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OXFORD, Miss. — Tennessee once again battled an SEC foe hard only to come up short for the third time this season. The Vols dropped a 34-3 decision at #3 Ole Miss on Saturday night. The Vols (3-4, 0-3 SEC) host #7 Alabama next Saturday at Neyland Stadium at 7:30 p.m. That game will air on ESPN2.
Ole Miss remains perfect at 7-0 and 4-0 in the SEC. The Rebels are off to their best start since winning the 1962 National Championship with a perfect 10-0 record.
The Vols have now lost 22 consecutive road games to ranked teams, dating to a 30-27 win at #4 LSU in 2005.
Tennessee senior linebacker A.J. Johnson became the fourth player in Tennessee’s storied history to record 400 career tackles. He also set Tennessee’s all-time record for assisted tackles with three assists on Saturday. He broke Andy Spiva’s (1973-76) record of 193. Johnson now has 194. Johnson now has 402 career tackles to stand fourth all-time at Tennessee.
Johnson posted his 22nd career game with double-figure tackles as he made 10.
The Vols’ defense racked up five sacks and 10 tackles for loss with Derek Barnett posting 4.0 TFLs and two sacks to go with his career-high 10 tackles. Both Johnson and Corey Vereen had 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
Senior quarterback Justin Worley was 19-of-34 for yards with three interceptions. He connected with Von Pearson five times for 26 yards and Josh Malone five times for 75 yards.
Freshman tailback Jalen Hurd ran for 40 yards.
The Vols limited Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace early on as he started the game 4-of-15. But Wallace put it in gear after that. He finished 13-of-28 for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
Ole Miss senior receiver Vince Sanders piled up 108 receiving yards on four catches with a touchdown. Jaylen Walton rushed for 60 yards and a score.
Senquez Golson added to his SEC-leading total of interceptions with pair in the game to give him seven for the season.
Tennessee defense was strong early in the game. The Vols held Ole Miss scoreless in a first quarter for the first time in 2014. The Rebels had scored 55 points in the opening stanzas of their first six games.
Ole Miss was limited to 37 yards on 26 plays over their first seven possessions. But the Rebels responded on their next two drives — both resulting in touchdowns and 14-3 halftime lead. Ole Miss had 109 yards on that pair of scoring drives.
The Vols scored first on a 27-yard field goal by Aaron Medley with 12:40left in the second quarter.
Ole Miss took a 7-3 lead on a 39-yard touchdown reception by Sanders with 5:08 left in the first half. That play was a carbon copy of the pass just seconds prior as Wallace hit Sanders for a 29-yard reception down the right sideline.
On the ensuring series, Worley threw his second interception of the game, Golson’s first of two in the game, that set up the Rebels’ second score. Jaylen Walton ran in from 7 yards out as the Rebels had converted on fourth down on the previous play. That put Ole Miss ahead 14-3 with 1:51left in the first half.
Ole Miss extended its lead to 17-3 on a 34-yard field goal by Gary Wunderlich with 2:04 left in the third quarter. Only 14 seconds later Ole Miss built its lead to 24-3 as Evan Engram hauled in a 28-yard pass from Wallace. That followed a fumble recovery by the Rebels’ Marquis Haynes on the kickoff after Wunderlich’s field goal.
With under a minute to play, Ole Miss finished game scoring with an 8-yard rushing touchdown by Mark Dodson.
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