The Ole Miss Rebels opened up SEC play with a loss as they fell to the Kentucky Wildcats with a final score of 20-17.
Jaxson Dart went 18-27, for 261 yards and a touchdown. Tre Harris III had 11 receptions for 176 yards and a touchdown. The best defensive player for the Rebels was Suntarine Perkins, who had six tackles and two sacks.
First half
The Rebels had a scary start to the game with Micah Davis fumbling the ball, but he was ruled down. Henry Parrish Jr. scored the Rebels’ first touchdown of the game, getting in on a one-yard rush. The first drive consisted of only one run.
Ole Miss had their first defensive test of the season, as Kentucky had a good game on the ground. The defense did not allow explosive plays, but they allowed a lot of short passes, leading to first downs. The Rebels’ run defense looked worse than they have the past few weeks, allowing Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff to essentially run at will.
Trey Amos broke up a pass to the endzone, forcing Kentucky to take a field goal; this brought the score to 7-3. Ole Miss gave up their first sack of the game to Octavious Oxendine, forcing the Rebels to punt the ball away.
Princely Umanmielen and Pooh Paul combined for the teams’ first sack of the game, causing a three and out for the Rebels. Dart continued to run the ball as he had a 13-yard scamper to end the first quarter.
The Rebels defense looked as if it was going to hold up, but a flag was thrown on Jadon Canady for pass interference. The run defense finally started to heat up as Walter Nolen and the rest of the defensive line were getting in the backfield.
Dart and the rest of his receivers could not complete a pass, causing them to look out of sync. The Rebels were once again forced to punt. The Rebels’ run defense looked good while the pass defense continued to struggle.
Penalties hurt the Rebels as Kentucky scored both their first touchdown of the game and their first in SEC play this season, bringing the score to 10-7. The Ole Miss offensive line gave up their third sack to end the first half.
Second half
Needing a big stop to start the half, Umanmielen sacked Vandagriff on third down and forced a Kentucky punt. The Rebel offense would follow that with a 31-yard field goal by Caden Davis to knot things up at 10-10.
After two big gains by Kentucky to start their next drive, Jared Ivey sacked Vandagriff for a ten yard loss. Kentucky kicker Alex Raynor hit a 48-yard field goal to put the Wildcats up by three, bringing the score up to 13-10.
A costly fumble by Harris stalled a promising drive for the Rebels and put the Rebel defense back on the field. They would stand tall, getting yet another sack on Vandagriff with Perkins bringing him down.
With the injured Parrish on the sideline, Matt Jones stepped up in a big way on back-to-back plays, moving the chains for a first down. On a fourth and seven, the Rebels needed a big play to keep their drive alive.
A 48-yard touchdown pass to Tre Harris would give the Rebels their first touchdown since their opening drive as well as a 17-13 lead.
A massive stop aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Kentucky forced another punt. The ensuing drive for the Rebels began on their own 38 but was short-lived as the Wildcats forced a three and out.
Perkins continued his impressive second half with another big sack on third down, forcing a punt.
Barion Brown hauled in a 63-yard catch on fourth and seven from Kentucky’s own 25 to put the Wildcats in prime position to pull off an upset.
A four-yard rushing touchdown where a fumble was recovered by Kentucky in the end zone put the Wildcats up 20-17. The Rebels attempt at a late comeback fell short as a 48-yard field goal went wide left.
This was the first win for the Wildcats in Oxford since 1978.
Who’s next?
The Rebels move on to South Carolina as they go on the road to try and beat the Gamecocks. The game will broadcast on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5.
