Ole Miss didn’t need offensive fireworks to create the most memorable moments of Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt.
It got those fireworks anyways, but the Rebels’ defense provided a pair of its own.
Two touchdowns in a five‑minute stretch turned a comfortable lead into a blowout and gave two players their first college scores in ways that fit their personalities and backgrounds almost perfectly.
The first belonged to Jamarious Brown, who lined up in the Rebels’ heavy goal line package called Jungle.
It’s built for power, but this time it turned into a pass to a defensive lineman who looked like he had been catching touchdowns for years.
Brown went up, pulled the ball down and immediately had the sideline buzzing.
Big Boy TD🤝 pic.twitter.com/J21Oxw2j7S
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2026
“I didn’t really ask for them to run it, but they just told me whenever my time comes, just be ready. And I was ready,” Brown said after Saturday’s 52-17 win against Vanderbilt.
He didn’t just catch it. He caught it like someone who had done it before. That makes sense once you remember his high school days.
“I was pretty solid as a football player back in high school,” he said. “I was a defensive lineman, but my coach utilized me as a Wildcat quarterback, tight end and stuff like that.”
Brown said he saw the ball, jumped and suddenly it was in his hands.
“No, when I looked at it, because the guy was in front of me, I was just like — then it just came right into my hands. I jumped, and it just came right into my hands,” Brown said. “I was just like, ‘Wow, man, I just got my first touchdown.’”
The celebration with Will Echoles was almost as good as the catch. It wasn’t planned days in advance. It was planned minutes in advance.
“What’s crazy is we made the celebration like five minutes before we did it,” Brown explained. “They called us from the bench and were like, ‘It’s gonna go jungle,’ and they were like, ‘We think it’s gonna be a pass.’ And I was like, ‘OK, if we score, then this is what we’re gonna do.’ And we did it. Went with it.”
Pete Golding wasn’t surprised Brown made the play.
“Well, JDB and Joe and those guys, and Garrison and all of them, they do a great job,” Golding said in his postgame press conference. “They always have complementary plays with the big boys. They always run them versus us, and we were going to run these in the game. I think the opportunity presented itself. Great design, great execution. That dude was a hell of an athlete in high school, man. Wildcat quarterback, tight end. So he made a heck of a play, man. It was awesome.”
About five minutes of game time later, Suntarine Perkins got his own moment.
This one was pure defense.
Blake Purchase came off the edge, knocked the ball loose from Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, and Perkins scooped it up as a Commodore reached out and tripped him up. He stretched across the goal line for a true defensive touchdown that pushed the lead to 35-3.
See ball get ball 😤 @suntarine @BlakePurchase pic.twitter.com/iTg3IRb4MG
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2026
The play brought back memories for him.
“It just kind of brought back memories of me in high school, running the ball, playing running back,” Perkins said. “So during that moment, I picked the ball up, and it kind of brought back high school ball, running the football. So it was an awesome experience right there.”
He also had to wait through a replay review, which only made the moment feel longer.
“It was close. I was like, ‘Man, I hope they don’t take the touchdown away from me.’ But yeah, it was an awesome experience right there.”
Brown enjoyed watching Perkins get his score just as much as Perkins enjoyed scoring it.
“Seeing my brothers do good is always one of the most exciting feelings for me because we bled, sweat and cried throughout the summer and stuff. So when I see them do good, it just brings me joy.”
Two touchdowns by defensive players in one afternoon don’t happen often.
Two defensive touchdowns from two players who don’t usually touch the ball happen even less.
But Ole Miss got both on Saturday, and each came with its own story, its own personality and its own celebration.
It was the kind of day where the defense didn’t just make stops.
It made memories.
