The Ole Miss football dropped to 3-4 on the season after failing to keep up with Kelly Bryant and the Missouri Tigers in Columbia.
The Ole Miss football team dropped to 3-4 for the season after failing to keep up with Kelly Bryant and the Missouri Tigers in Columbia on Saturday.
The Rebel defense struggled to stop the Tigers throughout the game while the offense missed several opportunities to put critical points on the board. In the first half, John Rhys Plumlee broke loose on the edge and trotted for what could have been a 57-yard touchdown run had there not been an unnecessary hold by wide receiver Miles Battle.
Down 12-9 at the end of the half, head coach Matt Luke elected to go for it on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line. Matt Corral received the shotgun snap and handed it to Snoop Conner trying to punch it in, but the freshman tailback was denied by a host of Missouri defenders to secure the Tiger lead going into the tunnel.
“We wanted to get the ball to Snoop and let him pound it in; that was his strength to find a way to go get a couple inches there right before the half,” Luke said after the game. “I would call that again… Just too many missed opportunities in this football game. Proud of the way they kept fighting and competing, but didn’t play well enough in the third quarter to get it done.”
The Tigers ran away from the Rebels after the half, outscoring them 23-7 in the third quarter. Larry Rountree III and Dawson Downing broke off 41- and 54-yard rushing touchdowns and Rountree found the endzone again from one yard out at the end of the quarter.
“We missed fit, didn’t tackle well and played really poorly,” defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre said. “I don’t know what happened tonight. We’ve got to work with them better as coaches. The kids need to be committed to tackling better in these type of situations.”
Kelly Bryant showed no signs of lag in the 38-27 win after his minor knee sprain last week, leading his team to 562 total yards of offense. The Tigers were able to exploit the Rebel defense at every phase offensively.
Bryant finished the game with 329 yards, completing 23 of his 35 passing attempts with a touchdown and an interception. Eight of those completions were to wide out Johnathon Johnson, who tallied 110 yards with 13.8 per catch. Rountree had 126 yards on 21 rushes.
“Our secondary is our Achilles’ heel, and we’ve got to keep working at it and get better with them,” MacIntyre said. “When we’ve played bad, they’ve played bad. So we’ve just got to coach them better.”
The Rebels put Matt Corral in action for the first time since his injury against California back in week four. The quarterback split time with Plumlee behind center and completed 10 passes for 133 yards.
Plumlee had 103 passing yards and two touchdowns but showed his foot speed is his power. The true freshman ran for 143 yards on 23 attempts.
Offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez continues to struggle with splitting carries between his stable of ball carriers as the Rebel with the second most attempts on the ground was Scottie Phillips, who had only seven. Jerrion Ealy had 6 carries and a reception for a total of 22 yards from scrimmage.
The Rebels will travel back to Oxford to host Texas A&M on Saturday, the first of five final games in which the Rebels must win three to gain bowl eligibility. The route to six wins looks clear with winnable games against the Aggies, New Mexico State and Mississippi State.
The Rebel defense struggled to stop the Tigers throughout the game while the offense missed several opportunities to put critical points on the board. In the first half, John Rhys Plumlee broke loose on the edge and trotted for what would have been a 57-yard touchdown run had there not been an unnecessary hold by Miles Battle.
Down 12-9 at the end of the half, Matt Luke elected to go for it on fourth and goal from the one yard line. Matt Corral received the shotgun snap and handed it to Snoop Conner trying to punch it in, but the freshman tailback was denied by a host of Missouri defenders to secure the Tiger lead going into the tunnel.
The Tigers ran away from the Rebels in the third quarter, outscoring them 23-7 in the period. Larry Roundtree III and Dawson Downing broke off 41 and 54-yard rushing touchdowns and Rountree found the endzone again from one yard out at the end of the quarter.
Kelly Bryant showed no signs of lag in the 38-27 win after his minor knee sprain last week, leading his team to 562 total yards of offense. The Tigers were able to exploit the Rebel defense at every phase offensively.
Bryant finished the game with 329 yards, completing 23 of his 35 passing attempts with a touchdown and an interception. Eight of those completions were to wide out Johnathon Johnson, who tallied 110 yards with 13.8 per catch. Rountree had 126 yards on 21 rushes.
The Rebels put Matt Corral in action for the first time since his injury against California in week four. The quarterback split time with Plumlee behind center and completed 10 passes for 133 yards.
Plumlee had 103 passing yards and two touchdowns, but showed his foot speed is his power. The true freshman ran for 143 yards on 23 attempts. The Rebel with the second most attempts was Scottie Phillips, who had only seven.
The Rebels will travel back to Oxford to host Texas A&M on Saturday, the first of five final games in which the Rebels must win three to gain bowl eligibility.
