OXFORD, Miss. _ Two early special teams miscues put the University of Central Arkansas Bears in a hole they could not climb out of Saturday night against a talented and deep Ole Miss team in Oxford, Miss.

The 22nd-ranked Ole Miss Rebels took advantage of two punt team errors in the opening 10 minutes of the game and cruised to a 59-3 victory over the Bears in front of a crowd of 58,373 Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the second largest crowd ever faced by a UCA team.

After the Rebels (2-0) opened the game with a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive, UCA (0-2) had a punt sail over the head of junior Chandler Caughron that was picked up and returned 25 yards for another Ole Miss touchdown. On UCA's next possession, Caughron's punt was blocked and recovered at the 4 and the Rebels scored two plays later for a daunting 21-0 lead.

UCA's first-half highlights were an interception by junior cornerback K.C. Clark, UCA's first pick of the season, and a sack by junior defensive end Logan Jessup.

"We knew it would be an uphill battle coming in here against a great program and what they've accomplished over the last few years under Coach (Lane) Kiffin," said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "But we really let is snowball on us early, and that hurt us, especially the two punt blunders. The snap over our head and then the blocked punt.

"That put us behind the eight ball early and we couldn't get any momentum. I thought we were able to run the ball a little bit early on and move the chains a little bit on the first few drives. But we just couldn't sustain anything. And we knew going in that that defense they are playing with over there is really good. I can't wait to watch them the rest of the year because I do think that much of them. They've got some real good replacements through the transfer portal,  with some real impact guys, and they showed up."

The Bears managed just 79 yards of total offense in the opening 30 minutes, compared to 275 yards for the Rebels. Ole Miss scored five times (four touchdowns in the first quarter, one field goal in the second), with no drive consisting of more than seven plays. UCA, which lost to Ole Miss 48-27 in the only other meeting in 2012, after leading at halftime, lost a fumble and tossed an interception in the first half on Saturday.

For the game, UCA finished with 233 yards of total offense, including 102 on the ground and 133 through the air. Sophomore Darius Hale had a team-high 46 yards rushing while junior quarterback Will McElvain completed 13 of 27 passes for 126 yards. Senior Jarrod Barnes tied his career best with five receptions for 43 yards. Sophomore linebacker Demetrias Charles led the Bears with a career-high eight tackles, including one for loss.

"You come in this environment, you can't give them any gimmes, and that's what we did early on,'" said Brown. "And we just couldn't seize any kind of momentum to get us going in that first half. And then in the second half it was probably about you're not going to come back from 31 down. Really just fight to get something positive out of it. The third quarter wasn't great, but the fourth quarter was OK."

The Bears finally got on the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter when they drove 62 yards in 12 plays and capped it with a 31-yard field goal by senior Hayden Ray with 9:54 remaining. It was Ray's 33rd career field goal and gave him 228 career points.
 

It was the eighth time in the NCAA Division I era, which began in 2006, in which the Bears have allowed 50+ points. UCA lost all seven previous games.

"Now it 's about brushing ourselves off and getting ready for this final 10-week stretch," said Brown. "And I think we have a chance to play with anyone we play from here on out. This team hasn't had the chance to get the fruits of its labor yet rewarded, but I truly believe it's coming soon.  I think we're a good football team, I do. Now we haven't proven it yet, but I also say, as far as FCS goes, I don't think anybody has played a tougher schedule than we have in Week 1 and Week 2 with the opponents we have had.

"It is what it is and we have to react and respond in a positive way. In the locker room, we weren't necessarily upbeat, but we were OK. There's just been some things, that unfortunately you don't have any grace period when you're playing really good football teams. You open with a great team at our level, then you play a Top 20 team in the SEC, that's pretty unforgiving. 

"But I do think we have a good team. I think they need to taste victory, I think they need to have a taste of what it feels like to win a game together. "

The Bears continue their three-game road trip at Idaho State next Saturday afternoon in Pocatello, Idaho, followed by a game at Southeast Missouri on Sept. 24.

"We'll adjust and get better for this," said Brown. "We'll simplify some things and prepare ourselves for the next two weeks, because we have two tough road games ahead of us. It doesn't get any easier, and we know that. We have to get excited about it and move forward and get better."