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The University of Mississippi Athletics
SIDEBAR: Offense Continues to Put Up Big Numbers
9/11/2021 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. – For the eighth time in Lane Kiffin's 12 games as head coach at Ole Miss, the Rebels had more than 500 yards of offense.
In their 54-17 win against Austin Peay Saturday night in Oxford, all of those 630 yards accumulated likely weren't necessary to produce a victory. Nor were as many points as they scored, obviously. But that isn't what this game was necessarily about.
This was about getting a win and moving to 2-0. It was about the starters playing until the score was comfortably in the Rebels' favor to let quite a few more players get into the game. Kiffin particularly liked that aspect of this victory.
"It was one of those games you're like done at halftime, so the second half can drag a little bit," he said. "And we got to play some guys. Those guys work hard."
Quarterback Matt Corral was again sensational with five touchdown passes, which was one shy of tying the program record of six - previously accomplished by Eli Manning and by Corral himself just last year vs. Vanderbilt.
"Starting fast, creating completions, getting positive yards, all those little things just compound into big things," said Corral of his performance.
Corral was 22-of-32 for 281 yards against the Governors.
Jonathan Mingo had seven catches and two touchdowns, while Dontario Drummond had six catches and two touchdowns and Henry Parrish, Jr. had three receptions. Braylon Sanders had two catches and a touchdown. Eight receivers caught passes in the contest.
"It's not necessarily what I'm trying to do," Corral said of connecting with so many receivers. "I'm not afraid of playing any one of them. I trust all those guys. From the outside looking in, it definitely looks like I'm trying to spread it around. But I'm just going through my progression and playing ball.
"Lot of things to clean up," Corral continued, "but got the job done."
Kiffin said it was good to get through the short week, after the 43-24 win against Louisville last Monday night, and finish with the win against Austin Peay, especially when it came to getting more players involved.
"Drummond had the big game, had another big game today," Kiffin said. "The three main receivers had five touchdown catches in really less than three quarters of work."
"We're 2-0, and that's the best you can be at this point," he continued. "We were coming off a short week with only one full practice day, so I thought the starters played pretty good."
And that allowed a lot of other players to figure into this one.
