Rebels to Host Memphis in a Homecoming Matchup

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly fakes the handoff to Akeem Judd and spots an open receiver downfield. at Vaught-Hemmingway stadium Saturday during the Ole Miss v Alabama game. (Photo by Bill Barksdale)

The first month of football season has gone by fast. Fans have witnessed strange things in the college football landscape with teams falling out of the top 25 and coaches getting fired.

No. 16 Ole Miss ends a four-game home stand this Saturday night for the Battle of I-55. The Tigers are rolling into Oxford with a 3-0 record on the season.

Coach Hugh Freeze’s Rebels are 2-2, 1-1 SEC on the season. Ole Miss is looking to continue its winning ways this week in the homecoming game on the Ole Miss campus.

Last weekend, Ole Miss defeated Georgia by the score of 45-14. Chad Kelly threw for 282 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He also picked up 53 yards on the ground and ran for a TD.

Kelly broke another record this past weekend against Georgia by passing Eli Manning’s school record by throwing a touchdown pass in 17 consecutive games.

So far this season, the Rebels have outscored opponents 41-6 in the first quarter and 107-33 in the first half of games this year.

Lets take a closer look at the Tigers.

Memphis is 3-0 on the season to remain undefeated under first year head coach Mike Norvell. The Tigers have played all three games in their friendly confines of the Liberty Bowl, earning victories over Southeast Missouri State (35-17), Kansas (43-7) and Bowling Green (77-3). Statistically, Memphis has been one of the top all-around teams through the first quarter of the 2016 season, leading the American Athletic Conference in scoring offense and scoring defense. Allowing only 9.0 points per game and scoring 51.7 points per game, the Tigers rank second and fifth in the nation, respectively.

The Memphis special teams unit has been impressive as well, leading the conference in net punting (42.3) as well as punt return defense (0.00). Junior signal caller Riley Ferguson has thrown for 843 yards in three games to go along with 11 TDs (leads the AAC) and a passing efficiency of 180.3 (leads the AAC). Redshirt-junior Anthony Miller, a hometown native, is Ferguson’s favorite target with 17 catches for 273 yards, more than double the totals of his closest teammate. On defense, Genard Avery has been a physical force with 16 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, one interception and one forced fumble.

The Rebels and the Tigers are no strangers to locking up on the gridiron as they have squared off 61 times. Ole Miss leads the all-time series 48-11-2 and in Oxford 19-2.

Fans they cant make it in town for homecoming can watch the game on one of the ESPN family of networks ESPN2, ESPNU or SEC Network Alternate depending on if hockey is on Saturday night.

Adam Brown is the sports editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.

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