Ole Miss 2025: New ticketing and Grove setup changes

OXFORD, Miss. (WJTV) - The 2025 Ole Miss football season is almost here, and there are some key changes to the Grove and to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Tap-and-Go Ticketing

Starting this season, all mobile tickets will use NFC-enabled technology. NFC tickets use "Tap and Go" for entry into athletic venues. Fans can simply add their ticket to their wallet to use on gameday and are strongly encouraged to add them in advance of arriving on campus.Click herefor more information.

New Grove Setup Schedule

There are no changes to the traditional gameday experience in The Grove nor the choices for setting up. Fans can choose to put up their own tent or purchase a setup for their preferred vendor.Timelines have been adjustedto allow for earlier, safer and more organized planning for all parties:

Key Friday Grove Times

• 2-3 p.m. – Registered student organizations and university departments set up
• 3-4:30 p.m. – Vendors set up their customers' tents
• 5:30 p.m. – Grove closes
• 6 p.m. – Grove opens for general public

Lane Kiffin's new challenge: Rebuilding Ole Miss with just four returning starters

No Field Rushes

In order to further avoid safety issues andincreased SEC penalties, stronger measures are being implemented to ensure that field rushes no longer occur at Vaught-Hemingway. Entering the playing field is strictly prohibited, and those found to be violators are subject to arrest. According to the university, violators could also be denied ticket privileges for the current and next season, including but not limited to student, season and single-game tickets.

Limited Single-Game Tickets Available

Limited quantities of single-game tickets for matchups against Georgia State, Arkansas, Tulane, Washington State, South Carolina and The Citadel still remain. Head toOleMissTix.comfor tickets

Can't Use Your Tickets?

If you can't make it to the game, get your ticket to someone who can!Click herefor information on how to transfer your tickets to another Rebel fan. You can alsosell your ticketon SeatGeek, the official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace of Ole Miss Athletics.

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Rocco Becht: 'Never a doubt' as Iowa State escapes Ireland opener

For Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, Saturday's win overseas was about more than just execution. It was about trust.

Asked what has made the Cyclones so consistent in close finishes over the last two seasons, Becht pointed to culture. "I think it's the culture that we have, the connectedness and togetherness that we have as a team, and the confidence that we have in each other," he said. "There's never a doubt in the game when we're down, or when we're up, that we're not going to win. I think everyone has a sense of urgency that we're going to win this game or make the big play that needs to be made."

The sophomore quarterback said head coach Matt Campbell set the tone late, choosing to run out the clock rather than risk turnovers. "Credit to coach Campbell of just taking the win, and just kneeling it down and understanding, you know, get the win and get out of here," Becht explained.

It wasn't easy. Rain in the first half made it difficult to hold onto the football. "With the rain coming down, it was pretty hard to keep a good grip on it," Becht admitted. But the game plan gave him a chance to settle in. "We did a really good job of putting out plays that were short passes for me to get comfortable in the game."

Looking ahead, Becht emphasized that the offense must improve. "Honestly, I have to do a better job of not letting that happen because I want to win by more than that and not have the defense pull up a bunch of stops," he said. "As an offense, like I said, we have to collectively get better and not be in these positions come further in the season."

Iowa State returns home to face South Dakota next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Fox.

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No. 18 Texas Tech Beats Santa Clara 2-1 on the Road

Texas Tech defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 2-1 on Thursday night, fueled by two goals in the game's first four minutes. Goals from Peyton Parsons and Taylor Zdrojewski, along with a determined defense, including five saves from Faith Nguyen, were all the Red Raiders needed to move to 3-0 on the season and secure a solid road win.

This is a veteran team with a bunch of feisty young players wanting to prove themselves," said Texas Tech head coach Tom Stone after the game. "That's a really good combination, and we just had a great start. There's no team coached by Jerry Smith that's not going to have something to say in the second half. So they took it to us pretty good, and that's when we found out how tough our team is. We dug in, we played great defense, we cleared balls, our marking in the box was excellent, and grinded out the win.

Texas Tech Stat Leaders

Taylor Zdrojewski – 7 shots, 2 SOG, 1 G, 73 min

Peyton Parsons – 2 shots, 2 SOG, 1 G, 1 A, 84 min

Alana Harry – 2 shots, 1 SOG, 1 A, 84 min

Faith Nguyen – 1 GA, 5 SV, 90 min

How It Happened

There are fast starts and then there is scoring in the game's opening 20 seconds, which is exactly what Texas Tech did. Before Santa Clara could even get a breath, Macy Blackburn sent a ball up to Alana Harry, who pushed one across the front of goal to the foot of Peyton Parsons, and it was 1-0 with 17 seconds showing on the clock.

We just weren't ready for their fast start," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "I think that's about the fastest goal we've probably ever conceded in Santa Clara women's soccer history. I think it was like 15 seconds. Credit to Texas Tech; they're a good team, an NCAA tournament team, and a top 20 team, and well-coached, and with a lot of good players...they're No. 16 up front, she's someone I can see why she scores so many goals. She's really hard to deal with.

No. 16, Zdrojewski, who was causing trouble for the Broncos early, scored her fourth goal of the season only minutes later at the 3:35 mark. The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week almost scored just seconds earlier after her shot hit the crossbar, but she wasn't denied. She boxed out the Bronco defender, and Kate Leibel set her up perfectly to turn and BURN one off her left foot into the net. It was 2-0, just like that.

We were awesome on the ball and the ball was getting moved around quickly," said Coach Stone. "We've got a lot of speed, so we just took advantage of the momentum that we created from the opening whistle and before they knew it we were up 2-0, they had to chase the game. Which helped us get to halftime in one piece as well, probably should have been up 3, but it's soccer.

As you would expect from a program rich in history like Santa Clara, the Broncos eventually settled in and put pressure on the Red Raiders' backline a few times to end the half. Most dangerously in the 35th minute when Nguyen made a neat kick save after Mailan Orzoco got free on the end line for a shot.

Freshman Raleigh Greason was a menace all game for Tech. Causing the Broncos fits throughout with her speed, she nearly got her second goal of the season near the end of the first half but the shot was deflecting wide of goal. It was the last shot attempt for either team of the half and the score held at 2-0 Texas Tech headed to the half.

As Coach Stone noted in the opening, however, a team coached by Jerry Smith (in his 39th season with the team) is going to adjust and come out fighting in the second half. That's exactly what they did, scoring three minutes into the half after Nguyen made a great save on the initial shot attempt but Adee Goulden snuck in to tap it in on the rebound.

From there, both teams settled in a bit and had their chances. Santa Clara was the aggressor trying to find the equalizer, but the Red Raiders dug in their heels and refused to let it happen. McCartney and Scursenski both were putting their bodies on the line to block shots in the middle, Bahr was taking on the Broncos' top threat one-on-one with the fearlessness she is known for, and Nguyen was making the saves when called upon.

Due to injuries forcing some key players to miss last season, plus new additions via transfers and freshmen, it's a team that hasn't been in the fire together like this yet and they came out with the win. Against a true soccer program (just go ahead and hop over to the preview article)hereif you aren't aware of Santa Clara's history.

That back line hasn't played together until this season and this midfield group hasn't played together in two years, that's a pretty good effort to show that we could close out a game against a team that had a lot of momentum. I couldn't be happier for them," said Coach Stone. "Early season wins. We're going to be better in a month, Santa Clara's going to be better in a month, but for now, you know, we get out of here with a win and we couldn't be happier about it.

Next Up: San Francisco on Sunday

Texas Tech will make the short drive to San Francisco, California to play the University of San Francisco Dons on Sunday at 11 am PT / 1 pm CT. Fans can stream the game on ESPN+.

We've got to start getting the ones who are going to play a lot of minutes excited for Sunday because we're going to rely on our bench quite a bit in that game, and they have to be ready," said Stone. DJ and Katie, Munger and Caitlin [Athletic Training + Strength & Conditioning staff], this is their Super Bowl. Now, after the game, they have to get us right for Sunday. Thankfully, today is Thursday, and we have a few days left, but that's everything. Now, can we regroup physically and be ready to play a good San Francisco team.

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Alex Brake, James Buchanan take off over York Tech in Rose Bowl

YORK — From the opening kick, James Buchanan took off.

The Rockets blasted off from the launch pad, igniting York Tech 60-13 on Saturday during the York Rose Bowl at Smalls Field. James Buchanan (1-0) dominated in every phase, setting up a 32-0 lead after the first quarter and a 46-0 advantage at halftime.

The matchup between the two last year at the same venue was a 15-13 decision, also in favor of the Rockets. The previous season, they lost. But with the sun shining off their silver trophy, white roses given to each and every veteran who rallied their group, the Mid-Penn Conference Capital representatives left no doubt this time around.

It's also the most points scored by the Rockets since a 50-39 win over Halifax on Sept. 3, 2021.

Being able to score 60 points in one game, that's unheard of for us in past years," said senior running back and middle linebacker Alex Brake. "This is a big moment for us. We have to keep this train rolling into our next game and throughout the season.

THE STARS

The game was thoroughly dictated at the line of scrimmage. James Nicol, Kolton Pensinger, Shawn Fisher, Clayton Gearheart, Jack Johnson and Brock Martin paved the way for 288 rushing yards on 33 total carries for James Buchanan.

Brake led from the stable, gaining 123 yards on seven carries, reaching the end zone four times on runs of 6, 53, 2 and 44 yards.

My big ole' favorite linemen were just taking on every block," Brake said. "There were plays where I wasn't even getting touched. I just saw green grass and headed straight forward.

Christian Pine rushed six times for 41 yards, adding a 6-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion run. Hunter Egli had nine carries for 63 yards with a 1-yard touchdown run, while Jakob Mayne and Zach Stoner scored touchdown runs of 2 and 6 yards, respectively.

It wasn't just the offensive side of the ball either. That group of two-way linemen was a bulwark for James Buchanan, holding the Spartans (0-1) to a net gain of just 16 yards through the first half of action.

We've been telling them all offseason that it starts with them. The game is won in the trenches, and that's what they did today," said Rockets coach Cliff Pine. "They won it in the trenches. We've got that big middle guy, James Nicol, the kid's a beast. Three hundred and 50 pounds, 6-foot-4, 350 pounds, he's going to move things out of his way and we're going to run the ball.

York Tech quarterback Cole Bisker returned after suffering a season-ending ACL injury last year. Finishing 13-of-24 for 136 passing yards and a touchdown, and taking an 11-yard keeper late in the third quarter to get on the board, 46-6, he showed flashes of potential after helping the Spartans get out to a 3-1 start last season.

It's a team effort, but Cole had a great game. I think we had nine or 10 dropped balls," said York Tech coach Steven Duvall. "He was on, he had some really good throws. He made good decisions, he was reading the defense well, a lot of maturity from Cole this year. He's really matured a lot, he's one of our team captains, our leaders and I think he showed it today on the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

James Buchanan didn't miss a beat, scoring 32 points in the first quarter alone. Egli returned the opening kick to the Spartans' 39-yard line, and then five plays later, he was in the end zone on a 1-yard run. With a 2-point conversion by quarterback Josh Kimmel, the Rockets started with an 8-0 lead.

The ensuing drive saw more points on the board, once again from Egli. Two botched snaps saw a scramble in the back of the end zone during an attempted punt, Egli bringing down the ball carrier for a safety and a 10-0 lead after four minutes of play.

Three minutes later, Brake capped a six-play, 37-yard scoring drive with his first of four touchdowns, Pine slamming in the 2-point conversion after — three straight drives on both sides of the ball resulting in points on James Buchanan's totem.

It didn't stop there. Needing 1 yard for a first down, Brake took a handoff 53 yards to the end zone. After a sack from Martin and a blocked punt that was downed at York Tech's 2-yard line with two seconds on the clock, Brake plunged in to carry a 32-0 lead through 12 minutes.

I'll be honest with you, 103.7 said we're going to lack defensively this year. I hope 103.7 watched this game because we're not going to lack defensively," Pine said. "Our guys are hungry on both sides of the ball this year, and we're going to come out with fire and intent every game.

The Spartans gained one first down in the first half, while Stoner and Pine recorded consecutive 6-yard touchdown runs to further extend their lead in the second quarter. James Buchanan never looked back once.

BIG PICTURE

The game was the fourth consecutive season-opening meeting between the two, the Rockets having now won three of them in that time.

For a team that's still searching for a winning record for the first time since 2009, there have been signs of inching closer to that rebuild. In Duvall's first season as head coach of the Spartans, they secured two more wins than the previous year, although one was by forfeit.

York Tech still had a 3-1 start last year despite losing a close game to James Buchanan, and with Bisker back in form, the Spartans hope to recover against Kutztown and Columbia over the next two weeks of their non-conference schedule.

We were getting blown out on both sides of the ball. They won the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball and we have to be better," Duvall said. "We have to continue to practice and get better. That's the name of the game. We made a lot of mistakes. We'll look at film. We'll let this one set in, we'll get back to it tomorrow in our coaches' meeting, practice on Monday and get ready for Week 2.

York Tech 0-0-6-7 — 13

James Buchanan 32-14-7-7 — 60

First quarter

JB-Hunter Egli 1 run (Josh Kimmel run), 9:22

JB-Egli safety, 7:59

JB-Alex Brake 6 run (Christian Pine run), 5:11

JB-Brake 53 run (Finn Lorson kick), 1:16

JB-Brake 2 run (Lorson kick), 0:00

Second quarter

JB-Zach Stoner 6 run (Lorson kick), 7:11

JB-Pine 6 run (Lorson kick), 0:53

Third quarter

YT-Cole Bisker 11 run (kick failed), 5:34

JB-Brake 44 run (Lorson kick), 3:16

Fourth quarter

YT-Cam Clouser 8 pass from Cole Bisker (Landen Grazuties kick), 9:40

JB-Jakob Mayne 2 run (Lorson kick), 2:52

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: 9, 7

Rush yards: 33-288, 16-21

Passing: 44, 136

Comp-Att-Int: 2-5-0, 13-26-0

Fumbles-lost: 1-1, 3-1

Points: 1, 5

Penalties: 5-40, 2-10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING –James Buchanan: Alex Brake 7-123, Christian Pine 6-41, Hunter Egli 9-63, Jakob Mayne 7-48; Zach Stoner 1-6; Briar Hensley 3-7; York Tech: Cole Bisker 7-14, Serge McGill 7-2, Magnus Mitchell 2-5.

PASSING –James Buchanan: Josh Kimmel 2-4-0—44, Stoner 0-1-0—0; York Tech: Bisker 13-24-0—136, Diego Diaz 0-2-0—0.

RECEIVING –James Buchanan: Brock Martin 1-25, Pine 1-19; York Tech: Dominic Quintin 3-56, McGill 5-37, Cam Clouser 3-29, Mikell Gee Jr. 1-18, Marques Parker 1-2.

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