The Ole Miss football team dropped one spot to No. 19 in the latest top 25 from the Associated Press following Saturday’s 26-14 win over Oklahoma.
It was the worst of times and the best of times for Lane Kiffin’s group in a must-win contest against the Sooners in front of yet another record-breaking crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Trailing 14-10 at halftime, the Rebels were on the verge of having their hopes of making a debut in the expanded College Football Playoff virtually eviscerated. At the midway point, Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2 SEC) had been outgained by an Oklahoma (4-4, 1-4 SEC) offense that unleashed quarterback Jackson Arnold’s rushing abilities in a scheme being dialed up by first-time play-caller Joe Jon Finley.
A successful attempt at flipping the script in the final 30 minutes of play entailed a series of offensive adjustments and a valiant effort by Pete Golding’s defense, which had 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Seven of those sacks came in the second half. Ole Miss outscored its foe 16-0 to close out the game to post a 26-14 victory when the clock struck 0:00.
Rebel quarterback Jaxson Dart led the offense with 311 passing yards, 44 rushing yards, and one touchdown through the air — all without leading receiver Tre Harris. On the defensive side, a multitude of guys stepped up in a historic outing. Most notably, linebacker Suntarine Perkins had 11 tackles (eight solo), four sacks, and five tackles for loss.
A full recap of Saturday’s game can be found here.
Ole Miss will face one more opponent before this season’s debut of the coveted and highly consequential College Football Playoff rankings. The Rebels will play Arkansas in Fayetteville this coming Saturday at 11 a.m. The game, which Ole Miss will more than likely have to win to keep playoff hopes alive, will be broadcast on ESPN and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
The full top 25 can be found below:
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Penn State
- Ohio State
- Miami
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Notre Dame
- BYU
- Texas A&M
- Clemson
- Iowa State
- Indiana
- Alabama
- Boise State
- LSU
- Kansas State
- Pittsburgh
- Ole Miss
- SMU
- Army
- Washington State
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Missouri
