Laquon Treadwell catches a touchdown pass during the first half of Saturdays 51-21 win over Troy. Photo: Katie Williamson, The Daily Mississippian
An offensive explosion of 751 total yards and four touchdowns from junior quarterback Bo Wallace propelled Ole Miss (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) to a 51-21 win over Troy (5-6, 3-3 Sun Belt). The 751-yard total set a new school record and is the highest in the Southeastern Conference this season.
“I’m excited about how our kids performed,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “We executed fairly well. We had a couple of explosive plays we gave up early and a few too many penalties, but we settled in after that and played really well. It’s always exciting to see those young kids get in. They deserve to play, and we are glad we were able to do that.”
The Rebels controlled the game the whole way through and were able to practically do what they wanted on the offensive side of the ball. Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead when Wallace hit freshman receiver Laquon Treadwell from 25 yards out, their first touchdown connection of the day. Troy would answer quickly on a three-play drive that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown run, but from then on, it was all Ole Miss.
The Rebels would add two more scores in the first quarter, the first a 4-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Jaylen Walton then followed up by a 23-yard touchdown pass from Wallace to Treadwell. Treadwell finished the day with four catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns but also set Ole Miss freshman records for receiving yards in a season with 477 and touchdown receptions in a season with five.
“He’s so physical,” Ole Miss offensive coordinator Dan Werner said of Treadwell. “He reminds me of a young Michael Irvin. That’s how Michael played. Michael wasn’t a huge burner, but he knew how to get open and had very strong hands. When he caught the ball, he’d out-physical you, and that’s what Laquon does.”
Wallace would scamper into the end zone from 29 yards out for the only score of the second quarter and the teams would head to the locker room with the Rebels leading 27-7.
Ole Miss would then tack on another 17 points in the third quarter, highlighted by a 43-yard score by Walton on a pass from senior quarterback Barry Brunetti and a 24-yard connection from Wallace to freshman wideout Quincy Adeboyejo. It was Adeboyejo’s first touchdown as a Rebel.
Wallace finished the day 17 of 26 through the air for 272 yards and three touchdowns and also added 66 yards on the ground on nine carries with a touchdown.
“Efficient is probably the best word,” Werner said of Wallace’s day. “He made some really good throws. I didn’t see any decisions that were even close to being intercepted or anything, and that’s the big thing that we’re working on. So I was happy with him.”
Troy would get into the end zone twice in the fourth quarter on runs of two and 1 yard, but Ole Miss would continue to put up points with freshman running back Mark Dodson capping the Rebel scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Although the Ole Miss offense received most of the attention, the Rebel defense also played a solid game. Troy was held to -13 yards rushing on the day and explosive quarterback Corey Robinson was held to only 258 passing yards and no touchdowns.
“I thought our guys played really exceptional,” Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said, “from the first series of the game until we put some young guys in.”
Ole Miss will cap its six-game home stand on Saturday when it hosts SEC East-leading and eighth-ranked Missouri at 6:45 p.m.
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— Matt Sigler
mcsigler@go.olemiss.edu
