Defense Seals Football's Win Over No. 7 Kentucky

OXFORD, Miss. – Some might call them two miraculous stops; others might say two good defensive plays. Call them what you will.

But late in a Southeastern Conference battle Saturday, Ole Miss recovered two Kentucky fumbles to preserve a dramatic 22-19 victory and move to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in SEC play. The Wildcats fell to 4-1 and 1-1.

With the Rebels clinging to a three-point lead, a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Cruz their only points of the second half, it was the Ole Miss defense which saved the day.

A Kentucky drive that began with 10:14 on the game clock, ended 11 plays later with a fumble by quarterback Will Levis at the Rebel 18, forced by Austin Keys and recovered by A.J. Finley at the 21.

With two timeouts left and Ole Miss not able to move it, UK got the football back again, this time with 1:49 left to play. Five plays later at the UM 12, Levis was sacked for a 13-yard loss, forced by Jared Ivey and recovered at the 25 by Tavius Robinson.

Two kneel downs later by Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, and this one was over.

Ole Miss jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but this one would be far from over. Dart was the key to the Rebels' first scoring drive. In six plays from his own 35-yard line, the Rebel signal-caller had Ole Miss in the end zone. Zach Evans took it in from the 4 for his lone touchdown of the day. Cruz made the extra point and Ole Miss led 7-0 with 7:09 to go in the first quarter.

Highlights of the first scoring drive were a 12-yard scramble from Dart, followed by a 38-yard pass to Jordan Watkins down to the 4.

After Kentucky placekicker Matt Ruffolo missed a 39-yard field goal, Ole Miss moved downfield for another touchdown. Quinshon Judkins burst through the middle of the line and raced 48 yards for a touchdown, a beautiful run that had those in red and blue among the capacity crowd roaring their approval. The point after by Cruz made it 14-0 with 59 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Scoring against a talented Kentucky defense would prove difficult for Ole Miss from that point on. But the Rebels' own defense was also able to slow down a potent Wildcat offensive attack. However, UK did answer the two early touchdowns with one of its own.

Kentucky's Barion Brown returned the kickoff from his own goal line to the Ole Miss 15 to set things up for the visitors. Christopher Rodriguez's touchdown rush of 10 yards cut the UM lead to 14-6. The extra point attempt by Ruffulo was blocked by the Rebels' Zxavian Harris, and the first quarter ended with Ole Miss up eight points.

After the Rebels' subsequent drive stalled, Fraser Masin punted to Kentucky and the ball was downed at the 1-yard line. Tavius Robinson of Ole Miss was then credited with a sack as Levis delivered the football in the right flat - to nobody. The ruling was intentional grounding, and a safety was awarded to the Rebels for a 16-6 UM lead.

After Kentucky kicked to the Rebels, Dart to Malik Heath for 26 yards to the Wildcat 35 set the table for Ole Miss again. On third and eight, Dart kept the drive alive to the 25. But an offensive pass interference on Heath brought Ole Miss back to the 38.

On fourth and 20, Cruz connected on a 53-yard field goal, and Ole Miss led 19-6 with 7:03 to go before halftime. The kick was tied for sixth longest field goal in school history and the longest since Bryson Rose kicked a game-winner against Arkansas in Little Rock in 2012.

The Wildcats then drove it downfield for a touchdown to cut into the Rebels' lead. A nine-play drive capped by a Levis to Robinson touchdown pass of five yards made the score 19-12. The extra point kick was not attempted with a bobbled snap and a tackle by Ole Miss. There was 1:23 left before halftime.

To open the third quarter, the Rebels and Wildcats traded three and outs, but UK got the better of field position in the exchange. Starting at the UM 49, the Wildcats soon scored on a 17-yard pass from Levis to Jordan Dingle. This time, Ruffolo was good on the extra point. It was 19-19 with 6:22 to go, and it was clearly anybody's ballgame.

Ole Miss started a drive at its own 35 for what would be the game's final points. With 2:19 to go in the third, a Cruz field goal of 26 yards put the Rebels back in front 22-19. The drive covered 57 yards in 13 plays.

Neither team was able to score after that, although both threatened. Perhaps the Rebels could have put the game away had they scored on an 11-play drive that had them first and goal at the 4. But on fourth and goal at the 5, a Dart pass was incomplete, and Kentucky took over with 10:14 to go.

That's when things appeared to be in Kentucky's favor as the Wildcats moved deep into Ole Miss territory twice more. That's also when those two giant defensive plays by Ole Miss, which resulted in fumbles by Kentucky that the Rebels recovered, saved this one for the home team.

Ole Miss outgained the Wildcats 399 yards to 328, with passing yards about even - 220 for UK and 213 for UM. Ole Miss had 186 yards rushing and Kentucky 108.

Chris Rodriguez rushed 19 times for 72 yards and a touchdown to lead the Wildcats. Levis was 18-for-24 for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Rebels, Dart was 15-for-29 for 213 yards with an interception. Judkins carried the football 15 times for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Heath led the Rebels in the receiving department with six catches for 100 yards. Defensively Troy Brown and Finley were credited with nine tackles each. Finley had six solo stops.

Ole Miss travels to Vanderbilt for its first SEC road game of the year, next Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. game on the SEC Network.

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Team Stats

Jaxson Dart

Players Mentioned

Troy Brown

Jonathan Cruz

Jaxson Dart

Zach Evans

Zxavian Harris

Malik Heath

Jared Ivey

Quinshon Judkins

Austin Keys

Fraser Masin

Tavius Robinson

Jordan Watkins

Players Mentioned

Troy Brown

Jonathan Cruz

Jaxson Dart

Zach Evans

Zxavian Harris

Malik Heath

Jared Ivey

Quinshon Judkins

Austin Keys

Fraser Masin

Tavius Robinson

Jordan Watkins

The University of Mississippi Athletics