GAMER: Ole Miss puts up 510 yards of offense, rout Central Arkansas

OLE MISS ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS | Ole Miss grabbed the lead from the jump and never looked back in a dominant 59-3 victory over Central Arkansas at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday night.

The Rebels played well in all three facets of the game with seven touchdowns on offense, as well as one on special teams, while forcing four turnovers.

Luke Altmyer led the Rebels to a dominant first half in his first career start at quarterback. He finished with 90 yards and two touchdowns on 6-of-13 passing.

After starting last weekend, Jaxson Dart entered for the final drive of the second quarter, ending the game with 182 yards and two touchdowns on 10-for-15 passing.

The running game had another strong performance.

Ole Miss had 229 total rushing yards, and Quinshon Judkins led the group with 104 yards on 10 attempts, his first 100-yard rushing game as a Rebel.

Zach Evans rushed for 53 yards and scored a touchdown. Jonathan Mingo had a stellar performance, grabbing three receptions for 103 yards, while Michael Trigg had three touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, four players accumulated five total tackles. Ladarius Tennison made three tackles, including two solo tackles, a sack and a touchdown. Defensive backs Isheem Young and Dashaun Jerkins each intercepted a pass.

After winning the coin toss and taking the kickoff, Altmyer immediately took a shot down the sideline to Mingo for a 36-yard gain.

Ole Miss ran the ball four straight times before Altmyer punched the first score of the game with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Trigg. The Rebels took the early 7-0 lead once Jonathan Cruz kicked the PAT.

The Rebel defense stopped Central Arkansas’ offense on its first drive and forced a punt. The Bears’ fumbled the snap, which was picked off the ground by Tennison and taken to the end zone.

Central Arkansas was unable to get anything going on offense on the ensuing drive, and Ole Miss blocked a punt to regain the ball on the UCA’s 4-yard line.

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It took two plays for Altmyer and Trigg to connect on their second touchdown of the night.

Following a Bears’ three-and-out, Ole Miss would score once more before the end of the first quarter.

This time, Altmyer used his legs to cross the goal line. He put the offense in position to score with a 26-yard pass to Malik Heath down the middle of the field on a 1st-and-24. The scoring settled down in the second quarter as Cruz’s field goal were the only points of the frame.

Ole Miss had a chance at more when Judkins broke for a 34-yard run to Central Arkansas’ 12-yard line., however, the team turned the ball over on downs at the four-yard line.

The Bears grabbed an interception with under two minutes left in the half but gave it right back to Rebels’ Young in the endzone on fourth down looking to scratch the scoreboard.

Ole Miss went into the half leading 31-0.

Ole Miss ramped it back up to start the second half.

The defense forced a three-and-out, giving the ball to the Rebel offense. On the second play of the drive, Dart launched a 51-yard bomb to Mingo with an incredible catch over the Bears’ cornerback. Two plays later, Zach Evans bulldozed his way into the endzone.

On the very next drive, Dart found Dayton Wade behind the defense for a 39-yard reception. The next play, he located Trigg open to the left for six, extending the Rebel lead to 45 after the Cruz extra point. Trigg became just the 11th Rebel to score three touchdowns in a single game.

The Rebels’ offense continued to command the game.

Ole Miss crossed the goal line one more time before the third quarter finished, but n the fourth, Central Arkansas marched down the field, cutting a big chunk of the field by throwing it deep for 36 yards.

However, the Bears settled for a field to get on the board, down 52-3.

As the game was nearing its end, UCA fumbled on a punt return and Ole Miss recovered it inside the 10. Ulysses Bentley IV put the cherry on top with an 11-yard rushing touchdown.

Up next, the Rebels hit the road for the first time of the 2022 season at Georgia Tech next Saturday (Sept. 17) at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.