Rebels Dominate Aggies, Improve to 8-1

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 15 Ole Miss dominated on the ground to defeat the Texas A&M Aggies 31-28 in College Station on Saturday.

“8-1 sounds really good to come on the road in front of 101,000 people,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “We said all week they have great players. We have a really cool group of players to come on the road and win. It’s a hard place to play.”

Ole Miss (8-1, 4-1 SEC) freshman running back Quinshon Judkins rushed for a career-high in carries with 34, in yards with 205, and a touchdown.

“Pretty special day for Q on his nineteenth birthday today, to carry the ball 34 times for over 200 yards,” Kiffin said.

Ole Miss put up 530 yards of total offense with 390 on the ground and 140 in the air.

The Rebels started the game with a touchdown as quarterback Jaxson Dart found Dayton Wade for the score.

Texas A&M answered quickly on back-to-back drives to take a 14-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Aggies freshman quarterback Conner Weigman found Moose Muhammad III and Evan Stewart for the scores.

In the second quarter, the Rebels cut into the Aggies’ lead with a 46-yard field goal by Jonathan Cruz to make it 14-10 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Ole Miss put up two passing touchdowns as Dart found Cassey Kelly and Jonathan Mingo in the end zone. The Rebels went up 24-14 over the Aggies.

Dart finished the game going 13-20 for 140 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also rushed 17 times for 95 yards.

Texas A&M cut into the Rebels’ advantage in the fourth as Weigman connected with Noah Thomas to make it 24-21.

Judkins quickly answered the A&M score with a four-play, 75-yard drive and had a huge 61-yard dash, subsequently finding the endzone from a yard out. Ole Miss took a 31-21 advantage.

Texas A&M scored the game’s final touchdown to narrow the score to 31-28 when Weigman found Devon Achane on a seven-yard reception. Weigman threw for 338 yards and four touchdowns.

Aggies running back Achane carried the ball 25 times for 138 yards.

Zach Evans returned to the lineup against A&M, carrying the ball eight times for 85 yards.

Ole Miss heads into a bye week before taking on No. 6 Alabama on Nov. 12 inside the Vaught.