Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Patterson directs Ole Miss to victory
MISSISSIPPI 57, VANDERBILT 35
OXFORD, Miss. — Shea Patterson threw for 351 yards and 4 touchdowns and Mississippi beat Vanderbilt 57-35 on Saturday.
Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2) snapped its three-game losing streak while Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-4) has now lost four consecutive.
Vanderbilt led 14-7 in the second quarter after Ralph Webb ran for two touchdowns, but Ole Miss responded with 28 consecutive points in less than seven minutes. The offensive avalanche was helped by two Vanderbilt turnovers that gave the Rebels excellent field position.
“It’s good to be back — put up those numbers, have fun and get us a win,” Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown said.
Ole Miss kept the momentum early in the third quarter, earning a safety after forcing Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur to fumble into the end zone. Less than a minute later, Patterson hit Brown for a 29-yard touchdown pass and a 44-21 lead and the game was no longer in doubt.
Brown caught 8 passes for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. DaMarkus Lodge also caught two touchdown passes.
“Enjoyed watching our offense get its tempo going and balance going,” Ole Miss interim coach Matt Luke said. “Obviously, there are some things we can get cleaned up but I’m really excited for our players and our fans.”
Shurmur threw for 174 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception for the Commodores. Webb ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
“We need to mentally find ourselves, find our identity, rebuild our confidence and get fresh,” Vanderbilt Coach Derek Mason said. “I’ve seen a lot of football — good stretches and bad stretches — [and] we’ve got to look inside and fix what ails us. We need to get better and we can do that.”