Ole Miss Rebels vs Memphis Tigers Match Player Stats On Oct 17, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Oct 17, 2015

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- For the first six minutes of Saturday's matchup with Memphis at the Liberty Bowl, Mississippi looked like the No. 13 team in the country.

By halftime, the Tigers looked more like a team from the SEC than the Rebels and things didn't get any better for Ole Miss, which lost 37-24 in front of a crowd of 60,241.

Ole Miss jumped out to a two-score lead behind the passing of quarterback Chad Kelly, and a well-executed trick play from wide receiver Laquon Treadwell.

Then, Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch and the Tigers started to figure things out on offense. Lynch matched Kelly throw for throw, and then some. In the first half, he completed 19 of his 26 attempts for 191 yards. His two touchdowns were better than the Kelly's one. Lynch finished the game 39 of 53 for 384 yards and three scores.

Outside a fifth 300-yard throwing day from Kelly, and the 68-yard completion for a touchdown from Treadwell to wide receiver Quincy Adeboyejo on the second play from scrimmage, Ole Miss fans had little to cheer about.

Memphis turned the tide for good by dominating the second quarter, outscoring the Rebels 17-0. Memphis had superior stats in the first half, at least in the categories that really matter. The Tigers scored all four times they were in the red zone and converted 4 of 7 third-down conversions. Ole Miss was just 2 of 7 on third down, and 0-for-2 on fourth down.

All of the offensive stats were a dramatic improvement for the Tigers, who were held to just 104 yards in a 24-3 win for the Rebels in Oxford in 2014. Memphis (6-0) had no issue driving for points, scoring 31 unanswered before the Rebels (5-2) finally stopped the bleeding with a touchdown by Treadwell. The Rebels got as close as seven points, 31-24, before Lynch and the Tigers garnered a field goal from Jake Elliott following a nine-play, 36-yard drive.

Memphis ran out the clock on the Rebels, who generated just 40 yards on the ground.

NOTES: Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell Treadwell finished with a career-high 14 catches for 143 yards. His total broke the single-game record in Ole Miss history. ... Memphis defeated the Rebels for the first time since 2004. It was the first win for the Tigers at home over the Rebels for the first time since 2003 when DeAngelo Williams trumped Eli Manning in a shootout. ... Ole Miss likely will drop into the 20s in the Associated Press rankings, while the Tigers will join those rankings for the first time this year.