Football Tops Texas Tech in 2018 Season Opener

HOUSTON, Texas - Ole Miss scored early and often in the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff en route to a 47-27 win over Texas Tech to open the season at 1-0.

It took just 33 seconds for the Rebels to reach the end zone to kick start the 2018 season. Jordan Ta'amu found D.K. Metcalf for a 58-yard scoring strike to put the Rebels up 7-0 early.

Texas Tech answered back with a scoring drive of its own, but the tie didn't stand for long. Jaylon Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to the house to put the Rebels back ahead for good.

"We have a lot of guys who have played a lot of football," said Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke. "We've got some youngsters that obviously learned a lot today. There will be a lot for that we can improve on from week one to week two, but that's part of the beauty of playing a really good opponent in week one. You can find out a lot about where you are."

Ole Miss scored on all of its drives in the first quarter. Luke Logan tacked on a 24-yard field goal before running back Scottie Phillips found the end zone for the first time as a Rebel, racing 39 yards on 4th-and-1 to give Ole Miss a 24-7 lead.

The Rebels couldn't quite finish the push to the end zone on two long drives in the second quarter, but they came away with two more field goals by Logan. His 29-yarder early in the period came as a career-best, before he hit from 39 yards out just before halftime to set a new career mark and send Ole Miss to the locker room with a 30-17 lead.

The Red Raiders struck first with a field goal early in the second half, but Phillips once again exploded for a big touchdown run. This time, a 65-yard jaunt by the junior college transfer gave Ole Miss a 37-20 advantage. However, TTU answered with a rushing score of its own to cut the lead back to 10.

Late in the third after a turnover by the Rebel offense, Texas Tech took over near midfield. However, the Landshark D came up big, halting the Red Raiders on fourth down for a massive turnover to start the fourth quarter.

Ole Miss made the most of the stop, and it wasted no time doing so. Ta'amu hit A.J. Brown on a 34-yard touchdown to cap a 0:20 scoring drive and make it a comfortable 44-27 lead.

Late in the fourth, Phillips exploded for another 44-yard run to go over 200 yards for the day, making him the first Rebel to run for 200-plus since Brandon Bolden in 2010. The run set up one final field goal from Logan to make it a 20-point Rebel lead.

"The word I've been using is cautiously optimistic, because I've seen a lot of really, really good things in the spring and in fall camp, but it was good to see Scottie have a good game," Luke said. "He has short, quick bursts, but he also has the breakaway speed that he can finish it when he breaks the line so really, really pleased to him have some success."

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Team Stats

Jordan Ta'amu

Players Mentioned

A.J. Brown

Jaylon Jones

Luke Logan

D.K. Metcalf

Scottie Phillips

Jordan Ta'amu

Players Mentioned

A.J. Brown

Jaylon Jones

Luke Logan

D.K. Metcalf

Scottie Phillips

Jordan Ta'amu

The University of Mississippi Athletics