College Football
Scottie Phillips leads Ole Miss in 47-27 rout of Texas Tech
Scottie Phillips, Ole Miss running back, is the real deal. In his first game with the “Runnin’ Rebels,” Phillips ran every which way through and around the Texas Tech Red Raiders. His 204 yard effort led Ole Miss to a 47-27 rout of Texas Tech on Saturday in the Advocare Texas Kickoff Classic.
Phillips, an Ellisville, Mississippi native, has dreamed of this day. With no scholarships from any Mississippi schools, Ellis took the JUCO journey. Signing with Jones County Junior College (245 miles from Oxford), Phillips kept running. With consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons, he was ready when Ole Miss came calling.
“The coaches were telling me I had a chance to come in and be the guy, but it’s not given,” Phillips said. “I had to come in here and earn it during the spring, and I think that’s what I did. That was my motivation during the spring.”
On Saturday, he made his SEC debut. It is a debut that already has people talking, including his coach.
“I was cautiously optimistic because I’d seen a lot of really, really good things in the spring and in fall camp,” said Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke after the game. “He has short, quick bursts but he also has the breakaway speed where he can finish it when he breaks the line. Really, really pleased to see him have success.”
OH BABY pic.twitter.com/EJSFEBSM9N
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 1, 2018
Scottie Phillips
Comfortable in his role as a feature back, the soon to be 21 year old scored from 39 yards out on his sixth carry from scrimmage. In the third quarter, he burst through the middle for a 65 yard touchdown run putting Ole Miss up 24-7 with 1:08 left in the first.
“When he did it again, I was like, ‘Damn, Scottie (Phillips) is a beast,” Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta’amu said. “I just can remember saying that in my head. He’s just an amazing player, and he knows where to go and how to make a person miss, and I like seeing that in the backfield, just watching him run. It was amazing.”
Scottie Phillips’ 200 yard effort made him just the eighth player in Rebels history to reach the mark. To put it in perspective, he is the eighth in the 124 year football history of Ole Miss totalling 1,207 games.
Top SEC Receiving Trio
The nation’s number two JUCO rusher overshadowed the other performances of Ole Miss’ powerful offense. Ta’Amu under center completed 22 of 32 for 336 yards and two scores. Both strikes landed in the arms of a receiving corps ranked tops in the SEC. DK Metcalf caught the game’s first score on the second play from scrimmage going 58 yards. AJ Brown hauled in the other from 34 yards to open the fourth quarter. Together with DaMarkus Lodge, the trio tracked down 17 Ta’Amu throws for 270 yards.
Sophomore walk-on Luke Logan added four field goals in the win.
Photo credit to Roger Disspayne
