Box Score
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – Romaro Miller threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns as Mississippi beat Kentucky 35-17 on Saturday night.
Miller, who was 15-of-25, threw a 36-yard scoring pass to Chris Collins and a 23-yarder to Grant Heard.
Ole Miss (3-1, 2-1 SEC) built a 32-point cushion in the third quarter before the Wildcats (2-3, 1-2) scored two touchdowns in the final nine minutes.
Kentucky did not penetrate the Ole Miss 10 until the fourth quarter and was held to a season-low 231 yards in total offense.
“Our defense was phenomenal,” Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe said. “Getting the lead from the beginning was critical and I was really pleased with our physical play on both sides of the ball.”
The Rebels limited Kentucky’s Jared Lorenzen to 17-of-42 passing for 192 yards and three interceptions. Lorenzen entered the game averaging an SEC-leading 351 yards.
“You’ve got to come out and be ready to play and we didn’t,” Kentucky coach Hal Mumme said. “Ole Miss whipped us physically and they aren’t that much better than us physically.”
Ole Miss defensive end Derrick Burgess had three sacks, an interception and figured in the game’s decisive play late in the first quarter.
Ole Miss built a 7-0 lead on Miller’s touchdown pass to Collins and backed up Kentucky. Lorenzen scrambled past a charging Burgess in the end zone and completed a 91-yard pass to Derek Smith to the Rebels’ 1.
The play was wiped out by a Kentucky holding penalty in the end zone against the pursuing Burgess, giving Ole Miss a safety and a 9-0 lead. The Rebels followed up by taking the free kick 44 yards in six plays, scoring on a 2-yard by Deuce McAllister to build an insurmountable 16-0 lead.
“The safety was big because Lorenzen has a strong arm and he will pick you apart if you don’t pressure him,” Burgess said. “That (safety) gave us a bigger lead and we needed that because Kentucky has a great offense.”
Kentucky’s Seth Hanson converted a 40-yard field goal to pull The Wildcats to 16-3 early in the second quarter, before Ole Miss put together three scoring drives in the final 12 minutes of the half for a 32-3 lead.
Two touchdown drives were completed on Miller’s 23-yard strike to Heard and a 5-yard run by Joe Gunn. Les Binkley finished the first half with a 22-yard field goal. Binkley added a 20-yard field goal in the third quarter for the game’s biggest lead, 35-3.
“Early in the second half, when we took the ball for about eight minutes and kicked the field goal. We breathed a little easier,” Cutcliffe said. “It appeared Kentucky felt like they didn’t have much of a chance left to win the game.”
The Wildcats rallied for two late touchdowns, with Lorenzen scoring on a 4-yard run and a 50-yard pass to Derek Abney. The Wildcats suffered eight dropped passes and rushed for only 39 yards.
