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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Drop Homecoming Battle To Louisiana Tech
11/12/2011 | Football
Nov. 12, 2011
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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Senior Brandon Bolden scored his 33rd career touchdown and topped 100 all-purpose yards, but Ole Miss fell 27-7 to Louisiana Tech on homecoming in Oxford.
Chad Boyd and Javontay Crowe scored defensive touchdowns, and Matt Nelson added a pair of field goals for Louisiana Tech.
Boyd scooped up a mishandled backfield exchange and raced 33 yards for a third quarter touchdown while Crowe's 26-yard interception return in the fourth helped the Bulldogs erase a 7-0 deficit. Nelson added field goals of 43 and 35 yards.
The win was the fifth straight for Louisiana Tech (6-4), who defeated a Southeastern Conference team for the first time since beating Mississippi State 22-14 in 2008.
The Rebels (2-8), following Monday's announcement that fourth-year head coach Houston Nutt would not return next season, lost its fifth consecutive game.
Louisiana Tech led 10-7 at halftime, tying the game on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Colby Cameron to Taulib Ikharo and a 43-yard field goal by Nelson on the first half's final play.
After taking a 7-0 lead, the Ole Miss offense sputtered, finishing with 307 total yards.
Ole Miss scored on its second series, capping a 78-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown catch by Bolden from Randall Mackey.
Bolden finished the game with 112 all-purpose yards, gaining 46 rushing yards and 66 receiving yards.
Louisiana Tech regained control by halftime and used opportunistic plays from its defense in the second half to seal it. Boyd scored with 3:49 left in the third period and three series later, Crowe finished the scoring with 11:08 remaining.
Hunter Lee rushed for 127 yards on 24 carries as the Bulldogs rolled up 350 total yards. Cameron finished 13 of 27 for 180 yards while Quinton Patton and Ikaharo finished with three receptions apiece. Adrien Cole led the Louisiana Tech defense with 10 tackles, including two for loss.
Ole Miss kicker Bryson Rose, who had hit 17 consecutive field goals over a two-year period, missed from 36 and 52 yards. Rose was within one kick of tying the SEC record set by Tennessee's Fuad Reveiz in 1982.
