Ole Miss receiver Ja-Mes Logan (85) out runs Idaho safety Desmond Banks (25) on a 65 yard touchdown during the third quarter of Saturday’s 59-14 win. (DM Photo/ Austin McAfee)
The Ole Miss Rebels easily defeated the Idaho Vandals 59-14 Saturday night for Homecoming.
Everyone expects to win their homecoming, and Saturday night Ole Miss did just that. The Rebels (5-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) dominated nonconference foe Idaho (1-7) the whole way through en route to a 59-14 win.
“It’s good to get a win tonight,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “The first half was a bit sloppy and undisciplined. The first six or seven minutes were really good, but the rest of the first half, we were going through the motions. I was disappointed at halftime, but I felt like we played a pretty solid second half. It was great to get everyone in and to come out injury-free.”
The Rebels jumped out to a big lead early and controlled the game the whole way through, as junior quarterback Bo Wallace found senior wide receiver Ja-Mes Logan from 37 yards out for a touchdown, sophomore running back Jaylen Walton ran 40 yards for a score and senior kicker Andrew Ritter knocked home a 50-yard field goal to give Ole Miss a quick 17-0 lead.
Idaho would add a touchdown in the second quarter, but Ole Miss would answer with another Walton touchdown run, this time from 1 yard out, to put the score at 24-7 heading into halftime.
A recharged Ole Miss team came out of the locker room in the second half and would light up the scoreboard for 35 second-half points while holding Idaho to just seven.
To start off, Wallace would find Logan again for their second touchdown connection of the night, this one coming on a 65-yard pass. Then, the defense would strike with a 12-yard fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by senior defensive back Dehendret Collins.
For the second week in a row, sophomore running back I’Tavius Mathers made a big impact in the game. Mathers, who totaled 138 yards, had a 64-yard touchdown run late in the third, and then fellow running back Dodson would make his mark with a 30-yard touchdown reception, which was his first catch and touchdown in an Ole Miss uniform. Walton also added 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior wideout Collins Moore would cap the scoring for the Rebels with a 35-yard touchdown grab on a pass from senior quarterback Barry Brunetti, which pushed the lead to 59-14.
The Ole Miss offense was rolling all night, racking up 572 total yards on offense, 292 on the ground and 280 in the air.
“We did get a little sloppy there,” offensive coordinator Dan Werner said. “We talked to our guys all week long; coach has been on us and on them about making sure we take care of the little things. We want to get better each week, and during the second quarter, we probably didn’t get much better, but I was proud in the second half we came out and played well.”
The Rebels now enter a bye week, and Freeze believes it is perfect timing to get some time to rest.
“We need it desperately,” Freeze said of the bye. “We played without seven starters again tonight, and if you count C.J. (Johnson) and Aaron (Morris), it’s even more than that. We’ve played without some key people, and this bye comes at a really good time for us to get them healthy for the remaining games.”
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