OXFORD, Miss. — South Alabama trailed Ole Miss by only three points at halftime of Saturday’s season opener, but the Rebels scored 27 points in the third quarter on the way to a 47-27 win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson completed 28 of 35 passes for 429 yards and four touchdowns, and receiver A.J. Brown finished with 233 receiving yards, an Ole Miss single-game record.
Jaguars Hang Close in First Half
Ole Miss gained 136 yards in the first quarter and scored on each of its first two possessions. Patterson threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to DaMarkus Lodge about four minutes into the game, and a 19-yard field goal made it 10-0 with 6:37 left in the opening quarter.
Xavier Johnson stepped out of bounds at the South Alabama 2 on the ensuing kickoff, and the Jaguars responded with a 19-play, 95-yard drive. The drive stalled short of the end zone, and Gavin Patterson kicked a field goal.
On Ole Miss’ next possession, South Alabama forced a fumble that Zach Befort recovered at the Rebels’ 40. Three plays later, quarterback Cole Garvin hit Jamarius Way for a 30-yard touchdown that tied the game 10-10 with 5:09 left in the half.
Ole Miss drove into the red zone before halftime, but Tobias Moss broke up a third-down pass and the Rebels settled for a 29-yard field goal and a 13-10 halftime lead.
Third-Quarter Surge
On the second play of the second half, Shea Patterson connected with Brown on a post route near midfield, and Brown went 71 yards for a touchdown after safety Nigel Lawrence was unable to bring him down. The extra point was missed, leaving Ole Miss ahead 19-10 at the 14:27 mark.
South Alabama gained six yards on its next possession. Patterson then rolled right under pressure and threw toward Brown, who came back in front of the defenders to make the catch, broke tackles and ran down the right sideline for a 76-yard touchdown and a 26-10 lead.
“If you look at the game, probably those two big plays in the passing game were the difference in the game,” South Alabama’s defensive coordinator said. “We took away some of their early reads, but when he scrambled, we didn’t do a good enough job of getting off the field. That’s really what the game came down to.”
Runs by Johnson and Tra Minter moved South Alabama to the Ole Miss 4, and the Jaguars kicked a 20-yard field goal to make it 26-13. Corliss Waitman’s ensuing kickoff landed short of the end zone, and Jaylon Jones returned it 97 yards for a touchdown and a 33-13 lead.
On the Rebels’ next drive, Patterson completed passes of 12, 7 and 14 yards to Lodge, the last for a touchdown and a 40-13 lead.
Fourth Quarter
Ole Miss scored its final touchdown early in the fourth quarter to go ahead 47-13. South Alabama then added two touchdowns, largely on the ground behind Deonta Moore, Minter and Denzel Foster, to set the final score.
By the Numbers
Ole Miss outgained South Alabama 531-374 in total offense. The Jaguars had the edge on the ground, rushing for 170 yards to the Rebels’ 102 and averaging 4.6 yards per carry to Ole Miss’ 3.5.
Garvin completed 19 of 31 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown and threw to 10 different receivers. The only turnover of the game was the first-half fumble recovered by South Alabama.
Up Next: Oklahoma State
South Alabama has a short week before its home opener. The Jaguars host Oklahoma State on Friday, Sept. 8, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
