Bo Wallace had arguably his worst day in his last start as quarterback at Ole Miss.
Wallace tied his season-high and career-high with three interceptions, lost a fumble, and was sacked five times in a 42-3 loss to No. 6 TCU in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Wednesday at the Georgia Dome.
“I didn’t want to go out this way,” Wallace said. “I didn’t want the seniors to go out this way.”
Some of Wallace’s mistakes — such as the sacks — were forced by a swarming Horned Frogs defense that repeatedly won the one-on-one battles against a banged-up Rebels offensive line. Others — such as the interception in the end zone — were poor decisions, sometimes called the “Bad Bo Wallace,” by those who follow Ole Miss. He completed 10 of 23 passes for 109 yards, eight more than the career low of 101 set in a 39-0 win against Tulane in 2012.
Wallace also threw three interceptions against Boise State on Aug. 28, in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game, also in the Georgia Dome. But he offset that with four touchdowns in a 35-13 victory.
There was no offset, or even a reset, in an odd performance Wednesday by a senior making his 39th start.
The day started poorly, with Wallace throwing an interception on the game’s opening possession. TCU later turned it into a touchdown. Wallace said it was a pass he shouldn’t have thrown.
Wallace followed with another poor pass in which he never looked off his receiver. The tunnel vision led TCU free safety Derrick Kindred to the interception at the 41-yard line. Wallace said he should have tried to lead the receiver more.
Wallace made yet another just before halftime in a day filled with inexplicable errors.
After almost being sacked on first down for a safety — he managed to get out of the end zone and to the 1 — Wallace was again under pressure on second down. Instead of throwing the ball safely away or simply taking the safety, Wallace threw a soft pass into the middle of the line that TCU’s James McFarland intercepted in the end zone. Wallace said he was trying to throw the ball into the feet of Cody Core. The score gave the Horned Frogs a 28-0 lead with two minutes left in the half.
After regrouping at halftime, Wallace missed a screen pass and then lost a fumble on the Rebels’ first possession of the second half. That mistake was also turned into a touchdown by TCU for a 42-0 lead.
The indignities continued on fourth-and-goal on the 7 later in the quarter. While Wallace was surveying the defense the snap came flying past him. He recovered the ball, but had no hope of doing anything.
“We had a chance to help next year’s in the preseason ratings, and that was important to me,” Wallace said. “This program has given me a lot, and I felt like winning this game would be me giving them a top-five rating in the preseason next year.”
