The University of Mississippi Athletics
Wallace Leads Rebels in Romp
9/6/2014 | Football, Blog
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After a 28-point explosion in the fourth quarter to pull away from Boise State in the season opener, the Ole Miss offense delivered a message loud and clear in a 41-3 demolition of Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Ole Miss rolled up 34 first downs and 547 yards of total offense, averaging 6.2 yards per play and converting 10 of its 15 third-down attempts. The Rebels scored on seven of their first eight drives, with the one exception being their fifth drive that ended the first half.
"They gave us exactly what we thought," senior quarterback Bo Wallace said. "We had a good game plan, and guys were running wide open the whole night. Guys made some plays after the catch, and we put up some yards."
Wallace led the way with perhaps the most complete game of his Ole Miss career, completing 23-of-30 passes and shredding the Vanderbilt defense for 320 yards and a touchdown. It was his second straight 300-yard passing game, the ninth of his career, which is one shy of tying Eli Manning's school record.
Between the second half of the Boise State game and the first half of the Vanderbilt game, Wallace completed 31-of-39 passes for 488 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. The 488 yards would have shattered Archie Manning's school-record 436 yards against Alabama in 1969.
"He didn't make any bad decisions, or anything that was even close," co-offensive coordinator Dan Werner said.
With a 34-0 lead halfway through the third quarter, Wallace made way for redshirt freshmen Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade, who combined to lead the Rebels on a 13-play, 68-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Kincade, his first career touchdown.
"That was fun for me," said Wallace of watching the game from the sideline. "I was watching Ryan warm up and I was laughing at him because I could tell he was a little nervous. It was good. They did a really good job."
The quarterbacks completed passes to eight different receivers. Five receivers caught at least four passes, led by sophomore tight end Evan Engram with career highs in receptions (7) and yards (112) and junior wide receiver Cody Core who hauled in his third touchdown catch of the season.
The Rebels also got the running game off the ground, rushing for 180 yards on 50 carries, a 3.6 average, after being held to 71 yards in the season opener against Boise State.
"We have to continue it," said Wallace of the start of the season for the offense. "There are some things we have to clean up. The defense is doing a great job in getting us the ball where we can run some plays. There's always something to clean up, so we'll watch the film tomorrow, and I'm sure we won't feel as good about it as we do right now."
