Notes and Notables from the Rebels’ 28-10 win over Troy
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss defeated Troy, 28-10, Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway in the season opener for both teams. Here are some notables from the game, courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics.
SERIES INFORMATION
This game marked just the second all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Troy.
• The Rebels defeated Troy 51-21 in 2013, but the win was vacated due to NCAA ruling.
CAPTAINS
Cedric Johnson (DE), Nick Broeker (OL) and Braylon Sanders (WR)
STARTERS
Nine Rebels made their first start at Ole Miss: Troy Brown (LB), Jaxson Dart (QB), Zach Evans (RB), Malik Heath (WR), Davison Igbinosun (CB), Jaylon Robinson (WR), Michael Trigg (TE), Jayden Williams (WR), Isheem Young (S).
• Prior to Ole Miss, Brown had 30 starts at Central Michigan, Young 21 at Iowa State, Evans eight at TCU, Heath nine at Mississippi State, Robinson six at UCF, Dart three starts at USC.
• OL Nick Broeker and OL Jeremy James tallied their team-leading 24th consecutive start for Ole Miss on the offensive line.
• Other notable starting streaks include S Otis Reese (17th), DT KD Hill (11th) and S AJ Finley (10th).
DEBUTS
A total of 27 different Rebels made their Ole Miss debut today vs. Troy: LB Tyler Banks (first career), RB Ulysses Bentley IV, OL Mason Brooks, LB Troy Brown, LB Khari Coleman, K Jonathan Cruz, QB Jaxson Dart, RB Zach Evans, DT Zxavian Harris (first career), WR Malik Heath, CB Davison Igbinosun (first career), DE Jared Ivey, S Dashaun Jerkins, RB Quinshon Judkins (first career), WR Jalen Knox, P Fraser Masin (first career), OL Micah Pettus (first career), LB John Porchivina (first career), WR Jaylon Robinson, CB Jarell Stinson (first career), S Ladarius Tennison, TE Michael Trigg, WR Dayton Wade, WR Jordan Watkins, CB Demarko Williams (first career), OL Jayden Williams (first career), RB Isheem Young.
GENERAL NOTES
Attendance for today’s game was 60,533.
• Ole Miss improves to 94-29-5 (.750) in season openers (and have won 21 of the last 26).
• Dating back to Nov. 14, 2020, the Rebels have now won 10 straight home contests … It marks the longest winning streak in Oxford since winning 33 straight games from Nov. 1, 1952 to Nov. 7, 1964.
• This game was just the second home season opener for the Rebels in the last five years.
• Ole Miss is 155-91-7 (.626 winning pct.) all-time during the month of September after vacated wins.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
Ole Miss averaged 6.0 yards per carry on the afternoon …The Rebels finished with 266 rushing yards.
• The Rebels were 9-of-14 on third down attempts.
• Ole Miss was 4-for-4 in red zone chances.
• QB Jaxson Dart finished the contest 18-of-27 for 154 yards and one touchdown.
• RB Zach Evans led the Ole Miss rushing attack with 20 carries for 130 yards, including a long of 46 yards.
• RB Ulysses Bentley IV first touchdown as a Rebel.
• RB Quinshon Judkins tallied 87 rushing yards on 14 carries in his first collegiate game.
• Judkins’ first career TD came on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.
• WR Jonathan Mingo registered his first rushing touchdown of his career on his first career rushing attempt.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
The Rebels held Troy to 60 yards rushing on 33 attempts, the fewest rushing yards by an Ole Miss opponent since 2020 Egg Bowl in which the Rebels gave up only 39 yards.
• LB Khari Coleman tallied a career-high five tackles for loss … Coleman’s previous collegiate best was best was 3.5 TFLs against Oklahoma in 2020.
• Coleman becomes just the third Rebel to tally 5.0 or more TFLs in a single game since 1999 … Mark Robinson registered 5.0 TFLs last season and Kendrick Clancy had 6.0 in 1999.
• Coleman now has had multiple tackles for loss in seven collegiate contests.
• S Tysheem Johnson led the team with a career-best 12 total tackles.
• LB Troy Brown registered 11 total tackles in his Ole Miss debut.
• CB Miles Battle hauled in his second career touchdown … Dating back to last season, it was the second straight game with an INT.
• The forced fumble by LB Ashanti Cistrunk was the third of his career.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
P Fraser Masin average 41.3 yards on four punts, including three punts down inside the 20-yard line.
• All five of Jonathan Cruz’s kickoffs were touchbacks.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
