Inside the numbers: Mississippi State-Ole Miss first half stats
Mississippi State and No. 14 Ole Miss have reached halftime at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and the host Rebels lead 17-14.
Ole Miss got on the board first thanks to a Chris Paul interception. Paul picked off Michael Van Buren and returned the interception to the State 34 yard line. The Rebels’ offense, however, had to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Caden Davis and led 3-0 with 12:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Mississippi State answered on the following possession with the first touchdown of the day. The Bulldogs gambled on 4th down deep inside their own territory as punter Nicholas Barr-Mira completed a pass to Justin Ball on a fake punt to keep the drive alive. Then on 4th and 7 from the Ole Miss 34, Van Buren hit Kevin Coleman on a crossing route and Coleman scored from 34 yads out as State led 7-3 with 7:54 left in the first period.
The Rebels quickly responded on the ensuing series as Ole Miss marched 75 yards to regain the lead. JJ Pegues, who also plays defensive tackle, scored on a five-yard rush to give Ole Miss a 10-7 advantage with 2:16 left in the opening quarter.
State’s offense continued to thrive later in the first quarter. Van Buren used a 42-yard pass to Jordan Mosley to jumpstart the drive and Van Buren finished the 75-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run, giving State a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
After both offenses struggled for a bit, the Rebels regained the lead midway through the second quarter. Pinned deep at its own 11, Ulysses Bentley sprinted 89 yards untouched to put the Rebels up 17-14 with 8:40 remaining in the half. That would also be the final points of the half for either squad.
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In the first half State managed 215 yards of offense with 181 coming through the air. The Bulldogs had four penalties for 27 yards in the half and State was 2 of 9 on third down, also 2 of 2 on fourth down. The Bulldogs also held the ball for 16:02 of the first half.
Ole Miss had 251 yards of offense with 171 coming on the ground. The Rebels drew three flags for 30 yards and were 3 of 8 on third down, also 1 of 1 on fourth down. Ole Miss had possession of the ball for 13:58 of the opening half.
Individually, Van Buren was 10 of 20 for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Davon Booth led the ground game with nine carries for 28 yards while Kevin Coleman paced the receivers with three catches for 51 yards and one touchdown.
For Ole Miss, Jaxson Dart was 9 of 13 passing for 80 yards and Bentley had eight carries for 116 yards and one touchdown. Jordan Wakins led the Ole Miss receivers with four catches for 35 yards.
