Quarterback Chad Kelly didn’t play like himself against Florida State. While the senior quarterback threw for 313 yards and four touchdowns, he also threw three interceptions and fumbled once, in addition to only completing 53.8 percent of his passes. Against Wofford, Kelly was able to bounce back and look like the quarterback who was voted first team All-SEC by the opposing SEC coaches in route to the 38-13 victory.
“It was huge. To play decent, to get a big win against a team like Wofford is good,” Kelly said. “I mean, it’s the first win of the season so we just have to keep the ball rolling, keep playing well and it comes down to execution.”
Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly throws a pass during Saturday’s win against Wofford. (Photo by: Evan Turner)
Kelly threw for three touchdowns and 219 yards in the game and was able to cut down on his turnovers, not throwing any interceptions or fumbling.
“I thought that (Kelly) was good,” Head Coach Hugh Freeze said. “He threw it well. He was 20-of-27. That is a pretty solid day for him. I thought that was important. He needs to get back to the way he played the last seven games and I thought he did that today.”
One of the problems with the offense in the first game was the lack of balance. The Rebels are definitely better at passing the ball, but they relied too much on their air attack and didn’t call enough runs to keep the defense honest. As a result, the Rebels’ passing game suffered late. This week, Offensive Coordinator Dan Werner made sure that would not be an issue again.
“This game, I called more (runs). I saw the stats we were averaging like five yards a carry,” Werner said. “There were some where we got stuffed but you know those guys run a run stopping type of defense. The fact that we did get a bunch of yards, we’re pretty good with it today. We could’ve thrown it a lot more, but we really said we wanted to hand the ball off and see what we got.”
With the newfound balance, Kelly and backup quarterback Jason Pellerin spread the ball around well, with nine players catching passes on the day. Junior Markell Pack lead the group with three catches for 46 yards and a touchdown, with A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf and Quincy Adeboyejo also catching touchdowns.
After only having five days to prepare for Wofford, Ole Miss now has a full week to get ready for their week three matchup. However, the stakes are even higher this week as top ranked Alabama is traveling to Oxford, and the Rebels are looking for their third consecutive upset against the Crimson Tide.
“I mean they’re a good team. They’re number one for a reason,” Kelly said. “They’re always good. They recruit good, they have good coaches, they have good players. We’re just going to have to make sure it comes down to execution. At least we’ll have the home crowd on our side this week.”
