Rebels Outduel Red Raiders

Whoa!!! The Ole Miss Rebs put together an impressive display in Dallas to whip up on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech 47-34. The Rebs overcame some first quarter mistakes and took a 3 point lead at the half. I will admit, at that point I was nervous about how the second half would play out, but the Rebs came on strong with the Defense and the ground game. It was a great game to watch. For me, as I am sure for some others, I thought the pick six sealed the deal. Not the case, we scored some more, but the Raiders came on in the 4th quarter and made it interesting. Even though the score was not a clear indication of the actual contest. Some of this was helped out by us with the fumble down on the goaline, but the Rebs D answered the bell and produced a safety on the following possession. As I type this and try to recall how the game played out, but my pounding head prevents me for recalling all the events that might have sealed the deal. I guess you can understand the celebration... We did just beat the #8 team in the country like a rented mule. 96% said we couldn't... WE DID!! Or maybe it was 95%, I forget... who cares, we won big baby. Despite the fact that Red Raider QB threw for 364 yards, I thought the Defense did a fine job overall in preventing them from getting into a groove. The offensive did its part controlling the clock and keeping the potent Raider offense off the field. The Rebs held the ball for 11 minutes longer than the Raiders. Not to many people would believe me if I said I thought we would beat them and the score would be a lot closer than the game really was, but it is true. I did tell a few people that. That could have just come from a moment of overconfidence on my part, but it did happen. I guess hindsight is 20/20. Enough with this reduced brain cell rant. I don't have the train of thought to continue typing, so here are some post game notes....

BOWL INFORMATION
Ole Miss made its first postseason trip to Dallas since 2004 and second since 1962.

The Rebel offense scored its most points ever in a bowl and tied for most touchdowns ... Ole Miss also posted its second-most total yards in a bowl game with 515.

Ole Miss is 7-1 in its last eight bowl games dating back to a 13-0 win over Air Force in the 1992 Liberty Bowl ... The Rebels’ only loss during that span came during the 2000 Music City Bowl, falling 49-38 to West Virginia.

his was Ole Miss’ fourth Cotton Bowl appearance, posting a 3-1 record ... The Rebels defeated TCU 14-13 in the 1956 game, dropped a 12-7 decision to Texas in 1962 and knocked off Oklahoma State 31-28 in 2004.

This marked Ole Miss’ 32nd all-time bowl appearance, which is tied with Miami (Fla.) for 17th on the NCAA Division I-A’s list of alltime bowl appearances ... Ole Miss is 20-12 in bowl games, with the 20 wins tied for the 12th most in NCAA Division I-A history.

This Cotton Bowl encounter marked the third bowl meeting between Ole Miss and Texas Tech ... With this game, the Red Raiders tied the Texas Longhorns and the Air Force Falcons as the Rebels’ most frequent bowl opponent.

The Rebels are 7-2 in bowl games against the Big XII Conference and have won six straight.

SERIES INFORMATION

This game was the fifth meeting between Texas Tech and Ole Miss ... The Rebels lead the series 3-2.

This encounter marked the third bowl meeting between Ole Miss and Texas Tech ... The teams' other two postseason battles occurred at the Independence Bowl with Ole Miss prevailing both times, 20-17 in 1986 and 35-18 in 1998.

GENERAL NOTES

With six straight wins, Ole Miss ended the year with its longest win streak since taking six in a row in 2003.

In No. 8 Texas Tech, Ole Miss faced its fifth top-25 foe of the year and fifth away from Oxford ... The Rebels went 3-2, defeating No. 4 Florida 31-30 and No. 18 LSU 31-13 and falling at No. 2 Alabama 24-20 and No. 20 Wake Forest 30-28 ... Ole Miss is 56-128-2 all-time versus ranked teams.

With a 9-4 record, Ole Miss concludes its best season since posting a 10-3 mark in 2003.
Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt notches his seventh season with nine or more wins in his 16 seasons as a head coach.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

Sophomore QB Jevan Snead tied the Ole Miss bowl record for TD tosses with three ... He posted his ninth game with multiple TD tosses and seventh performance of 200-plus passing yards, completing 18-of-29 passes for 292 yards with three TDs and one interceptions.

TE Gerald Harris became the first Rebel with two TD catches in a bowl ... He finished with two catches for 29 yards.

Junior Dexter McCluster posted 180 all-purpose yards, rushing 14 times for a career-high 97 yards and hauling in six passes for 83 yards.

Freshman RB Brandon Bolden topped the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, carrying 11 times for 101 yards ... He broke free for a career-long 44-yard run and also rushed for a TD for the third straight game and fifth time this year.

Senior WR Mike Wallace hauled in four catches for 80 yards, including a 41-yard TD ... It marked Wallace's fourth catch of the year of 40 or more yards ... His 15 career TD receptions rank third all-time at Ole Miss, just one ahead of teammate Shay Hodge. Snead has thrown multiple TDs in nine of the 13 games this year

Ole Miss failed to score first for just the second time this season.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

The Rebel defense posted multiple interceptions for the fifth straight game.

Junior CB Marshay Green recorded Ole Miss' second interception of the game and returned it 65 yards for the team's first pick-six since the 2007 Memphis game ... It was Green's second career interception and seventh TD of his career.

Junior CB Cassius Vaughn notched his third interception of the year ... He finished with three tackles and a pass breakup.

Junior S Kendrick Lewis topped the team with seven total tackles and five solos.

Freshman CB Marcus Temple collected a career-high six tackles and four solos.

Sophomore CB Jeremy McGee was credited with a career-high five tackles and added a pass break-up in the endzone.

Junior LB Patrick Trahan posted five tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

Junior CB Marshay Green returned four punts for 79 yards, including a long of 54.

The Rebels improved to 4-for-4 on fakes this year after junior FB Andy Hartmann took a direct snap and rumbled ahead for 10 yards down to the Tech 35 yardline.

With six extra points today, junior K Joshua Shene extended his streak of successful PATs to 74, which is second on the all-time Rebel charts ... Shene was 1-for-2 on field goals, connecting from 27 yards out and missing from 30 yards ... It marked his first miss of the year from inside 40 yards.