Ole Miss stumbles early, loses to Texas Tech

HOUSTON – Tyler Shough threw for 242 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores as Texas Tech took advantage of three early turnovers to build a big lead and hold on for a 42-25 win over Ole Miss in the Texas Bowl on Saturday night.

Shough, who finished with a career-high 111 yards rushing, accounted for three TDs in the first two quarters to help the Red Raiders (8-5) to a 26-7 halftime lead.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has 361 yards passing with two TD throws and a scoring run. However, he threw two of three interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half to put the Rebels in a huge hole.

The victory gave Texas Tech its first eight-win season since 2013 and capped a successful debut for first-year coach Joey McGuire, who was given a new six-year, $26.6 million contract earlier Wednesday.

The losing streak continues for Ole Miss (8-5), which has dropped its last four games, and five of its last six, after opening the season 7-0. The Rebels played a poor game with five turnovers and eight penalties for 86 yards and had two defenders sacked for targeting.

Ole Miss scored consecutive touchdowns to pull within 35-25 with three minutes left. But the Rebels attempted an onside kick after that, but Texas Tech’s Loic Fouonji caught it and returned it 44 yards to push the lead to 42-25.

The Rebels extended their lead to 26-13 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Dart to Jordan Watkins with about nine minutes left in the third quarter.

SaRodorick Thompson scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but Tech’s 2-point conversion run failed to leave the Red Raiders up 32-13.

Dayton Wade fumbled on the next drive by Ole Miss to give Texas Tech the ball back, and the Red Raiders settled for a field goal to extend the lead to 35-13 with 9 ½ minutes left.

The Rebels finished with 197 rushing yards, led by freshman Quinshon Judkins, who had 91. Judkins finished the season with 1,567 rushing yards, the second most by a freshman in SEC history behind Hershel Walker, who had 1,616.

Shough was intercepted in the end zone on Tech’s first possession. The Red Raiders took a 7-0 lead when Shough scampered 2 yards for the score on the next drive.

Ole Miss tied it when Zach Evans ran 8 yards for a touchdown with about 5 ½ minutes left in the first.

The Red Raiders went up 10-7 after a field goal when Dart was intercepted by Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. But Texas Tech came up empty when Shough threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the Ole Miss 3.

But Dart was taken back on the next possession. This time, the Red Raiders capitalized on the offense as Shough ran for his second 2-yard score of the game to make it 17-7 with about seven minutes to go on the clock.

The Rebels went for a fourth-and-6 from the 29 on the next drive, but stopped short. The Red Raiders added a field goal before Dart fumbled to give them another possession before halftime.

Shough connected with Jerand Bradley on a 12-yard TD, but the 2-point conversion failed to leave Texas Tech up 26-7 at halftime.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders appear to be headed in the right direction under McGuire. Texas Tech closed out the season with four straight wins and should use that as momentum for a strong start next year.

Miss Ole: The Rebels have shown plenty of promise this season but will need to regroup and play more cleanly if they hope to recover from their struggles to end next season.

THE LEACH AWARD

The Red Raiders used the first strike to pay tribute to former coach Mike Leach, who died December 12 at 61. Texas Tech lined up in Leach’s famous “Air Raid” formation with the lineman spread far two and four receivers out wide and just stood there until the flag was thrown to delay the game.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin waived the penalty, and the Red Raiders went on to play their first game.

Both teams also remembered Leach, who coached at Texas Tech from 2000-09 and was coaching at Mississippi State when he died, with helmet stickers. Texas Tech looks like a pirate flag as a nod to its fascination with pirates, and the Rebels decals say ‘Mike’ and ‘I’ in the shape of a cowbell for the Mississippi State tradition of being used in games.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders will wait to see if Shough will return for next season or if they need to find someone to replace him.

Miss Ole: The Rebels should continue to have a strong running game behind Judkins as they look to put together a full season next year.