Gamer: On Tre Harris’ excellent day, Ole Miss pounds Mercer 73-7
OXFORD, Miss. — Welcome to Oxford, Tre Harris! The transfer wide receiver from Louisiana Tech caught six passes against Mercer in the season opener, but FOUR of them went for touchdowns, including his first three receptions as a Rebel.
Harris finished with 133 yards in the game.
After the first two minutes of the contest, it was never in doubt as Ole Miss took a lead and ran away with the 73-7 win.
Ole Miss just needed three plays to get into the end zone to start the game. After a successful pass and a Quinshon Judkins run, Jaxson Dart found Harris for his first catch as a Rebel that went 38 yards for a touchdown. The conversion gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead.
First TD connection of many 🤞@JaxsonDart ➡️ @_treharris13 pic.twitter.com/pPtyw5wdGI
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
But on the first play of the ensuing possession, Mercer told Ole Miss to hold their red solo cup. Quarterback Carter Peevy held onto the ball and ran 75 yards for a touchdown and after the kick, the game was tied at 7.
That’s all the Bears would get for the remainder of the game, as the Rebels did not blink. On the fifth play of the next drive, Dart found Harris again. His first two Ole Miss catches went for touchdowns, this one from 28 yards. Caden Costa’s kick gave the Rebs a 14-7 edge.
Two-time Tre
✌️ @_treharris13 pic.twitter.com/92xIeyf8h0
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
The Bears fumbled the ensuing kick and Ole Miss recovered. Harris then reached the trifecta by scoring on his third catch of the day. Suddenly, the Rebels led 21-7.
Tre Harris: Tre TDs
👌 @_treharris13 pic.twitter.com/1GPjt3nOJ2
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
Later in the quarter, Quinshon Judkins scored his first touchdown of the season for Ole Miss — his 17th of his career — and the Ole Miss lead was 28-7.
Q's back.
😤 @qaj4_ pic.twitter.com/uP3TkR9YVQ
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
After a field goal, the Rebels led Mercer 31-7.
It was 38-7 at the half, but the game was over at that point. The Rebels added 35 points in the second half to roll to the 73-7 win.
Early in the third, Mercer punted and was introduced to the speed of Jordan Watkins who returned it for a touchdown.
HOUSE CALL!
🏡 @jordantwatkins pic.twitter.com/keJbKx9bgP
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
Tre Harris caught his fourth and record-breaking TD with 9:51 to go in the third on a 16-yard strike from Dart. That would give Ole Miss a 52-7 lead.
Quad Harris™️@_treharris13 pic.twitter.com/sCRmYRGSN1
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
Jaxson Dart started the third quarter but gave way to Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders later in the period. Dart finished an outstanding day, going 18-23 for 334 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
Sanders went 8-14 for 134 yards and two touchdowns and no INTs.
Sanders hit true freshman wide receiver Ayden Williams for a 43-yard gain in the third that put the Rebs in the red zone.
The kid can ball.
🏈 @aydenwilliams74 pic.twitter.com/ms828Q20sc
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
Sanders later found another true freshman, Cayden Lee, in the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown that gave Ole Miss a 66-7 lead.
Newcomer TD Connection 🤝@SpenceSanders ➡️ @Cayden_X_Lee pic.twitter.com/fiXfEO2hVB
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 2, 2023
LSU transfer Walker Howard also saw action, going 3-4 for 56 yards and no INTs.
Offensive explosion
Ole Miss was as outstanding as expected on offense, amassing 667 total yards — 524 passing and 143 on the ground.
Final stats: pic.twitter.com/vHgD4GBh3i
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 2, 2023
Judkins carried the ball 13 times for 60 yards and scored two touchdowns. Dart carried 4 times for 36 yards, while Ulysses Bentley IV carried 6 times for 27. Matt Jones got the ball four times and gained 13 yards and scored one TD. Jam Griffin carried 3 times for 9.
The Ole Miss receivers put on a show against the outmatched Bears. Harris, again, scored four touchdowns, a single-game school record, on 6 catches. Jordan Watkins caught 6 for 111 yards. Tight end Kyirin Heath tallied 3 for 48 yards, while fellow tight end Michael Trigg caught 3 for 44.
True freshman Ayden Williams caught two passes for 47 yards, including his first career collegiate touchdown. Bralon Brown caught one for 29, while Dayton Wade added one reception for 23 yards.
Tight end Hudson Wolfe, who later left the game with an injury, caught 1 pass for 18 yards. JJ Henry caught 1 for 11, while Jalen Knox caught one for 9. Ulysses Bentley IV caught one pass for 6 yards and an Ole Miss touchdown.
Pete Golding era begins
Ole Miss fans might have been a little worried when Mercer scored on literally the Bears first play of the game as QB Carter Peevey took it 75 yards up the middle to the house.
But that was it for Mercer.
Defensively, the Rebels held the Bears to 235 total yards. After gaining those 75 rushing yards on that initial play, the Bears only gained 16 total the remainder of the game as they finished with a total of 93 yards on the ground and 142 through the air.
The Rebels held Mercer to just 3-14 on 3rd-down conversions and allowed just 2.5 yards per rush. Ole Miss sacked Mercer 4 times for 31 yards, while also tallying 11 tackles for loss that cost Mercer 53 yards.
Final defensive stats today: pic.twitter.com/H889Vf9iS4
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 2, 2023
True freshman and former 5-star recruit Suntarine Perkins led the defense with 9 total tackles, four of which were of the solo variety. The Rebel linebacker also finished with a sack, a tackle for loss and one pass breakup.
Zxavian Harris made his presence felt in a very big way today. He notched 6 total tackles, four of which were solo. He finished with one sack, and 2.5 tackles for loss. Cedric Johnson and Akelo Stone each also recorded a sack apiece. Transfer Daijahn Anthony intercepted Mercer in his first game as a Rebel.
Next Up
Ole Miss now heads to New Orleans to take on Tulane next Saturday.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
