Arkansas Business

OXFORD, Miss. — UCA couldn't have scripted a much better first half during Saturday's game against Mississippi.

The second half was exactly the opposite.

And the result was a 49-27 loss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium that left Central Arkansas Coach Clint Conque disappointed after a missed opportunity.

"We will learn and grow from it," Conque said. "We came here to win a football game, but we knew this was going to be a tough environment."

Bo Wallace threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns in his Football Bowl Subdivision debut as Mississippi rallied to beat Central Arkansas by scoring 35 unanswered points in the second half.

Wallace — a 6-foot-5, 210-pound junior college transfer — was nearly flawless in first-year coach Hugh Freeze's offense, completing 20 of 24 passes, though he did have one interception. He also rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Despite the comfortable final margin, the game wasn't easy for the Rebels, who came into the season on a seven-game losing streak. Central Arkansas led 20-14 at halftime before Ole Miss scored five straight touchdowns.

Donte Moncrief led Ole Miss with eight receptions for 104 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown catch from Wallace in the third quarter that pushed the Rebels' lead to 28-20.

"I had told him the play before, we were coming back to that short post," Wallace said. "But when I let it go, it was a very tight window and Donte made the play."

Central Arkansas' Wynrick Smothers completed 25 of 32 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Jackie Hinton led the Bears with 52 yards on 13 carries.

Freeze came to Ole Miss promising a wide-open, up-tempo offense and the Rebels delivered early on a muggy night. Wallace completed his first two passes, then rushed for a 25-yard touchdown on the first drive to give Ole Miss an early 7-0 lead.

But offense wasn't the problem for the Rebels in the first half. Defense was.