Ole Miss Tops Memphis, 45-14

Sports Betting News - September 7th, 2009 - Written by John

Heisman voters believed they were going to see one of the trophy's front runners at quarterback when Ole Miss kicked off the season against Memphis Sunday night.

Perhaps they were simply watching the wrong one.

While most of the pregame hype was aimed at junior Jevan Snead, Mississippi's do-it-all back Dexter McCluster stole the show. McCluster took several snaps in the Wild Rebel formation and gained 115 total yards, two touchdowns, and helped the Rebels ease into the season with a 45-14 win over the Tigers. McCluster did everything he could to gain the eyeballs of the media, leading the team in receptions (6) while tying for rushes with nine. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry, including a beautiful run to set up his TD push in the fourth quarter, when he spun like a top to make a Memphis defender miss at the 15-yard line before outrunning everyone else to the corner before being pushed out of bounds. One play later, McCluster tied up the drive himself, powering through the line for his first score of the night.

Mississippi's more conventional quarterback, Jevan Snead, came into the game as one of the big names for the Heisman trophy after a good 2008 campaign after beating handing Florida it's only loss of the season. The transfer from Texas had a shakey start, however, when he failed to throw a touchdown pass in the first half. But Snead took control of the game late and turned what was a relatively close game into another blowout win by a highly-ranked school. Snead went on a tear, completing four of his final five passes for 73 yards, two of them for touchdowns.

"Another thing you have to love about Jevan is that when things don't go just right, he doesn't put his head down," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt told ESPN.com. "You don't have to be concerned about that. He's a winner, and the guy really came back and played well."

Statistically, both teams were similar and Memphis actually had the ball for five minutes longer. But the Tigers were left staggering after Fon Ingram intercepted a pass just before halftime and took it 38-yards to the house to ignite a furious run by the Rebels. After halftime, Ole Miss outscored the Tigers 28-7.

Mississippi will get a welcomed break next week before heading for the long midseason stretch. After the bye, the will travel south to play Southeastern Louisiana, before hosting South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

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