No. 16 Ole Miss cruises past No. 13 Oklahoma State

Ole Miss has won with defense, but when they’ve really been challenged, they are susceptible to breaking and allowing tons of points (see 53 to Arkansas, 37 to Memphis, and 38 to Florida). The second quarter was particularly fruitful for Ole Miss as Treadwell caught two of his touchdown passes and Tunsil found the end zone just before halftime.

The Cowboys never had a chance.

Mason Rudolph was 18 of 31 for 179 yards for Oklahoma State.

The Rebels would also like to show that last year’s embarrassing Peach Bowl trip — a 42-3 loss to TCU — was a fluke. He said during his Sugar Bowl press conference, “Growing up in MS, you always, you know, understood exactly what the Sugar Bowl meant and how fond it was of the Ole Miss people to be able to play in this game”.

Things fell apart quickly after OSU opened things up with a field goal to go up 3-0. The previous time the Rebels defeated four ranked teams in the same season came in 1969, a season that ended with Ole Miss’ most recent Sugar Bowl appearance. Ole Miss exploded on a 34-3 run to close the first half, mostly thanks to quarterback Chad Kelly and superstar receiver Laquan Treadwell.

A fumble on a punt return didn’t help Oklahoma State’s situation in the third quarter, as Ole Miss took advantage with a 36-yard Jordan Wilkins touchdown run.

In the early morning hours of January 1, 2015, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze faced reporters on the ground floor of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. “S-E-C!” chant started in the Superdome. The Cowboys failed to score a touchdown until late in the third quarter, when the game was well out of hand.

So No. 16 Ole Miss (9-3) has a little added motivation on Friday when it faces No. 13 Oklahoma State (10-2) in the Sugar Bowl.

Junior quarterback Chad Kelly leads the Ole Miss attack. They gave up a combined 151 points in those three losses.

During Fahn Cooper’s winding journey through college football, the 2011 Crystal Lake South graduate has attended three schools over five seasons. The most productive offensive player in the SEC threw for seven touchdowns with no interceptions that month.

That set up the Cowboys near the Rebels’ 40 yard line.

McCaffrey was sublime in his debut at the Granddaddy of Them All, breaking the all-purpose yards record set by Wisconsin’s Jared Abbrederis in 2012. Quincy Adeboyejo (581 yards, 7 TDs), Damore’ea Stringfellow (503 yards, 5 TDs) and Cody Core (553 yards, 3 TDs) have all topped 500 yards receiving, as well.

This game is more than a win for the Rebels; they’re playing for something more than a trophy. But if he does suit up, then side with the Cowboys to end the year on a strong note as these two teams trade big plays and touchdowns through the air in what should be an exciting and entertaining match. They may leave the desert wondering what could have been after blowing past another playoff contender.

Freeze told reporters Thursday he tweaked Ole Miss’ schedule and how the Rebels (9-3, 6-2 SEC) approached practices once in New Orleans to keep their edge.

It was a celebration of players such as Laquon Treadwell and Laremy Tunsil, both projected to be first round picks in the upcoming National Football League draft. “We felt comfortable with the lead we had at that moment and really thought that could be somewhat of a dagger to end the first half”. Rudolph may not play because of a foot injury. But the Wolverines didn’t miss him, holding the Gators (10-4) to 28 total yards in the second half.