ESPN College Football

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Micheal Spurlock threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Mississippi shook off a sluggish first half to defeat The Citadel 27-7 on Saturday.

Spurlock directed three straight scoring drives in the second half for the Rebels (2-3), who led 10-7 in the third quarter before scoring the final 17 points against the Division I-AA Bulldogs to snap a three-game losing streak.

Freshman Mico McSwain rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries for Ole Miss, which won for the first time since beating Memphis on Labor Day in Ed Orgeron's first game as coach.

The Rebels held The Citadel (2-3) to 81 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs' only score came in the third quarter when Avery Dingle intercepted Robert Lane's pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown.

Spurlock returned on the next series and broke the game open by leading three consecutive scoring drives. He ran 1 yard for a touchdown and threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Mike Espy before Robert Bass kicked a 23-yard field goal to complete the scoring.

Playing with a broken middle finger on his left, non-throwing, hand, Spurlock finished 20-of-29 for 254 yards.

For the second time this season, The Citadel was competitive for a half against a I-A team. The Bulldogs, who trailed No. 4 Florida State 13-10 at halftime of an eventual 62-10 loss, kept this one close for a while, too.

Ole Miss led 3-0 at halftime on a 44-yard field goal by Will Moseley, and the Rebels had minus-16 yards rushing in the first half.

Travis Johnson returned a fumble 16 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter to extend the Rebels' lead to 10-7.

Quarterback Justin Knox struggled in his first start replacing Duran Lawson, who injured his left knee last week against Western Carolina. Knox finished 5-of-14 for 21 yards.

Ole Miss was playing a I-AA opponent for the first time since 2001.