OXFORD - On a team with inexperience at many positions, Brandon Bolden stood out.

It's unclear if the the Ole Miss tailback, who narrowly missed 1,000 yards in 2010, will be available in the near future, however.

Bolden injured an ankle on a 4-yard gain early in the second quarter.

"It doesn't look good. There could be something wrong, maybe a fracture," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said.

Bolden's backup, Enrique Davis, left the game in the fourth quarter. Nutt had nothing to report on Davis' injury.

Sophomore Jeff Scott, the speed back, was injured and left the game in the first quarter, but he was the only running back to return.

With injuries mounting at tailback, seldom-used junior Devin Thomas got more action than he likely would have.

Thomas was used primarily as a blocker. He carried once for 3 yards and had one catch for 5 yards.

Nutt said he would probably move players from other positions to running back this week. He specifically named wide receiver Korvic Neat and freshman defensive back Chief Brown.

Marry, Jackson lead the defense

Defensive standouts for Ole Miss included safety Damien Jackson and linebacker Mike Marry, each with 13 tackles.

Junior college transfers Uriah Grant and Aaron Garbutt made their first college starts.

Defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix said earlier in the week that he intended to drop the "Spur" position and insert another linebacker, but Garbutt started at Spur, a kind of combo safety-linebacker spot. He finished with five tackles.

Grant, at defensive tackle, had three stops.

In addition to his 96-yard interception return, safety Charles Sawyer had seven tackles.

Turnover Margin

The Rebels were last in the SEC, 88th in the country in turnover margin last year.

They begin the season minus-1 in that category. No interceptions were thrown, but the Rebels had a fumble by Scott deep in BYU territory to negate a scoring opportunity in the first quarter.

Key Play

BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy broke free from tight end Ferbia Allen and made the game-changing hit on Zack Stoudt. Van Noy not only forced the fumble, he recovered it and got in the end zone.

Key Number - 64

The run game figured to be a strong for Ole Miss, but the Rebels managed just 64 yards on 29 attempts.

Key Drive

Ole Miss moved 49 yards in nine plays late in the second quarter. Stoudt was comfortable in the pocket, completing 2-of-4 passes, one of them a 16-yard screen pass to Jeff Scott. He also showed poise in throwing the ball out of bounds when the drive bogged down on third-and-goal, and the Rebels settled for a 20-yard field goal from Bryson Rose.

Quotable

"Losing is losing, and the bottom line is we helped them. The defense played well enough to win, but it's a team game. If we don't help them, then we win the game, it's a celebrated locker room, and everybody's happy." - Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt

Next Weekend

Ole Miss is at home against FCS for Southern Illinois in a 5 p.m., start.

Rebel Ramblings

As the freshman receivers went, only Donte Moncrief caught a pass, finishing with three receptions for for 16 yards. ... Nick Brassell was thrown to on deep patterns and dropped a pass in the end zone in the third quarter after he'd clearly beaten his man. It proved to be a four-point swing as the Rebels settled for a field goal. ...Junior college transfer tight end Jamal Mosely had two catches for 21 yards. ... BYU had scored in 22 consecutive quarters before being held scoreless for three quarters Saturday. ... Charles Sawyer's 96-yard interception return was the longest for Ole Miss since Dustin Mouzon went 99 yards with a pick at Memphis in 2007. ... Junior kicker Bryson Rose hit field goal attempts from 20 and 29 yards and his now 18-for-20 for his career. ... Junior punter Tyler Campbell led the nation with a 46.4-yard average last year. He had a career-long punt of 73 yards in the first quarter and averaged 56.8 yards on four punts.