OXFORD — It’s been a long few days for No. 18 Ole Miss.
With last week serving as the team’s first of two bye weeks, the Rebels were unable to take out their frustrations or make amends for tight losses in two of their last three games. But maybe a few days to reset weren’t such a bad thing after all.
The Rebels (5-2, 1-2 SEC) lost to Kentucky and LSU by a combined six points. The latest, a 29-26 loss at Tiger Stadium on Oct. 12, was an especially brutal gut punch. Ole Miss led for most of the final three quarters against the Tigers but allowed LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to make several huge plays late — including the tying touchdown pass on fourth down with 27 seconds to play — and send the game to overtime. After Ole Miss knocked in a field goal on its first possession of overtime, Nussmeier threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy on the first play of the Tigers’ possession. The Rebels did not trail in the game until the final play.
“It was really tough initially, because … we went in, took the lead. I thought guys responded and played well in a historically, extremely hard place (to play),” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “ … And then we let it get away at the end. And we had the ball a couple times, I think a four-point lead, and to put the game away … So, that took a while.”
In addition to getting healthier — Kiffin noted senior defensive tackle JJ Pegues and senior running back Henry Parrish Jr. as players who had been playing injured — the last week allowed the Rebels to move on from disappointment and look ahead toward the regular-season’s final stretch. Ole Miss hosts Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3) Saturday at a 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
“I think it was good from the mental part … we’re over halfway through the season and we’ve only trailed for 2 ½ minutes of … all games combined,” Kiffin said. “So, that part was a lot to deal with, because we very easily could be undefeated or certainly (with) one loss. So, I think it was good a little bit for everybody to get a little break.”
Oklahoma was No. 16 in the preseason AP Poll but has lost three of its last four games overall, the latest a 35-9 home loss to South Carolina. ESPN reports Oklahoma fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell following the loss to the Gamecocks. The Sooners are averaging 22.1 points per game this season, which is second-worst in the SEC and 107th nationally. Oklahoma’s defense remains strong, as the Sooners are tied for 32nd nationally in total defense and are tied for third nationally with 25 sacks.
This college football season has already been a chaotic one; following Texas’ loss to Georgia, there are no undefeated teams left in the SEC. At this point last season, the Bulldogs were unbeaten, as was Oklahoma, though the Sooners were still in the Big 12. The top teams in the nation were fairly clear at his juncture in 2023 — Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Washington and Oklahoma all sported perfect records in Week 9 and were the top-six teams in the AP Poll, respectively. The current AP Poll top six has three undefeated teams and three one-loss teams.
“I do think, just kind of watching stuff this weekend for the first time, everybody’s got problems,” Kiffin said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s any perfect teams. And I feel like, maybe a year ago, there were some you probably thought at this time.”
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