No. 22 Ole Miss Cruises To Blowout Win Over Central Arkansas
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels once again played two quarterbacks on Saturday night, and they once again made easy work of an opponent in a 59-3 win over the Central Arkansas Bears.
Luke Altmyer had his bright moments in the first half for Ole Miss, but he exited after throwing an interception late in the second quarter. The Rebel quarterback appeared to be favoring his throwing arm late in the half, and Jaxson Dart entered the game for the final drive and worked into the fourth quarter before giving way to Kinkead Dent in the blowout.
Official word from Ole Miss is that Altmyer suffered an "upper body" injury in the first half. Dart finished with 182 yards and two touchdowns through the air compared to Altmyer's 90 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Quinshon Judkins led the Rebels in rushing with over 100 yards, and Zach Evans, Altmyer and Ulysses Bentley found the end zone on the ground.
The Rebels opened the game with the football, and Altmyer found tight end Michael Trigg for a touchdown on the first possession, their first of two scoring connections in the game. The Rebels led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the offense stalled in the second, settling for the three points from kicker Jonathan Cruz as time expired.
The other first half touchdown for Ole Miss came on a scoop-and-score on a Central Arkansas punt where the snap went over the punter's head. Ladarius Tennison was responsible for the 25-yard scamper to the house.
Dart responded with two passing touchdowns of his own in the third quarter, one to the aforementioned Trigg and one to Malik Heath. Trigg's three touchdown receptions tied a school record for the most in a single game.
With the win, Ole Miss improves to 2-0 on the season and will hit the road to Atlanta next week to face Georgia Tech. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.
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