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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Roll Over Northwestern State 27-7
11/4/2006 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown Saturday as Ole Miss snapped a three-game losing streak with a 27-7 win over Northwestern State.
Ole Miss (3-7) rolled up 401 yards in total offense, with Green-Ellis and backup Bruce Hall accounting for 201 on the ground.
Brent Schaeffer completed 13 of 23 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown as the Rebels matched last season's total for wins. The Rebels snapped an early 7-7 tie by grinding down Division I-AA Northwestern State (4-5) over the final three periods.
The Demons, winless in 14 games against SEC teams, finished 0-3 this season against Division I-A teams.
The clubs swapped touchdowns on the opening series. Green-Ellis scored on a 6-yard run to give the Rebels a 7-0 edge. Northwestern State answered with its best series. The Demons covered 85 yards in five plays, tying the score on a 4-yard pass from Roch Charpentier to Dudley Guice.
Ole Miss led 17-7 at halftime after Joshua Shene connected on a career-best 52-yard field goal and Hall scored on a 22-yard run. Schaeffer was 3-for-3 for 43 yards on the touchdown drive, including a fourth-down conversion on a 6-yard pass to Mike Wallace.
The Rebels put it away with consecutive scoring drives to open the second half. Shene had a 23-yard field goal, followed by a 35-yard touchdown pass from Schaeffer to Wallace.
Ole Miss limited Northwestern State to 72 yards and four first downs in the second half. Byron Lawrence finished with 82 yards on 10 carries, but the Demons managed only 91 passing yards and never seriously threatened after the first quarter.
GAME NOTES
The 20-point margin of victory matched Ole Miss’ greatest under head coach Ed Orgeron, as the Rebels defeated the Citadel 27-7 last year.
Sophomore Mico McSwain earned his first start of the year and the first of his career at wide receiver.
Ole Miss’ 401 yards of total offense was its most under head coach Ed Orgeron ... The previous high was 400 at Vanderbilt in 2005.
Junior RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis posted his fourth 100-yard rushing effort of the season with 116 on 14 carries and a TD ... Green-Ellis led Ole Miss in rushing and has done so in all 10 games this season ... He now has 866 yards on the season and is on pace to become Ole Miss’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Deuce McAllister recorded 1,082 yards on 212 carries during the 1998 season.
Junior RB Bruce Hall scored his first TD as a Rebel on a 22-yard run in the second quarter ... Hall later broke off a career-long 30-yard jaunt ... He finished with a career-best 85 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
QB Brent Schaeffer and WR Mike Wallace hooked up on a 35-yard TD in the third quarter ... It marked the second, long toss-and-catch score for Schaeffer and Wallace, as the two connected on a 55-yard TD bomb at
Sophomore WR Mike Wallace established a career-high for receptions with six grabs for 80 yards and the touchdown ... Wallace has recorded at least one catch in nine straight games.
The Ole Miss defense allowed a season-low seven points ... It marks the fourth time in head coach Ed Orgeron’s two years with the Rebels that an opponent was limited to seven points or less.
Senior LB Patrick Willis led the Rebel defense with 11 tackles (seven solo) ... Willis has now recorded 10 or more tackles in 16 of his last 18 games.
Sophomore DL Peria Jerry returned to the Rebel lineup after missing the last two games ... Jerry finished with five stops.
In his second start at linebacker, sophomore Jamarca Sanford registered seven tackles, with 0.5 sacks and a pass break-up.
Freshman K Joshua Shene connected on a career-long 52-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter ... It tied as the sixth-longest FG in Ole Miss history and the longest since Jonathan Nichols drilled a 54-yarder against Vanderbilt in 2003 ... It marked Shene’s second-longest attempt of the year, as he missed a 53-yarder vs. Georgia ... Shene has made nine straight FGs since that miss, including a 23-yard try in the third quarter, and is now 10-of-12 on the season.
