Ole Miss’ 31-13 win over Southeast Missouri Saturday night wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but it got the job done, as the Rebels are now 2-0 on the year.
“It feels really good,” junior safety Cody Prewitt said. “We expected this of ourselves. There’s still a lot of things that we have to get fixed, but 2-0 feels really good right now.”
While he is right in saying the Rebels, who gave up 13 points and did not score in the second half, have a lot to fix, they are fixing them at 2-0.
With the win, the Rebels are where they hoped to be heading into the week of the Texas game. This is when the Rebels will get a free shot before they head into a four-game stretch that sees them go to Alabama and Auburn before hosting Texas A&M and LSU.
While there was a bit of joy in Oxford on Saturday night following a win, Texas was struggling in Provo, Utah. The Longhorns gave up over 600 yards of total offense, including over 500 on the ground to BYU.
The 2013 Rebels appear to have a different mindset entering the game, and they clearly are better equipped to face the Longhorns this season after dropping the contest 66-31 in Oxford last season.
“That’s not going to happen again,” junior cornerback Senquez Golson said while meeting with the media after the game Saturday night.
Back to the game from Saturday, junior quarterback Bo Wallace did not look his best and certainly not as crisp as his first performance of the season against Vanderbilt. He was 8-for-15 with 188 yards and two touchdown throws (his first two of the season). He came close, but for the second straight game, he did not throw an interception.
Wallace left the game in the second quarter, giving way to senior Barry Brunetti and eventually to senior Robert Ratliff.
Brunetti did not look his best through the air, but he was impressive on the ground as he rushed for 111 yards on 18 carries. Ratliff came in and completed three of his five attempts, with an interception.
Overall, after Wallace, the Rebels left a lot to be desired at quarterback. There were drives that got deep into Southeast Missouri territory, but a crucial pick and fumble by Ratliff and Brunetti, respectively, killed those drives.
While the offense could have left in some of the starters and named their score, it was the defense that was more of a concern.
A good bit of the starting defense was in on the two Redhawk touchdowns.
Freeze said after the game that he is still “figuring things out” in his secondary. With the Longhorns waiting in the wings this coming Saturday, the Rebels must figure things out quickly.
While the stale performance in the second half didn’t hurt Ole Miss on the scoreboard, it did concern Freeze.
“Just thought some of our twos and threes would play with more passion when we let them out there,” Freeze said.
Rebels enter top 25
After starting the year 2-0, Ole Miss jumped into the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 25.
The Rebels are one of seven teams ranked from the Southeastern Conference. Ole Miss’ next opponent, Texas, dropped out of the rankings after its loss to BYU.
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