Lane Kiffin Earns First Ole Miss Win After Rebels Edge Kentucky in OT

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Matt Corral hit Elijah Moore with a 3-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Luke Logan’s extra point pushed Mississippi past Kentucky 42–41 on Saturday night.

Chris Rodriguez’s 1-yard run for Kentucky with 2:04 remaining eventually forced OT and Terry Wilson’s 10-yard scoring TD gave the Wildcats the initial lead. But Matt Ruffolo missed the extra point, opening the door for the Rebels (1-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) to rally again for the win.

Five-yard runs by Corral and John Rhys Plumlee were followed by a defensive pass interference penalty on Kentucky’s Kelvin Joseph in the end zone. Corral hit Moore two plays later and Logan easily converted the PAT to give Lane Kiffin his first win with the Rebels and spark a wild celebration.

The Rebels trailed 28-14 early in the third quarter before Corral, who threw four TDs, tossed scoring passes of 24 and 16 yards to Jonathan Mingo to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. The drives covered 75 and 54 yards and just 2:54 combined. After taking over on downs, Ole Miss used just 47 seconds to go 53 yards and go ahead on Snoop Conner’s 1-yard TD run with 8:23 remaining.

Corral passed for 320 yards and four TDs, two to Jonathan Mingo and another to Kenny Yeboah. Snoop Conner rushed for a go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter and Jerrion Ealy scored the game’s first score.

Wilson rushed for three TDs, Rodriguez two and Asim Rose one as the Wildcats (0-2, 0-2) gained 402 on the ground. But their defense tired in the second half and Ruffolo’s missed PAT proved costly.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ole Miss couldn’t stop the run, but the passing game was on point in scoring quick and wearing the Wildcats. Most importantly, Logan nailed the critical PATs that eventually made the difference.

Kentucky again controlled the yardage but couldn’t stop the Rebels’ quick pace or Corral. Ruffolo’s missed 49-yard field goal opened the door for the Rebels to tie, and his missed PAT in OT really hurt.

UP NEXT

Ole Miss hosts border rival Alabama on Saturday in a West matchup of SEC charter members. ’Bama leads the series 51-10-2 and has won the past four.

Kentucky hosts Mississippi State and first-year Bulldogs coach Mike Leach on Saturday. Leach was an assistant under former Wildcats coach Hal Mumme and crafted the Air Raid offense.