kelly’s streak of 18 straight games with a touchdown pass is second only behind Clemson’s DeShaun Watson. Ironically, Kelly started his college career at Clemson and appeared in five games for the Tigers before being dismissed from the team.
Memphis, which had given up only 27 points all season, gave up 24 in the first half.
NOTES: Ole Miss is the only school in the country to have faced three top-15 opponents in the first four weeks of the season. … Chad Kelly tied Bo Wallace’s school record with his 11th career 300-yard passing game. … After Saturday’s win, the Rebels lead the series with Memphis, 49-11-2. … With the victory over Bowling Green last week, Mike Norvell became the only first-year head coach in Memphis football history to win his first three games. … Heading into Saturday’s game, Ole Miss’s Evan Engram led all tight ends in the nation with 26 catches and 397 receiving yards. On Saturday, he added four receptions and 82 yards to those totals. … If it’s Homecoming, Rebel fans are almost assured of being happy. Ole Miss has now won 18 of the last 20 homecoming games.
