Ole Miss handles Texas easily on road

AUSTIN, Texas — Jeff Scott ran for 164 yards and a touchdown and also scored on a 73-yard punt return, helping No. 25 Mississippi roll over reeling Texas 44-23 on Saturday night.

Bo Wallace passed for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Rebels (3-0), who led 14-0 midway through the first quarter before Texas scored 23 consecutive points.

The Rebels rallied when Andrew Ritter kicked a 52-yard field goal on the last play of the first half and Wallace directed consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter. Scott eluded six tacklers on a weaving, cross-field touchdown return that put the Rebels ahead 37-23 late in the third.

Texas, which gave up 550 yards rushing a week earlier in a loss to Brigham Young, surrendered 274 on the ground to Ole Miss.

Case McCoy started at quarterback for Texas (1-2) in place of injured David Ash and passed for 196 yards and one touchdown.

For Mississippi, a road victory at Texas will be another confidence boost under second-year coach Hugh Freeze. The Rebels are ranked for the first time since 2009, are 3-0 for the first time since 1989 and have a week off before playing at No. 1 Alabama.

The victory also served as some payback for last season, when a young Rebels defense was blistered by the Longhorns’ speed and big plays in a 66-31 loss at home.

For Texas, the loss will turn up the heat on coach Mack Brown, who is facing the most serious grumbling from a restless fan base in his 16 seasons in Austin. After three sub-par seasons, the Longhorns had hopes of contending for the Big 12 title and returning to the national stage, but an embarrassing loss a week ago at BYU led Brown to fire defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

Brown brought back Greg Robinson, the Longhorns’ defensive coordinator in 2004. Texas was more aggressive against the Rebels, but still gave up big yards rushing and surrendered a halftime lead when it looked as if the Longhorns were firmly in control. The offense stumbled as well, gaining just 100 yards in the second half.

Mississippi is just the latest visiting team to beat Texas on its home turf. The Longhorns are 11-10 at home since 2010, including seven consecutive losses to ranked opponents.

— The Associated Press