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Rapid reaction: Record-setting game from Matt Corral, Elijah Moore lead Ole Miss to bounce back win at Vanderbilt
By Keith Farner
Published:
It was a record-setting game for Ole Miss in Nashville as Matt Corral and Elijah Moore combined for big numbers for the Rebels in a blowout 54-21 win over Vanderbilt to snap a 3-game losing streak.
Corral began the game with a record-setting 19 straight pass completions, and he snapped Eli Manning’s school record, which was 18, with more than 3 minutes left in the first half. But after a near touchdown fell incomplete to Moore, they completed another pass for a 28-yard touchdown.
Ole Miss, which had more than 640 yards of offense, improved to 2-4, while Vanderbilt fell to 0-4.
Moore had a huge game in the first half with 11 catches for 218 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, including scores of 36, 1 and 28 yards. That was a big reason why Ole Miss averaged 9 yards per play in the first half and piled up 413 total yards. Corral was 22-for-25 passing in the first half alone for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns.
For the game, Moore eclipsed the school record set by A.J. Brown by five yards with 238 receiving yards on 14 catches and 3 touchdowns on 15 targets.
Elijah Moore has 215 yards receiving in the 1st half.
The SEC record for a game is 303. pic.twitter.com/vI3KLhLyri
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 31, 2020
Brown sent an appreciation tweet to Moore after he broke the record.
Young bull broke my record. Keep going !Love you boy! 🖤 https://t.co/kkcbWwas5u
— AJ Brown (@Brown1arthur) October 31, 2020
Vanderbilt QB Ken Seals wasn’t too bad himself as he started 8-for-8 passing including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Ben Bresnahan. The Commodores offense, though, was held to just 36 rushing yards as Seals did most of the damage with 158 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. Coach Derek Mason said earlier in the week that Seals had more offensive players back to work on timing.
Entering Saturday, Seals has more interceptions (4) than touchdown passes (3) and had thrown for just 411 yards this season. Against Ole Miss, the Commodores produced a solid first half, at least offensively, which delivered more than the 8.7 points a game they’ve averaged through the first 3 games.
But while the first half was a solid outing by Seals, the second half was a different story. The Commodores were held scoreless in the third quarter, and Seals then threw an interception early in the fourth quarter as Vanderbilt trailed by 40 points.
Still, Seals 240 passing yards reached with about 6:30 left in the game was the most ever in a single game by a true freshman at Vanderbilt. He passed up Kyle Shurmur.
Ole Miss QB John Rhys Plumlee made his first touchdown pass of the season with a 37-yard pass to Braylon Sanders late in the third quarter as Ole Miss topped the 50-mark.
Vanderbilt returned to action for their first game in three weeks following a COVID-19 outbreak in the program.
The winless Commodores were the first SEC team to fall below the 53 scholarship players required to play a game when on Oct. 12 and their game against Missouri was postponed. Vanderbilt then had an open date allowing more time for players to heal up and clear protocols allowing them to return.
The matchup was a juicy one on paper for Corral and the Ole Miss offense.
The Rebels entered Saturday ninth in the nation averaging 521 yards total offense and 32nd in scoring, averaging 34.8 points a game. Corral was ninth nationally with 12 touchdown passes. He’s also averaging 338.4 yards of total offense, which is 12th in the country.
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is giving up 211 yards a game rushing, and Mason said earlier in the week that it’s difficult to prepare for the speed of the Ole Miss offense.
Ole Miss also proved it could move on from the controversial ending to the Auburn loss last week. There was questionable officiating call that was never officially reviewed, and it cost the Rebels a touchdown. The SEC fined Kiffin $25,000 for retweeting a fan’s post calling the officiating “a disgrace,” but the league also said it should have been reviewed.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
