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Rapid Reaction: Ole Miss survives scare from scrappy Memphis team
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The Ole Miss Rebels let the visiting Memphis Tigers hang around well into the fourth quarter, but a faltering Rebels offense finally woke up and scored 17 fourth quarter points to help Ole Miss secure a 24-3 victory to improve to 4-0 in 2014.
The Rebels led 7-3 for most of the game before erupting in the fourth quarter, and it was a dominating Ole Miss defense that covered for the inconsistent offense, keeping Ole Miss in the game. The game featured a few bizarre plays, including six combined turnovers, 19 combined penalties (for a combined 230 yards), and Rebels kicker Gary Wunerlich’s ejection as part of a benches-clearing brawl in the first quarter.
Ole Miss now turns the page to a difficult stretch in its SEC West schedule, while Memphis will make the 70-mile drive back to campus with a 2-2 record, although both losses came against top 15 teams.
What it means: The moment all Ole Miss fans have been waiting for — ESPN’s College GameDay is coming to the Grove next week when the Alabama Crimson Tide come to town. Rebels fans have waited for years to host the popular college football pregame show, and they’ll have their wish granted next weekend in what would be the program’s biggest contest in recent history. Both teams will be ranked in the top 10 of next week’s polls, and plenty of power in the grueling SEC West will be at stake when the Rebels and Tide clash in Oxford. The win over Oxford showed just how dominant Ole Miss’ defense is, and just how inconsistent Bo Wallace and the Rebels offense can be. Nevertheless, Ole Miss will have a chance to record a statement win on a huge stage next week at home, and it would not have that opportunity had it not pulled away from Memphis Saturday night.
What I liked: The entire Ole Miss defense. The Rebels smothered the Memphis offense all game long, keeping the team afloat as the offense managed just 7 points through three quarters and change. Ole Miss held the Tigers to just 103 yards of total offense for the entire game, including just 22 yards rushing on 31 carries (an average of 0.7 yards per carry — that’s right, Memphis didn’t even average a yard per carry for the game). Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch completed just 13 of 31 passes, and the Tigers committed a pair of turnovers while possessing the ball for 13 fewer minutes than Ole Miss. The Rebels did not allow one inch without a punishing hit or spectacular play to break up a pass. Memphis appeared hopeless on offense at times, and was lucky to score three points for the game. I didn’t just like the Ole Miss defense, I loved its performance Saturday night. Trust me, Alabama watched this game on its bye week, and Nick Saban and company definitely took notice of the Rebels defense.
Who’s the man: It would be easy to name any individual member of the Ole Miss defense “the man” following a near-flawless performance, but this week’s nod goes to Rebels wideout Laquon Treadwell, who had his biggest game of the year in the win over Memphis. Treadwell, the Rebels No. 1 receiver, broke out to the tune of five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns, marking his second 100-yard game of the year. Treadwell had battled double teams in coverage all season, and other Ole Miss wideouts had been the beneficiaries of one-on-one coverage opposite the Rebels top receiver, but Treadwell got himself open for a few big plays to break the Tigers’ backs Saturday night. He caught a 63-yard touchdown pass from Wallace in the first quarter against a blown coverage on a play-action fake, and that touchdown would represent all of Ole Miss’ scoring until the fourth quarter. He also caught a 17-yard touchdown pass late in the game to ice the 21-point victory. It was easy to see how much more dynamic the offense looked with Treadwell in the equation, and he should be a major player on offense next week against Alabama.
Key Play: It’d be hard to choose just one key play from this game, but there certainly were a few bizarre plays worthy of mentions. The fight in the first quarter occurred after Memphis kick returner Joe Craig continued to run after the play had been blown dead, resulting in a punishing late hit from the Rebels’ Keith Lewis. Both teams took exception to the other’s actions, and soon enough punches were being thrown. Wunderlich was actually wrongfully ejected in the middle of the skirmish, but the fight itself set a physical tone that would be upheld for the rest of the game. Later in the game, officials ruled that an obvious forward pass from Wallace to wideout Cody Core was actually a backward pass and fumble, recovered by Memphis. Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze was penalized for arguing the call, and the penalty stood even after the original call was overturned, justifying Freeze’s gripe with the refs. The 15-yard penalty killed Ole Miss’ chances at a touchdown and forced the Rebels to settle for a field goal in what was still a one-possession game at the time. But perhaps the most bizarre play of the entire game came late in the first quarter, when the Rebels offense ran a legitimate, real-life fumblerooski, gaining 10-yards on the play. Ole Miss lined up in an amorphous formation, and after some peculiar shifting tailback Jaylen Walton picked a loose ball up off the ground and ran 10 yards for an Ole Miss first down. The play itself had little bearing on the result of the game, but it sure was cool to watch, and to Ole Miss’ credit the offense ran the play to perfection.
What’s next: Next up for Ole Miss is next week’s showdown with Alabama, which, once again, should likely be the host site for ESPN’s College GameDay. The game itself will be televised in CBS’ 3:30 PM ET time slot as the premier SEC showdown of the weekend, and a win for Ole Miss would immediately elevate it into the College Football Playoff discussion. Following Alabama the Rebels will take on another top 10 team in Texas A&M, meaning they’ll have little margin for error over the next two weeks.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
