Snead's three TD passes carry Mississippi past SE Louisiana

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Ole Miss Pounds Southeastern Louisiana

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... The Rebels found their rhythm in the second quarter and put up 17 while the defense didn't allow any points in the period. Gameball goes to... D.T. Shackelford, who recovered two fumbles and turned an interception into a 58-yard touchdown. Stat of the game... 0-14. The Ole Miss D, which only allowed two field goals, forced the Lions to go 0-for-14 on third-down conversions. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	12	25
Total Yards	302	500
Passing	216	242
Rushing	86	258
Penalties	8-69	4-50
3rd Down Conversions	0-14	5-11
4th Down Conversions	0-1	0-0
Turnovers	5	2
Possession	30:49	29:11

Air/Ground Leaders
Southeastern Louisiana Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Babin 17/26 188 0 1 Beatty 4/8 28 0 1	Mississippi Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Snead 16/28 209 3 0 Stanley 2/3 33 0 0
Southeastern Louisiana Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Ducksworth 11 36 0 15 Babin 11 25 0 12	Mississippi Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Bolden 13 105 0 44 Grandy 2 57 1 46
Southeastern Louisiana Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Yarborough 9 60 0 21 Cryer 1 57 0 57	Mississippi Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Patterson 4 79 1 29 Hodge 5 59 1 20

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				SELA	MISS
	TD	11:13	Enrique Davis 2 Yd Run (Joshua Shene Kick)	0	7
SECOND QUARTER				SELA	MISS
	TD	14:55	Andy Hartmann 5 Yd Pass From Jevan Snead (Joshua Shene Kick)	0	14
	FG	10:36	Joshua Shene 42 Yd	0	17
	TD	01:25	Shay Hodge 4 Yd Pass From Jevan Snead (Joshua Shene Kick)	0	24
THIRD QUARTER				SELA	MISS
	FG	11:31	Jeff Turner 28 Yd	3	24
	TD	06:33	Cordera Eason 8 Yd Run (Joshua Shene Kick)	3	31
	TD	02:40	Pat Patterson 29 Yd Pass From Jevan Snead (Joshua Shene Kick)	3	38
FOURTH QUARTER				SELA	MISS
	FG	09:24	Jeff Turner 32 Yd	6	38
	TD	08:38	Jesse Grandy 46 Yd Run (Bryson Rose Kick)	6	45
	TD	04:50	D.T. Shackelford 58 Yd Interception Return (Bryson Rose Kick)	6	52

OXFORD, Miss. -- Houston Nutt's reputation as an offensive coach may need some reworking.

Sure, fifth-ranked Mississippi keeps putting up big numbers when it starts with the ball. But those stats pale compared to what the Rebels are doing on defense, as they showed again Saturday night.

Fast Facts

• Ole Miss won its eighth straight game, which is its longest streak since 1972.

• Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead threw a pair of TD passes as the Rebels capitalized on five SE Louisiana turnovers.

• Ole Miss entered the game with their highest ranking since 1970, and with USC's loss it could move into the top 4 in the AP poll is released.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

True freshman linebacker D.T. Shackelford scored on a 58-yard interception return and recovered two fumbles as Ole Miss forced five turnovers in a 52-6 win over Southeastern Louisiana.

An impressive performance going into the Rebels' Southeastern Conference opener Thursday night against coach Steve Spurrier and South Carolina.

"Defensively you have to prove it every day," free safety Kendrick Lewis said. "What we did tonight doesn't mean anything at South Carolina."

Turnovers led to 21 points for the Rebels (2-0). They've run back interceptions for TDs in the third straight games and have allowed just 11.2 points per game in their last five.

Like last week against Memphis, the defense bailed out a sloppy offense that again got off to a herky-jerky start. Jevan Snead, however, recovered to throw three touchdown passes.

An early interception by Cassius Vaughn ended one scoring opportunity for the Lions (2-1) and Shackelford came up with two fumble recoveries as well.

The group, playing without all-America candidate Greg Hardy because of a sprained ankle, propelled the Rebels to their eighth straight win, the longest streak since Ole Miss won 10 in a row in 1971-72. They held the Lions to 302 yards and didn't allow a third-down conversion in 14 attempts.

"Except for the opening series of the second half, I feel really good about our defense," defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix said. "Our effort was better. We're still not as consistent as we need to be, but we're getting there."

Shackelford is one of a handful of young players blending in with a veteran group, but stood out Saturday night. He always seemed to be around the ball.

"He's tough, he's physical, he absorbs the playbook, he's a winner," Nutt said. "He brings energy to our team and he looked like a running back tonight."

Shackelford's most memorable play, his touchdown with 4:50 left that closed the scoring, was maybe the easiest of the night.

"The ball fluttered right to me," he said. "I couldn't miss it. The only thing that surprised me is I got a little winded on the way, but I was still able to stick it in there."

The Rebels' offense eventually got in gear. Brandon Bolden rushed for 105 yards in the first half alone and the unit had 500 total yards and a 24-0 lead at halftime against the FCS opponent.

Snead threw two of his three touchdowns in the first half, extending his school record to eight straight games with multiple scoring passes. But he was 11 of 22 through the first two quarters, missed badly on a handful of passes and had an interception wiped out by a questionable pass interference call.

He got little help from his receivers, who dropped several passes. Markeith Summers had a touchdown pass glance off his hands in the end zone, forcing the Rebels to settle for a field goal. And Lionel Breaux dropped a wide-open pass that would have gone for significant yardage.

About a third of Mississippi's roster was sick with swine flu symptoms during its off week, explaining some of the problems.

The Rebels also struggled on special teams with Marshay Green fumbling two punt returns and Justin Sparks hitting back-to-back punts of 11 and 34 yards.

Still, Ole Miss simply had too much talent and speed for the Lions. The Rebels scored more than 40 points for the fourth straight game, a school record.

"Our timing was off, but we're playing faster," Nutt said. "We're playing harder."

Bolden was a beast in the first half. He broke tackles at the line of scrimmage and downfield and set up Ole Miss' first touchdown with an athletic run that included a whiplash-inducing stiff-arm and a burst of speed at the corner. Overall, the Rebels rushed for 258 yards and Enrique Davis and Cordera Eason both scored touchdowns.

"We didn't tackle very well," Southeastern Louisiana coach Mike Lucas said. "A lot of that missed tackling was because those running backs ran hard and are big and physical."