OXFORD, Miss. — Two fumbles inside the red zone by Kentucky in the final three minutes of the game allowed the No. 14 Mississippi Rebels to slip by No. 7 Wildcats 22-19 on Saturday.
Trailing 22-19 in the fourth, the Wildcats forced Rebel quarterback Jaxson Dart to throw an incomplete pass on fourth down and give Kentucky the ball at their own 5 .
Now with the ball and 10:05 left on the clock, Kentucky would run off 10 plays and consume over seven minutes to get to the Ole Miss 19. On the 11th play, Will Levis would have the ball knocked out of his hand by Austin Keys and recovered by the Rebels, ending the scoring threat.
Unable to run the clock out, Ole Miss was forced to punt the ball and give Kentucky one final chance to either win or send the game into overtime.
It appeared as though a comeback was formulating when Will Levis flipped a pass out to Barion Brown on a receiver screen for a 51-yard gain as Brown broke out of the pack. The big gain put the ball at the Ole Miss 8 with less than 60 seconds left.
But two plays later, those hopes were dashed as Jared Ivey came off the edge and batted the ball from Levis and teammate Tavius Robinson recovered the ball to seal the win for Ole Miss.
The Wildcats (4-0, 1-1 SEC) were unable to take advantage of several opportunities throughout the game. They failed on two extra points attempts, a wide-left 39-yard field goal attempt in the first half and an illegal motion penalty that wiped out a potential game-winning TD pass in the final minute – all mistakes that were a major difference in such a close game.
Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC) took the lead late in the third quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Cruz and would set the stage for the tense, frantic finish.
After missing all of September due to suspension, Kentucky's All-SEC running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. returned to the starting lineup. Rodriguez finished with day with 72 yards on 19 rushes and rushing score
Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins had 106 yards on 15 carries, including a 48-yard touchdown helped give the Rebels a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Zach Evans added a 4-yard scoring run of his own and Tavius Robinson was credited with a safety after an intentional grounding penalty by Kentucky for a 19-12 halftime lead.
Dart was 15 of 29 passing for 213 yards as the Rebels finished with 399 yards of total offense. Troy Brown and Finley had a game-high nine tackles apiece and the Rebels had nine stops for loss.
Levis finished the game completing 18 of 24 attempts for 220 yards but was sacked three times besides the two late fumbles. Brown used his game-breaking speed to account for 164 return yards and 81 yards on two receptions.
The Wildcats begin a two-week home stand starting with South Carolina next Saturday.
Kentucky 6 6 7 0 — 19
Ole Miss 14 5 3 0 — 22
First Quarter
MISS — Zach Evans 4 run (Jonathan Cruz kick), 7:09 MISS — Quinshon Judkins 48 run (Jonathan Cruz kick), :59 UK — Chris Rodriguez Jr. 10 run (Matt Ruffolo PAT blocked), :00 Second Quarter
MISS — Team safety (Intentional grounding in the end zone), 10:28 MISS — Jonathan Cruz 53 field goal, 7:03 UK — Tayvion Robinson 5 pass from Will Levis (run failed), 1:23
Third Quarter
UK — Jordan Dingle 17 pass from Will Levis (Matt Ruffolo Kick), 6:22 MISS — Jonathan Cruz 26 field goal, 2:19
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