No. 9 Ole Miss crushed by No. 6 TCU 42-3 in Peach
ATLANTA (AP) - Bo Wallace spent far too much of his final game on his back, courtesy of the TCU pass rush.
Wallace threw three interceptions and was sacked five times as No. 9 Mississippi was overwhelmed in its 42-3 loss to No. 6 TCU in the Peach Bowl on Wednesday.
Wallace leaves Ole Miss with career records for total yards, plays, 300-yards games and completion percentage. He also leaves with the sting of a loss in which the Rebels were held to 9 yards rushing and 129 total yards.
"It's pretty obvious that I didn't want to go out this way," Wallace said. "I didn't want the seniors to go out this way. Really, we had a chance to help next year's team in the preseason rankings and that was important to me."
Ole Miss (9-4) couldn't keep pace with the Horned Frogs, who rode three touchdown passes from Trevone Boykin and a dominant defense to the lopsided win.
Wallace and the Rebels had a poor start and never recovered.
On the third play of the game, Wallace's pass over the middle was intercepted by Chris Hackett. Two plays later, TCU led 7-0.
The rout was on.
With 2 minutes remaining in the half, Wallace tried to avoid a safety when he threw a short desperation pass in the end zone. The ball was caught by TCU defensive end James McFarland for a touchdown and a 28-0 halftime lead.
"The first half was like a straight punch in the mouth," said Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram.
Ole Miss ranked first in the nation with its average of only 13.8 points allowed. Turnovers and TCU's quick-strike offense were too much to overcome.
Wallace completed only 10 of 23 passes for 109 yards with three interceptions.
The Rebels avoided the shutout when Gary Wunderlich kicked a 27-yard field goal with 7:18 remaining.
Josh Doctson had two touchdown catches and Aaron Green ran for a score and added a touchdown reception for the Horned Frogs (12-1).
"We showed Atlanta, the crowd and everyone that we deserve to be in the playoffs competing for the national championship," said receiver Kolby Listenbee, who threw a touchdown pass and had a scoring catch.
Ole Miss lost four of its last six games.
TCU looked like a championship contender to Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze.
"TCU is a very good team," Freeze said. "They deserved ever mention they got this year to be in the hunt for one of the four. ... I'm glad I'm not on that committee to pick the four. They certainly could compete with any of the four in it, there's no question in my mind."
The action was as lopsided as the score. TCU finished with 423 yards in the biggest margin of victory in Peach Bowl history.
Freeze said the loss was especially painful to the Ole Miss seniors.
"I got to go around that locker room to see every single senior and to see them hurt like they're hurting today is not much fun," Freeze said.
Boykin also had turnover problems, as he completed 22 of 31 passes for 187 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He had 10 carries for 65 yards.
The Rebels finally staged an impressive drive late in the third quarter, when they had a first down at the TCU 8. On fourth down from the 7, the shotgun snap went past Wallace, and running back Jordan Wilkins fell on the ball at the 26.
Ole Miss left tackle Laremy Tunsil, an all-SEC first-team selection, was taken off the field in a cart late in the first half. Freeze said Tunsil broke his right fibula. Some TCU players walked over to offer encouragement to Tunsil as he waited for the cart.
Attendance was 65,706, ending the Peach Bowl's streak of 17 consecutive sellouts.
The bowl is sponsored by Chick-fil-A.
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