OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Luke Altmyer threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, Michael Trigg had three touchdown catches and No. 22 Mississippi routed Central Arkansas 59-3 on Saturday night.
Ole Miss (2-0) raced to a 28-0 first-quarter lead, highlighted by touchdown passes of 1 and 7 yards from Altmyer to Trigg before adding a 1-yard scoring run to cap the decisive surge.
Altmyer was 6 of 13 for 90 yards before being lifted late in the second quarter with what a school spokesperson described as an upper-body injury, pending evaluation.
The early outburst opened with a 6-yard touchdown run from Zach Evans.
Ole Miss got a 25-yard punt return for a touchdown from Ladarius Tennyson after a poor snap, and set up another score when Bobo Miller blocked a punt.
Atlantic Sun Conference member Central Arkansas (0-2), trailed 31-0 at halftime. It had 182 yards of total offense.
Hayden Ray made a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout.
Jaxson Dart, a transer from Southern California, relieved Altmyer and finished 10 of 15 passing for 182 yards, highlighted by touchdown passes of 6 yards to Malik Heath and 2 yards to Trigg.
Ole Miss finished with 487 yards of total offense. Quinshon Judkins rushed for 104 yards as the Rebels pulled away, leading 52-0 after three periods..
THE TAKEAWAY
Central Arkansas: The FCS-member Bears were down 28-0 in less than 13 minutes. Demetrias Charles had eight tackles and KC Clark added an interception to highlight an overworked defense.
Mississippi: The defense and special teams were outstanding, including a 41-yard field goal from Jonathan Cruz. Pending the physical evaluation of Altmyer, the quarterback role figures to be filled exclusively Dart.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Ole Miss dropped a spot last week despite a win over Troy, so improving to 2-0 should not force a major move in either direction. The Rebels are ranked seventh of the eight SEC teams in the Top 25.
UP NEXT
Mississippi: The Rebels visit Georgia Tech on Saturday for the first time since the 1971 Peach Bowl, a 41-18 Ole Miss win.
Central Arkansas: The Bears return to FCS competition with a visit Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference on Saturday.
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