Football Tops Kentucky in OT for First Win of Kiffin Era

LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the second consecutive week, the Ole Miss Rebels found themselves in a shootout, but this time, they were able to complete the rally. The Rebels (1-1) overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to force overtime and knock off the Kentucky Wildcats, 42-41, for the first win of the Lane Kiffin era in Oxford. The win was also Ole Miss' first overtime triumph since 2004.

"Obviously an awesome win for our fans, for our kids. Crazy game, to be down like that and for them to come back, go to overtime, just a crazy game. It was great to see our guys battle back," Kiffin said.

Matt Corral completed 24 of 29 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to Jonathan Mingo, who had eight catches for 128 yards. Elijah Moore and Kenny Yeboah combined for 13 catches for 175 and a touchdown each.

On the ground, Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner combined for 18 carries, 69 yards and a touchdown each. Corral also added 51 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Defensively, the Rebels were led by Jaylon Jones who finished with 10 total tackles, including six solo stops. Jacquez Jones, MoMo Sanogo and Tariqious Tisdale combined for 20 total tackles. Despite giving up 559 total yards and 408 rushing yards, Ole Miss made timely stops in the second half to get back in the game and later win it.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Rebels wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Thanks to plays from Jerrion Ealy, Tylan Knight and a 31-yard catch by Jonathan Mingo, they used an eight-play, 75-yard drive to find the end zone with Ealy's one yard touchdown run. The Rebels led 7-0 with 12:38 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats responded with a 72-yard run on their first play, but the Rebel defense stood tall on the goal line as Ashanti Cistrunk jarred the ball loose and Ryder Anderson recovered. Ole Miss could not capitalize, going three-and-out. Kentucky then only used four plays to put their first points on the board with a Terry Wilson 4-yard touchdown run with 7:36 left in the first quarter, tying the game at seven apiece.

Jerrion Ealy returned the ensuing kickoff to the Rebel 46-yard line, but all to no avail with another Ole Miss three-and-out. After throwing the football for the first time midway through the first quarter, Kentucky moved downfield with ease, capping off an eight-play, 80 yard drive with an Asim Rose touchdown run from two yards out. The Wildcats led 14-7 with 1:33 left in the first quarter, their first lead of the game. Both teams combined for 300 yards of total offense in the first quarter.

Corral then found Elijah Moore for a pair of first down catches and used a late hit penalty to lead the Rebels downfield and tie the game at 14. Corral found Kenny Yeboah wide open over the middle for a 14-yard touchdown catch, capping off a 10 play, 75-yard drive with 13:19 left in the second quarter. The Rebel defense responded by forcing a Kentucky punt for the first time in the game with 11:22 left in the second quarter.

After both teams traded punts, Kentucky received a jolt of momentum going into the locker room after Kentucky used a nine-play, 83-yard drive, capped off with a Terry Wilson 22-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left in the first half. The score was 21-14 Wildcats at halftime.

The Wildcats averaged 9.2 yards per rush and totaled 220 rushing yards in the first half, all of which outnumbered Ole Miss in first half total offense with 195.

To begin the third quarter, Kentucky continued to run the football with success and it paid off once again with 10:41 left in the third frame. The Wildcats took a two-score lead with a 22-yard touchdown run by Chris Rodriguez, capping off a 10-play, 75-yard drive. All 75 yards were gained on the ground. The score was then 28-14 Kentucky.

Ole Miss quickly responded just four plays later on a 75-yard drive with a pair of big pass connections, including a 24-yard touchdown pass from Corral to Jonathan Mingo. The Wildcat lead was cut to 28-21 with 9:17 left in the third quarter. That only began Mingo's enormous second half.

Again, the ground game was working for the Wildcats, but a negative play and pass break up forced Matt Ruffolo to kick a 49-yard field goal. The kick bounced off the right upright and the Rebels were back in business at their own 31-yard line. The Rebels made their way to the Kentucky goal line, but failed to score on 4th-and-goal with Ealy being stuffed on an option play with 2:17 left in the third quarter. Ole Miss proceeded to force a three-and-out en route to the final 15 minutes of play.

The Rebels used five plays to tie the game with Corral connecting with Mingo for the second time on a 16-yard touchdown pass. With 13:37 left in the game, the game was tied at 28. The Wildcats proceeded to move the ball into Rebel territory, but MoMo Sanogo was able to come up with a huge sack on 4th-and-8. Ole Miss had the football at their own 47-yard line with a chance to take their first lead since the first quarter.

It took just three plays to retake the lead with Snoop Conner's second rushing touchdown of the game from the goal line, giving the Rebels a 35-28 lead with 8:23 left in the game.

Wilson converted twice on third down and threw four first down passes for the Wildcats on the ensuing drive, resulting in the home team tying the game with 2:04 left to play. Rodriguez found the end zone on the goal line, capping off a 12-play drive that took 6:19 off the clock. Two negative plays by the Ole Miss offense resulted in punting the football away with 35 second left, forcing the game into overtime. The Rebels started overtime on defense.

Terry Wilson quickly found the end zone from 10 yards out for his third score of the game, but Ruffolo's missed PAT made the score 41-35, opening the door for the Rebels to steal the comeback victory. Corral found Elijah Moore near the goal line after four plays and Luke Logan kicking the game-winning PAT to secure Kiffin's first win as the Ole Miss head coach.

Ole Miss will return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Sat., October 10 to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

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Team Stats

Matt Corral

Players Mentioned

Ryder Anderson

Ashanti Cistrunk

Snoop Conner

Matt Corral

Jerrion Ealy

Jacquez Jones

Jaylon Jones

Tylan Knight

Luke Logan

Jonathan Mingo

Elijah Moore

MoMo Sanogo

Tariqious Tisdale

Kenny Yeboah

Players Mentioned

Ryder Anderson

Ashanti Cistrunk

Snoop Conner

Matt Corral

Jerrion Ealy

Jacquez Jones

Jaylon Jones

Tylan Knight

Luke Logan

Jonathan Mingo

Elijah Moore

MoMo Sanogo

Tariqious Tisdale

Kenny Yeboah

The University of Mississippi Athletics