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Published Oct 17, 2022
Notes: Rebels keep racking up weekly honors
Neal McCready  •  RebelGrove
Publisher

OXFORD -- For the fifth consecutive week, Ole Miss football found its way on the Southeastern Conference's weekly awards list. Quinshon Judkins was named SEC Freshman of the Week, joined by Defensive Lineman of the Week Jared Ivey, the league office announced Monday morning.

Judkins' phenomenal rookie campaign continued in Ole Miss' 48-34 win over Auburn this weekend, marked by his third SEC Freshman of the Week nod this season. Jonathan Mingo, Micah Pettus and Nick Broeker have all also earned weekly honors on the offensive side, while Ivey becomes the first Rebel defender to be honored by the conference.

Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Judkins led Ole Miss with 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. The freshman out of Pike Road, Alabama, also added his first collegiate receiving touchdown. Behind Judkins, Ole Miss amassed 448 yards on the ground against the Tigers. Judkins, along with Zach Evans and Jaxson Dart, was one of three 100-yard rushers on the day for the Rebels.

Judkins leads all FBS freshmen in rushing with 718 yards on the season. He is No. 2 in the SEC and No. 11 in FBS in rushing overall. Judkins also leads the SEC ranks No. 4 nationally in total touchdowns. Evans and Judkins are the only duo in the FBS with 600-plus rushing yards and together lead the No. 3 rushing offense in the nation and the best among Power 5 conferences.

Ivey, meanwhile, played a critical role on a Rebel defensive front that was without its top pass rusher, Cedric Johnson. Ivey filled in admirably, tallying four tackles, including 1.5 for a loss and one sack while making just his second start at Ole Miss.

"I literally just found out," Ivey said Monday afternoon. "I was shocked. Then I went to Twitter, saw it, retweeted it. I was shocked."

In his third SEC game, Ivey forced his second fumble of the season, as well as his first fumble recovery, one of three turnovers on the day for the Rebel defense. With Ivey sparking the pass rush, Ole Miss limited Auburn to just 140 passing yards in the victory.

Of course, Ole Miss allowed more than 300 rushing yards to the Tigers, something LSU will likely try to capitalize on when the seventh-ranked Rebels head to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers (5-2, 3-1).

"We just have to play more physical, be able to make our checks and our reads and go out there and play more violent and have a better game," Ivey said.

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Ivey gets the stat nod

Ivey was credited with a forced fumble in the first half of the Rebels' win over Auburn. Tavius Robinson playfully disputed the ruling.

"We have been fighting over it," Ivey said, smiling. "Tavius, I feel like, loosened it, and then I drove through the tackle and knocked it out, I feel like. He doesn't feel like that. There's an angle where it looks like it's all me and there's an angle where it looks like it was me. Who cares? We met at the quarterback, party at the quarterback, do our thing. Either way, it was a positive."

Ole Miss-Texas A&M time set

Ole Miss football's game vs. Texas A&M on Oct. 29 has been slated for a 6:30 p.m. start and will be televised on SEC Network, the league office announced Monday.

This will be the 14th all-time meeting between the Rebels and Aggies. It will be the first time the Rebels have been to Bryan-College Station since 2018, after the 2020 game was canceled due to COVID issues.

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