Texas buires Ole Miss under 676 yards of total offense

OXFORD, Miss. -- Texas coach Mack Brown had visions of the Longhorns' 2005 national championship team Saturday night -- at least from a production standpoint.

Utilizing a balanced attack and cashing in on several big plays both offensively and defensively, 14th-ranked Texas beat Mississippi 66-31 Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd of 61,797 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Texas quarterback David Ash was nearly perfect during his career night, completing 19 of 23 passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns.

Sophomore running back Malcolm Brown paced Texas' ground attack by gaining 128 of the team's 350 rushing yards. Brown also scored two touchdowns to tie a career high.

"You go back to our best team in '05; we were 250 (yards) rushing and 250 passing and 50 points per game, and that's what you'd like to have," the Longhorns coach said. "Tonight was better than that, but in that ballpark is what we'd like to have."

Texas gained 676 yards of total offense Saturday, tied for second on the school's single-game list.

Early on, Texas (3-0) relied heavily on its ground game, running on 10 of its first 11 plays.

As the game progressed, the Longhorns began to look downfield more and more and nearly scored at will for a while, collecting points on seven consecutive possessions bridging the second and third quarters.

"Each guy did their job, and when that happens, it's amazing what you can accomplish," Ash said.

During the second half, Ash completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Mike Davis and a 55-yard scoring strike to Marquise Goodwin.

Brown scored on runs of 5 and 12 yards, and D.J. Monroe also scored on a 10-yard run.

"We got the ball in the guys' hands that needed to touch the ball, and they made plays with it tonight," Texas co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin said.

Ole Miss (2-1) had a few big plays of its own in the third quarter. Donte Moncrief caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bo Wallace, and Jeff Scott broke free down the Rebels' sideline for a 48-yard touchdown run.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Rebels running back Jaylen Walton returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, making the score 59-31.

"We were already down," Walton said. "I just wanted to keep our team up and make a play, and I was blessed enough to be able to take it back."

Wallace ended up completing 13 of 24 passes for a season-low 178 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Moncrief had a game-high 144 yards receiving and one score on seven receptions.

"We didn't play our best game," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said after his team was held to a season-low 399 yards of total offense. "Whether or not it would have been good enough to be with them in the fourth quarter, I don't know, but I sure would've liked for us to play a little better and take care of the football."

Texas took a 31-10 lead into halftime.

Before the half, Ash led Texas on four consecutive scoring drives, capping the latter two by hooking up with tight end D.J. Grant for a 3-yard touchdown and fullback Ryan Roberson for a 1-yard score.

Prior to the touchdown passes, Texas kicker Nick Jordan converted a 31-yard field goal, and Goodwin scored on a 69-yard speed sweep.

Texas linebacker Steve Edmond started the scoring by intercepting a Wallace pass on the Rebels' second possession and returning it 22 yards for a score.

After Jordan made it 10-0, Ole Miss scored on a 3-yard run by Randall Mackey. Goodwin's long run made it 17-7, and after a 59-yard touchdown catch by Moncrief was called back following a booth review, the Rebels settled for a 39-yard field goal by Bryson Rose.

NOTES: Ole Miss freshman Trae Elston was suspended for the game by the Southeastern Conference stemming from a tackle in last week's 28-10 win over UTEP. Elston entered the game tied for sixth on the Rebels with seven total tackles. ... The crowd was the fourth-largest in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium history and the largest crowd to take in a non-conference game. ... Texas' 66 points were the most Ole Miss has surrendered in a game since 1917. ... Texas leads the all-time series 6-1. ... The win gives Texas a sixth consecutive 3-0 start.