No. 22 Memphis Stops No. 12 Ole Miss, 37-24

Oct. 17, 2015

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Junior wide receiver Laquon Treadwell had a school record 14 catches for a career-high 144 yards, but No. 12 Ole Miss fell to No. 22 Memphis 37-24 Saturday afternoon at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. After the Rebels (5-2) scored the game's first 14 points, the Tigers (6-0) recorded 31 unanswered points en route to the game's final tally.

Treadwell caught a touchdown pass and also threw for one, a 68-yarder to Quincy Adeboyejo on the second play of the game. Junior quarterback Chad Kelly was 33-of-47 for 372 yards and two touchdowns. The two combined to set a school record with 440 passing yards on the day.

Kelly got off to a hot start, going 7-for-7 for 100 yards and one touchdown on the first two drives. The Buffalo, New York native threw for over 300 yards for the fifth time this season, passing Eli Manning and Bo Wallace for the most 300+ yard games in a single season in school history.

Behind Treadwell, Cody Core caught six passes for 83 yards. Adeboyejo and Damore'ea Stringfellow had one touchdown catch apiece, while ending the game with receiving yards of 94 and 72, respectively.

On defense, senior Mike Hilton led Ole Miss with a team-high 11 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one interception.

Memphis was paced by quarterback Paxton Lynch, who threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns. The Tigers recorded 491 total yards of offense and were able to keep drives alive by going 12-for-20 on third down.

Ole Miss used a little trickery on the second play of the game to take an early lead. After a Kelly 7-yard pass to Treadwell on the opening play, the quarterback found this leading receiver again. However, the ball was thrown behind the line of scrimmage, allowing Treadwell to find a wide open Adeboyejo down the sideline. The speedy slot receiver sprinted into the end zone untouched on the 68-yard double pass; just 20 seconds into the contest, the Rebels claimed a touchdown advantage.

After the Lankshark defense forced a Memphis punt, Kelly and the offense drove down the field quickly once again. Ole Miss drove 90 yards in eight plays, creating positive yardage on every play besides a five-yard penalty. On the scoring drive, Kelly went a perfect 6-for-6 for 93 yards through the air, capped off by a 23-yard touchdown toss to Stringfellow. With 9:44 remaining in the opening quarter, the scoreboard read 14-0 in favor of Ole Miss.

Memphis answered with 24 straight points, including 17 in the second quarter, to take a 24-14 lead into the locker room. A dropped pass led to an interception and a turnover on downs led to a pair of Memphis touchdowns. The Tigers scored 17 points in the final four minutes of the first half to make it a 10-point game at the break.

Ole Miss had 270 total yards of offense in the first half, compared to 248 yards for Memphis. Kelly was 17-of-22 passing for 180 yards. Treadwell was his favorite receiver as the duo hooked up seven times for 72 yards. Cody Core added five receptions for 55 yards as well. Penalties proved to be costly in the first half as the Rebels committed eight of them for 90 yards.

The Tigers added to their lead with a touchdown to open the second half. However, the Rebels answered later in the quarter to bring the margin back to 10, 34-24. It took just five plays in 1:04 for Ole Miss to find pay dirt. Core hauled in a 26-yard pass to begin the drive, while Treadwell made a pair of big catches, the last a six-yard touchdown reception from Kelly. After forcing a punt, the Rebels sliced into the Memphis lead again with a 24-yard field goal by Gary Wunderlich. At the end of the third quarter, the home team held a 31-24 lead.

In the final 15 minutes of play, Ole Miss was unable to muster a comeback. Memphis made a pair of field goals and kept the Rebels off the board to hand Ole Miss its second loss on the road to a ranked opponent this season.

Although the Rebels return home next week, their schedule does not get any easier. Ole Miss will face No. 9 Texas A&M next Saturday, Oct. 24, in an SEC West battle at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kickoff time is still to be determined. The game will either begin at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS or at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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Team Stats

Chad Kelly

L. Treadwell

Players Mentioned

Quincy Adeboyejo

Cody Core

Mike Hilton

Damore'ea Stringfellow

Laquon Treadwell

Gary Wunderlich

The University of Mississippi Athletics