Final Score: (8) Ole Miss 45, Memphis 14

Memphis, TN (Sports Network) - Jevan Snead threw for 175 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions on 12-of-22 efficiency, as No. 8 Ole Miss pulled away late to crush Memphis, 45-14, in the season opener for both teams.

Brandon Bolden gained 71 yards and a TD on nine carries for the Rebels (1-0), who finished 9-4 last year and had a 47-34 triumph over Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl during Houston Nutt's first year as coach. Dexter McCluster added 50 yards and a score on nine touches and 65 yards and a touchdown on six grabs. Enrique Davis found the end zone in the win and Markeith Summers also had a TD catch.

"Jevan Snead didn't have his game going in the first half, but it wasn't all his fault," said Nutt. "But, the second half he came back and really executed. Another thing you have to love about Jevan is that when things don't go just right, he doesn't put his head down. He's a winner, and the guy really came back and played well."

Arkelon Hall tallied 110 yards and two picks on 15-of-30 passing for the Tigers (0-1), who had their second straight postseason berth last season, although the team looked completely out of place in a 41-14 setback to South Florida in the 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl. That loss dropped the Tigers to a 6-7 finish, their second losing season in the past three years. Curtis Steele notched a pair of TDs and 90 yards on 19 carries. Duke Calhoun led all Memphis receivers with 53 yards on five grabs.

"Offensively, we made errors and didn't do the things we had to do to give ourselves a chance to win the game," said Memphis head coach Tommy West. "I am really disappointed in what we did offensively."

Trailing by 17 points early in the fourth, the Tigers got the ball at their own 20 and went to work. Steele broke a 28-yard rush into Ole Miss territory. Seven plays later, Steele found the end zone with a five-yard run and Memphis was within 24-14 with 9:09 showing on the clock.

The Rebels, though, responded with a seven-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with Summers' 18-yard TD catch which gave Ole Miss a 31-14 edge.

On the first play following a Hall fumble, Snead hit McCluster for a 17- yard scoring strike to make it a 24-point affair. Davis added a 29-yard TD with six seconds left to account for the final margin.

After Memphis went three-and-out on the game's first possession, Ole Miss started at its own 44 and drove down the field before Joshua Shene nailed a 27-yard field goal to make it 3-0. Later in the first, Bolden punched in a one-yard score to make it 10-0 with just under 6 1/2 minutes left.

As the Rebels were driving early in the second quarter, Deante' Lamar picked off Snead and returned it to the Ole Miss 25. Three plays later, Steele found paydirt from a yard out to close it to three points.

Fon Ingram returned an interception 38 yards to the end zone late in the second to give the Rebels a 17-7 lead at the intermission.

The teams failed to put up any points in the third, and Ole Miss stopped Memphis on 4th-and-1 from the Rebels 43. Bolden's 28-yard rush that had a seven-yard face-mask penalty attached to the end of it highlighted the drive that was capped by a one-yard TD plunge from McCluster. The trek made it 24-7 with 12:43 left to play.

Game Notes

The Rebels outgained the Tigers, 349-284...Memphis and Ole Miss met for the 59th time Sunday, with the Rebels holding a commanding 47-10-2 lead in the all-time series. Ole Miss has won the last five meetings in the rivalry and that includes a 41-24 triumph in the 2008 season-opener for both schools.

09/07 02:20:26 ET