Northern Arizona 14, Mississippi 38

1234T
NAU (5-4)0140014
MISS (6-3)7247038

Final

7:30 PM ET, November 7, 2009
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
OXFORD, MS

Snead, Hodge boost Ole Miss past N. Arizona

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1519
Total Yards354425
Passing233264
Rushing121161
Penalties6-452-16
3rd Down Conversions6-186-13
4th Down Conversions2-20-1
Turnovers11
Possession35:1124:49
Air/Ground Leaders
Northern Arizona Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Herrick20/3123301
Meadows0/1000
Mississippi Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Snead16/2923520
Stanley1/42900
Northern Arizona Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Henderson34102212
Dixon227020
Mississippi Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Bolden1085145
Scott103407
Northern Arizona Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Meadows7113057
Berry9101025
Mississippi Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Hodge7169265
Patterson242029
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERNAUMISS
TD12:55Shay Hodge 6 Yd Pass From Jevan Snead (Joshua Shene Kick) 07
SECOND QUARTERNAUMISS
TD12:19Alex Henderson 5 Yd Run (Matt Myers Kick) 77
TD10:36Brandon Bolden 45 Yd Run (Joshua Shene Kick) 714
TD07:55Alex Henderson 3 Yd Run (Matt Myers Kick) 1414
TD05:46Jevan Snead 3 Yd Run (Joshua Shene Kick) 1421
TD02:46Jevan Snead 1 Yd Run (Joshua Shene Kick) 1428
FG00:00Joshua Shene 38 Yd 1431
THIRD QUARTERNAUMISS
TD05:45Shay Hodge 65 Yd Pass From Jevan Snead (Joshua Shene Kick) 1438
Photo Wire
Northern Arizona running back Alex Henderson tries to skip through a tackle by a Mississippi defender in the first...
(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Associated Press

OXFORD, Miss. -- Shay Hodge scored two touchdowns on a career-high 169 receiving yards and Mississippi pulled away from Northern Arizona 38-14 Saturday night.

With the Rebels' top offensive weapon Dexter McCluster getting much of the night off, Hodge scored twice, including a 65-yard strike from quarterback Jevan Snead.

The Lumberjacks (5-4) made the game interesting with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, the second one tying the score at 14 with just under 8 minutes left in the half. But the Rebels (6-3) responded with 24 unanswered points.

McCluster did not touch the ball and saw limited action as Mississippi rested the senior in anticipation of its final three-game stretch. But Snead threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more, and Hodge came up with his second consecutive 100-plus-yard game.

It was the fourth time this season that Snead did not throw an interception, with three of those games coming outside of conference play. The junior completed 16 of 29 passes for 235 yards. Hodge caught nearly half of those passes, finishing with seven receptions.

Northern Arizona quarterback Michael Herrick returned to the school that signed him out of high school. The junior who did not play in two seasons with the Rebels, threw for 233 yards on 20-for-31 passing in his first action at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Conrad Meadows caught seven passes for 113 yards and Ed Berry had seven receptions for 81 yards.

Northern Arizona's Alex Henderson rushed for 102 yards and the Lumberjacks had 354 yards of offense, but they could not score in the final 38 minutes.

Mississippi blocked a pair of field goals in the second half. Kendrick Lewis blocked the first and Kentrell Lockett got the second.

Most of the action came during a second quarter, when the two teams combined for 38 of the game's 52 points.

Mississippi quickly grabbed momentum when Marcus Tilman intercepted Herrick on the first play of the game and returned it to the 15-yard line. Five plays later, Snead completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Hodge.

But the Rebels' offense stagnated after that until the prolific second quarter. Mississippi scored on all four of its drives in the quarter.

All six Mississippi scoring drives lasted 2:01 or less. Brandon Bolden had a 45-yard touchdown run and ran for 85 yards. He gained 83 of those yards in the second quarter.

Because two of their wins have come against Football Championship Subdivision opponents, the Rebels need to win one of their final three games to become bowl eligible. They host Tennessee and LSU the next two weeks before finishing the season at Mississippi State.

"It is all hands on deck," Rebels coach Houston Nutt said. "Now we get back to the war."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, November 7th
Vanderbilt 3 Final
1 Florida 27
9 LSU 15 Final
3 Alabama 24
South Carolina 16 Final
Arkansas 33
Tennessee Tech 0 Final
Georgia 38
Eastern Kentucky 12 Final
Kentucky 37
Furman 31 Final
Auburn 63
Memphis 28 Final
Tennessee 56
Northern Arizona 14 Final
Mississippi 38