Kellenberger: Ole Miss QB Wallace shreds ULL

OXFORD – The Bo Wallace believers were once again validated.

No. 14 Ole Miss' quarterback was nothing short of sensational for a little more than two quarters Saturday, which is all it took for the Rebels to deliver most of the damage in a 56-15 win against Louisiana-Lafayette and tell Wallace his day was done.

Wallace finished the game 23-for-28 with 316 yards and four touchdowns, but what was most impressive was how he got there.

The senior three-year starter completed his first 14 passes, and made it look easy. Repeatedly, Wallace went through his progression, surveyed the field and found the soft spot in the Ragin' Cajun defense. And when it was time to throw, he did it with good mechanics and zip on the ball.

"I'm playing how I expect myself to play," Wallace said. "I just have to do it every week."

It's the second-straight game where Wallace has done almost everything right (he did throw an interception in the second quarter, but most blamed receiver Cody Core's timing). As much worry as there was after that three-pick first half against Boise State, Wallace is 58-for-72 passing (80.5 percent) for 857 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception since then. That's all-SEC-caliber numbers.

So is this the actual Wallace? Coach Hugh Freeze says he thinks so, but this is still the same Wallace who did not throw an interception until the fifth game of the 2013 season. He's capable of stringing together games without turnovers.

"We still have a small sample size," Freeze said. "… He's been really solid, he seems really poised. At the hotel, he's very confident in the plan and understands it."

But for Ole Miss to have success next month, when it begins a season-making stretch of five games that includes four top-10 opponents, this is the Wallace that Ole Miss has to have.

"He keeps getting better and better," offensive coordinator Dan Werner said. "Hopefully that continues."

Maybe one of the more impressive things about Ole Miss' offensive output (which included an gaudy 9.2 yards per play in the first half) is that so much of it has come without receiver Laquon Treadwell being a factor. He caught four passes for 49 yards on Saturday, but has less than 100 total yards over the last two games. Wallace said Treadwell is seeing even more double coverage than Donte Moncrief, last year's No. 1 wide receiver, did.

As a result, Wallace is spreading the ball around. Vince Sanders had a career day (eight catches, 125 yards, two touchdowns), Core continues to impress and nine different receivers caught at least one pass. The run game was not particularly consistent, but it was explosive with 71- and 56-yard touchdown runs by Jaylen Walton and I'Tavius Mathers, respectively.

"I just think our guys beat them," Wallace said. "They had a pretty good plan, we hit some things we thought we could hit on them but we also missed some things. I just think our guys were better than theirs."

There are still small things to work on: maybe Ole Miss' run game is not designed to be consistently gaining 5-yards a pop, but the Rebels have to be able to convert on third-and-two consistently no matter what. Freeze said some young players are still lining up in the wrong places on both sides of the ball. The defense did give up 193 yards rushing on Saturday, and that's a tad concerning.

But Ole Miss has two weeks and one more game (Sept. 27 against Memphis) to fix all of that, before No. 3 Alabama comes to town and the Rebels have to go through that yearly litmus test for just how far this program has come. But on days like Saturday, when you remember it was just three short years ago that the Rebels had to come from behind to defeat Central Arkansas, things look pretty good.

"If we can come out and play and be focused and don't make mistakes that will kill the drive," Sanders said, "I think we can compete with anybody."

Contact Hugh Kellenberger at (601) 961-7291 or hkellenber@clarionledger.com. Follow @HKellenbergerCL on Twitter.

Key Player

Vince Sanders, wide recever

He had a career day with eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns

Key Figure

9.2

Yards per play gained in the first half, after which Ole Miss led 28-6.