Rebels Drop SEC Home Opener To Georgia

Sept. 24, 2011

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Ole Miss had two touchdowns negated by penalty and could not overcome a big Georgia first half in a 27-13 setback on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead by midway through the second quarter and took a 24-13 lead into halftime. Bulldogs' kicker Blair Walsh missed three field goals in the second half, but the Ole Miss offense could never capitalize.

The third play of the game saw running back Jeff Scott weave through the defense for a 66-yard score. However, a holding penalty nullified the play, and it wasn't long before Georgia took control of the contest.

Freshman Isaiah Crowell had several big gains on the ground early, and Andy Murray's 2-yard touchdown pass to Orson Charles gave the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead with 6:01 in the second quarter.

But the Rebels responded with a flurry. After a reverse handoff, Randall Mackey hit a wide-open Donte Moncrief for a 38-yard touchdown to pull within 17-7. Then Ole Miss immediately recovered an onside kick and the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium crowd of 58,042 had something to cheer about.

The momentum was short lived. Mackey threw an interception three plays later.

"Obviously 183 yards of offense isn't enough to win in this conference or any conference," Ole Miss offensive coordinator David Lee said. "We've got to improve on that. But I did think there was improvement. I thought our guys fought."

Both of the Rebels' touchdowns came after a reverse. Mackey threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Moncrief after taking a handoff from Scott. Nick Brassell scored on an 81-yard punt return after Scott caught the punt, ran across the field and handed off to Brassell.

Scott appeared to give the Rebels a second punt return for a score in the game's final minute, but the 67-yard TD return was called back on a blocking penalty.

The Rebels rotated Zack Stoudt and Mackey throughout the game. Stoudt completed just 7 of 23 passes for 71 yards and an interception. Mackey completed 3 of 7 passes for 78 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Murray completed 17 of 26 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Crowell rushed for 147 yards on 30 carries, helping the Bulldogs (2-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) grind to the road victory. Malcolm Mitchell caught three passes for 93 yards as the Bulldogs gained 475 total yards.

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