Corral (6 TDs) leads Ole Miss to rout of Vanderbilt
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral and wide receiver Elijah Moore shattered school records as the Rebels obliterated Vanderbilt in a 54-21 win at Nashville’s Vanderbilt Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Corral was 31 of 34 passing for 412 yards and tied Eli Manning’s single-game record with six touchdowns. Manning’s came in overtime, while Corral was done midway through the third quarter.
Moore set a single-game school record with 238 receiving yards, and tied school records for touchdown catches (three) and receptions (14) in a game.
Vandy (0-4) had three full weeks without a game to prepare, but it didn’t look that way. Ole Miss (2-4) scored touchdowns on eight of its first nine possessions, with the only blemish being a 23-second drive to end the first half. The Rebels led 33-14 and had 413 yards at half.
Moore got open deep for scores of 28 and 36 yards in the first half and took a shovel pass from Corral on an end-around from the 1 for the other.
Both quarterbacks came out on fire. Corral completed his first 19 passes and Vandy’s Ken Seals, his first 10. Neither team threw an incompletion until Seals lofted one out of bounds with 6:09 left in the second quarter.
The Rebels helped themselves with defensive tackle Ryder Anderson’s sack that took Vandy out of field goal range early; that set up a punt that led to a 93-yard scoring drive.
Soon after, Vanderbilt punter Jared Wheatley shanked a 4-yard punt into the stands, with Moore getting that 36-yard score on the next snap with 49 seconds left in the first quarter.
Seals found tight end Ben Bresnahan and wide receiver Chris Pierce with second-quarter scoring strikes.
The Rebels picked up where they left off at half, with Corral hitting wide receiver Dontario Drummond with a 14-yard touchdown pass to the right back corner of the end zone. Corral then scored on a 2-point play.
After Vandy wide receiver Jayden Harrison fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Rebels linebacker Zikerrion Baker fell on it at the VU 21, Corral hit Kenny Yeboah for a nine-yard score and a 48-14 lead with 7:06 left in the third quarter.
With Corral’s day done, backup quarterback John Rhys Plumlee hit wide receiver Braylon Sanders with a 37-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds left in the third quarter.
Seals finished 31-for-40 and set a VU freshman record for passing yards (319).
–Field Level Media
