Matt Corral threw two touchdown passes and led three other scoring drives as Ole Miss defeated Southeastern Louisiana 40-29 in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday.
The redshirt freshman quarterback completed 21 of 30 pass attempts for 230 yards in his second career start, connecting with 10 different receivers, a group led by sophomore Elijah Moore, who had seven grabs for 88 yards and a score on the day.
Corral led the Rebels (2-1) on a 72-yard drive over 12 plays to start the game, finding Moore on a 9-yard touchdown, but kicker Luke Logan missed the extra-point attempt.
Jason Pellerin caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Corral with 54 seconds left in the first half to open up the 27-17 advantage for Ole Miss.
Scottie Phillips eluded Southeastern Louisiana defenders on his own touchdown, a 27-yard rush that gave Mississippi a 34-17 edge at 10:27 of the third quarter. Phillips led the Rebels with 103 rushing yards and has scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of the team's three games this season.
Southeastern Louisiana came within five points after Corral fumbled on his own 9-yard line, as Bransen Schwebel caught a touchdown from 5 yards out with 1:26 left in the third quarter.
The Rebels responded with a 22-yard field goal to take the 37-29 lead and put it away with a 32-yarder in the final minute.
Lions quarterback Chason Virgil finished the day 29 of 44 passing for 309 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Southeastern Louisiana (1-1) got on the board midway through the first after a Phillips fumble, as Bryce Broussard kicked a 30-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 6-3.
Speedy Mississippi running back Jerrion Ealy responded immediately, returning the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown for a 13-3 lead.
Marcus Cooper rushed for a 14-yard touchdown on the Lions' first drive of the second quarter, trimming it to 13-10.
Ealy answered again with back-to-back runs of 52 and 30 yards, the latter for a touchdown to lead 20-10.
Southeastern Louisiana got within three again on Devonte Williams' 20-yard scamper six minutes later.
Down 34-17 midway through the third, Juwan Petit-Frere raced past defenders on a 45-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Virgil. Ole Miss retained the 34-23 lead after Broussard missed the point after try.
--Field Level Media
