LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The 2-touchdown deficit to Kentucky did not faze Mississippi or coach Lane Kiffin.

The Rebels shortly rallied to make up floor for the lead, then mounted one final rally in additional time earlier than seizing an enormous break to earn a hard-fought win.

Matt Corral hit Elijah Moore with a 3-yard landing move in OT and Luke Logan’s further level pushed Mississippi previous Kentucky 42-41 on Saturday evening.

Chris Rodriguez’s 1-yard run for Kentucky with 2:04 remaining ultimately compelled OT and Terry Wilson’s 10-yard scoring TD gave the Wildcats the preliminary lead. However Matt Ruffolo missed the additional level, opening the door for the Rebels (1-1, 1-1 Southeastern Convention) to return again once more for the win.

5-yard runs by Corral and John Rhys Plumlee had been adopted by a defensive move interference penalty on Kentucky’s Kelvin Joseph ultimately zone to place the ball on the 2. Corral hit Moore two performs later and Logan simply transformed the PAT to present Kiffin his first win with the Rebels and spark a wild, joyous celebration.

”Loopy sport,” Kiffin mentioned. ”To be down like that and to return again and go to additional time. … It was nice to see our guys battle again. We did not play nice in a variety of areas, we stutter on offense for some time and clearly did not cease the run.

”However on the finish of the day, you simply gotta rating greater than they do. … Whether or not it is 2-Zero or 42-41, discover a strategy to win. And we did. Ship a Christmas current to their kicker.”

The Rebels trailed 28-14 early within the third quarter earlier than Corral, who threw 4 TDs, tossed scoring passes of 24 and 16 yards to Jonathan Mingo to tie the sport early within the fourth quarter. The drives coated 75 and 54 yards and simply 2:54 mixed. After taking up on downs, Ole Miss used simply 47 seconds to go 53 yards and go forward on Snoop Conner’s 1-yard TD run with 8:23 remaining.

Corral accomplished 24 of 29 passes for 320 yards and 4 TDs, two to Jonathan Mingo for 24 and 16 yards throughout the rally and one other for 14 yards to tight finish Kenny Yeboah within the first half. Corral additionally rushed 13 instances for 51 yards.

”Coming off final week, we needed to get that dangerous style out of our mouth,” Corral mentioned, referring to a 51-35 loss to No. 5 Florida. ”First win below a brand new coach, he would not have it some other means and popping out with a win is a good feeling.”

Jerrion Ealy scored from the 1 for Ole Miss on the game-opening drive.

Wilson rushed 22 instances for 129 yards and three TDs, Rodriguez had two with 133 yards on 17 carries. A.J. Rose – who was tackled on the Ole Miss Three whereas prematurely celebrating on a 72-yard run and later fumbled on the purpose line – completed with 117 yards and a rating because the Wildcats (0-2, 0-2) gained 408 on the bottom.

However their protection drained within the second half and Ruffolo’s missed PAT proved pricey.

DEJA VU

Ole Miss overcame a double-digit, second-half deficit on its second consecutive go to to Lexington to win. In 2017, the Rebels trailed 27-17 earlier than rallying for a 37-34 win with a landing move within the remaining seconds.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ole Miss could not cease the run, nevertheless it did not matter as a result of the passing sport was on level when essential in scoring shortly and carrying down the Wildcats. Most significantly, Logan nailed the vital PATs that ultimately made the distinction.

Kentucky once more managed the yardage – 559-459 this time – however could not cease the Rebels’ fast tempo or Corral after halftime. Ruffolo’s missed 49-yard area purpose within the third quarter may have made it a 17-lead, however as an alternative opened the door for the Rebels to tie. And his missed PAT in OT clearly damage.

”We went by means of some patches the place we overcame some adversity, acquired the sport into additional time and to lose it that means is troublesome,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops mentioned. ”Now we have to seek out methods to execute in vital moments. We did that for a big portion of the evening.

”Anytime you rush the ball for 400 yards you often really feel that you will have an excellent alternative to win. You must get stops in vital moments. We didn’t play excellent protection tonight.”

UP NEXT

Ole Miss hosts border rival Alabama on Saturday in a West matchup of SEC constitution members. ‘Bama leads the collection 51-10-2 and has gained the previous 4.

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

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