QUOTES: What Lane Kiffin Said After Sugar Bowl Loss

The Ole Miss Rebels' 10th Sugar Bowl appearance did not go as planned for Ole Miss and Rebel fans on the night of New Year’s Day.

The second play of the game was an interception thrown by Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral. A few drives later, Corral would have to leave the game and head to the locker room for x-rays. True Freshman quarterback Luke Altmyer was tasked with replacing Corral and getting Ole Miss a win in the Sugar Bowl versus the Baylor Bears.

"I thought Luke did some good things once he got playing a little bit and made some out-of-rhythm plays running around," Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. "It's a hard setting. That's a really great defense."

Altmyer also got off to a slow start, and a tipped pass gave Baylor a 96-yard pick-six that put Ole Miss in a 7-0 hole with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. Altmyer fired back though in the third quarter and put Ole Miss on the board with a 37-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Braylon Sanders.

Ole Miss' kicking game also struggled on Saturday with backup kicker Cale Nation missing two field goals.

"You are going in to kick another field goal at least, and we get a ball tipped for a pick six and missed two field goals," Kiffin said. "So that right there obviously changes the outcome of the game a lot.

Ole Miss Junior defensive back Miles Battle intercepted a ball in the end zone a drive later, and it looked like the Rebels had some life despite the challenges thrown at them.

Altmyer threw another interception in the fourth quarter, and Baylor scored two more touchdowns while Ole Miss put up zero points the rest of the game.

"We didn't play well," Kiffin said, "and we had things happen that I just wouldn't have guessed. All the COVID work and everything and then I'm looking there playing the game thinking, our kicker is out, our quarterback is out, and our right tackle is out. So kind of freak stuff."

Altmyer finished the day with 174 yards through the air, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first Sugar Bowl appearance.

Junior running back Jerrion Ealy led the way on the ground for the Rebels with 65 yards on 12 carries averaging 5.4 yards per carry and junior running back Snoop Conner came in second with 42 rushing yards. Ealy announced his intentions to declare for the NFL Draft following the game on Saturday.

Senior wide receiver Dontario Drummond led Ole Miss in receiving with nine receptions for 104 yards averaging 11.6 yards per catch.

Ole Miss finishes its season with 10 wins, tying a program high.

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