No. 14/12 Longhorns defeat Ole Miss, 66-31

Saturday, September 15

Oxford, Miss.

8:15 PM

University of Texas

3-0

Ole Miss

2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas

Ole Miss

09.16.2012 | Football

Box Score

Sept. 16, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. - No. 14/12 Texas (3-0) piled up 676 yards of total offense on its way to a 66-31 win over Ole Miss (2-1) Saturday evening at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Quarterback David Ash completed 19-of-23 passes for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receivers Mike Davis and Marquise Goodwin each caught a touchdown pass and totaled over 100 receiving yards, and Goodwin added another score on the ground.

It marked just the 12th time in school history that two Longhorns eclipsed 100 yards receiving in the same game. Running back Malcolm Brown carried 21 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensive end Alex Okafor led the Horns with two sacks, and cornerback Quandre Diggs picked off a team-high two passes. Defensive ends Jackson Jeffcoat and Reggie Wilson and defensive tackle Brandon Moore chipped in one sack apiece.

Texas and Ole Miss each punted on their first possessions before the first score of the game came courtesy of the Longhorns' defense. Linebacker Steve Edmond picked off Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace at the Ole Miss 25 and rumbled into the end zone for a touchdown and a 7-0 Texas lead with 9:41 left in the first quarter.

Back-to-back sacks from Moore and Jeffcoat forced another Ole Miss punt and set up a short field for the Texas offense, which took over at the UT 47. Running back Joe Bergeron carried for nine yards, and after a UT false start penalty, running back Brown ran for 25 yards to the Ole Miss 23. Brown and Bergeron produced another Texas first down on the ground before Nick Jordan booted a 31-yard field goal to stake UT to a 10-0 lead.

Ole Miss cut the Texas lead to 10-7 on the first play of the second quarter, as Randall Mackey capped a 12-play drive by finding the end zone from three yards out. Texas answered quickly when Goodwin took a jet sweep 69 yards for a touchdown to give the Horns a 17-7 lead. Ole Miss trimmed the Texas lead to 17-10 behind a 39-yard field goal from Bryson Rose.

The Longhorns, however, scored for a fourth straight possession and stretched the lead out to 24-10. Ash hit wide receiver Mike Davis for 12 yards to the UT 35 before calling his own number for 12 yards to the UT 47. Goodwin gouged the Rebels for another big gain when he hauled in a 47-yard reception that set up first and goal for the Horns at the Rebels' six-yard line. Two plays later, Ash found tight end D.J. Grant alone in the end zone with 6:34 left in the half.

Ole Miss drove into Texas territory on its next possession, but Diggs picked off Wallace at the UT 14 and returned the ball to the Texas 25. An Ole Miss personal foul penalty gave the Horns the ball at the UT 40. Twelve plays later, Ash dialed up a play-action fake and hit running back Ryan Roberson for a 1-yard touchdown to stake Texas to a 31-10 lead just before halftime.

Texas opened the second half by scoring for a sixth consecutive possession. Running back D.J. Monroe swept left and bounced off of some Ole Miss defenders while finishing off a 10-yard touchdown run that pushed the Texas lead to 38-10.

The Rebels answered on the following possession when Wallace found Donte Moncrief for a 75-yard touchdown to cut the Texas lead to 38-17. The Longhorns drove 82 yards - with 45 coming on an Ash-to-Davis completion - and pushed their lead to 45-17 when Brown plunged in from five yards out. Ole Miss cut the lead to 45-24 behind a 48-yard Jeff Scott touchdown run.

The Horns found the end zone for a sixth consecutive drive when Ash threw long and hit Davis, who shed a defender on his way to a 45-yard touchdown catch that gave Texas a 52-24 lead with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Diggs' second interception of the night gave the Horns the ball at the Ole Miss 29. Three plays later, Brown scampered in for a 12-yard touchdown, his second of the night, to give Texas a 59-24 lead. The Rebels' Jaylen Walton returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to cut the Longhorns' lead to 59-31.

Texas struck for its ninth touchdown as Ash found Goodwin for a 55-yard score and a 66-31 Longhorns lead.