OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Matt Corral threw for five touchdowns – four in the first half – as No. 20 Mississippi routed FCS member Austin Peay 54-17 on Saturday night.
Ole Miss (2-0) added a defensive touchdown on a strip sack and 33-yard fumble return from defensive end Sam Williams and a safety from the special teams to build a 37-0 second quarter lead over the Ohio Valley Conference Governors (1-1).
Corral finished 21 of 33 for 281 yards and had two other potential touchdown passes dropped during a lopsided first half. Corral guided two series in the third quarter, building a 51-10 lead on a 3-yard run by Snoop Conner, before yielding to three reserves in the final 25 minutes.
Dontario Drummond and Jonathan Mingo had two touchdown receptions apiece, covering 1, 49, 15 and 40 yards, respectively. Braylon Sanders added an 11-yard touchdown reception before Caden Costa closed the scoring with a 26-yard field goal. The Rebels finished with 631 yards of total offense.
Draylen Ellis was 22 of 41 for yards for Austin Peay, including a 30-yard touchdown to Baniko Harley. The Governors had 404 yards to total offense and added a 30-yard field goal from Maddux Trujillo and a 40-yard scoring run by CJ Evans Jr. in the second half.
THE TAKEAWAY
Austin Peay: The Governors, ranked No. 17 and No. 18, respectively, in two Top 25 FCS polls, looked like an Ohio Valley Conference championship contender for the opening 20 minutes before the Rebels decisively pulled away. Defensive back Kordell Jackson had two sacks in the first half.
Ole Miss: This was exactly what was expected against an FCS opponent. The Rebels scored on offense, defense and special teams. The only concern in an otherwise dominating performance was nine first half penalties. The Rebels have time to clean up that issue before SEC play begins in October.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Ole Miss will remain in the poll, though a major advance seems unlikely. But the lopsided win did nothing to hurt the Rebels, one of six SEC teams in the Top 25.
UP NEXT
Austin Peay: The Governors host Morehead State on Saturday in their home opener.
Ole Miss: The Rebels host Tulane on Saturday to wrap up a two-game home stand.
