Photo by Jared Burleson/The Daily Mississippian
It wasn’t the prettiest win, but Ole Miss (2-0) got the job done Saturday night with a 31-13 win over FCS foe Southeast Missouri (0-2). The Rebels first team offense was clicking all night, but was pulled from the game after establishing a 31-0 lead early.
“We’re happy to be 2-0, come out of the game healthy, and get a lot of kids in the game,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “Those kids give a lot of effort practicing and preparing, and some playing time is good.”
The Rebels started lighting up the scoreboard early. Senior kicker Andrew Ritter connected on a 37-yard field goal to give Ole Miss a 3-0 advantage. On the next drive, senior quarterback Barry Brunetti scampered into the end zone from four yards out to push the lead to 10-0.
The offense continued to roll after that and the first play of the next drive junior quarterback Bo Wallace found freshman tight end Evan Engram from 67 yards out to continue to pile on the points, but Wallace wasn’t done yet. Next time the Rebels touched the ball, Wallace found junior wide receiver Donte Moncrief for another 67-yard score.
Sophomore running back I’Tavius Mathers, who made his season debut after missing the first game with an ankle injury, capped off the Rebel scoring with a 10-yard scoring run to push the lead to 31-0.
The Rebels would give up two second-half touchdowns, which put somewhat of a negative thought on the night.
Offensively, Wallace led the way in the air going 8-for-15 for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Brunetti carried the load on the ground going for 111 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, but he had two fumbles on the night. As a whole, the offense went for 532 yards, while the defense was able to hold Southeast Missouri to just 252 total yards.
Also defensively, junior linebacker Serderius Bryant led the Rebels with 15 tackles.
Check out The Daily Mississippi Monday for complete game coverage of the Rebels’ 31-13 win over Southeast Missouri.
