Gamer: Ole Miss defeats Louisville, 43-24

ATLANTA – With Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin watching the game at home after testing positive for COVID, chances are he had no clipboard to throw after a big play by the Rebels. 

The jury is still out on how many times Kiffin’s remote control may have gone airborne as his Rebels topped Louisville 43-24 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium Monday. 

Matt Corral completed 22-of-32 passes for 381 yards and a touchdown. He completed passes to eight different receivers with Dontario Drummond leading the way with nine receptions for 177 yards and a score. 

“He’s smart,” Corral said of Drummond.

Matt Corral on Dontario Drummond

Snoop Conner paced the rushing attack with 60 yards on 8 carries — two of which were for touchdowns — while Corral chipped in 55. 

Snoop Conner with a VENGEANCE!

Ole Miss 36 – 10 Louisville pic.twitter.com/zqs9NMCR7z

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 7, 2021

Ole Miss out-gained Louisville 569-355, despite the Cardinals possessing the ball over 11 minutes more than the Rebels. 

The Ole Miss offense wasted little time in showing off its form from a season ago. After starting the initial possession at the Rebels’ own 7, Matt Corral guided the Rebels on a 93-yard touchdown march. The junior threw for 80 yards on the drive and Jerrion Ealy capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown. 

Kiffin liked what he saw from his quarterback.

Head coach Lane Kiffin on Matt Corral

Ole Miss had a 6-0 lead before most of the 30,700 in attendance were able to settle into their seats. 

New defensive scheme leads to increased production

The Rebels’ defense looked much stauncher than a season ago as evidenced by Louisville’s first drive. The Cardinals were able to drive into Ole Miss territory, but faced with a fourth-and-short, Louisville QB Malik Cunningham was dropped for a two-yard loss by linebacker Chase Campbell. 

After the game, Coach Kiffin discussed the new defensive scheme his team implemented.

Basically what this defense amounts to is a three-man front with two inside linebackers. Normally you would see two defensive ends with a three-man front, but in the Rebels’ defense, those defensive ends have been replaced with defensive backs who are still strong enough to play the run.

Meanwhile, the secondary can still play all its normal coverages.

“You know, just really thought it gives people problems, so in the off-season went to it and players bought into it and it paid off, made some explosive plays and saw a lot of guys running down the hill hitting people,” Kiffin explained.

Caden Costa shines in debut

Freshman Caden Costa made his presence known later in the quarter. After an Ole Miss drive stalled at the Cards’ 30, the Mandeville, La., native drilled a 47-yard field goal for his first collegiate points to give Ole Miss a 9-0 advantage. 

Caden Costa from 47 yards out. Welcome to College Football young fella! pic.twitter.com/UHv7T1CxbY

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 7, 2021

The Rebels extended their lead early in the second quarter. Ole Miss took over at its own 7 and easily moved to midfield. At the Louisville 46, facing a fourth-and-two, Corral ran for four yards to keep the drive alive. After a personal foul on the Cards, it only took Snoop Conner two attempts to get inside the Louisville 10. From there, Corral ran into the end zone from the 6 and Costa’s kick put the Rebels ahead 16-0. 

The first two touchdown drives of the season for Ole Miss covered 94 and 93 yards. 

Deantre Prince set the Rebs up in great field position later in the quarter after picking off Cunningham at midfield and returning the ball to the Louisville 35. 

On first down, Corral found Jonathan Mingo with a 34-yard strike to give Ole Miss a first-and-goal at the Cardinals’ 1. Conner took care of the last year and after Costa’s kick, the Rebels owned a 23-0 lead. 

Ole Miss closed the half in typical Rebel fashion. The Rebels drove 70 yards in the final minute, ending up at the Louisville 7, where Costa came on for his second field goal, this one from the Cardinals’ 5 and he made a 22-yarder as the first-half clock expired to give Ole Miss a 26-0 lead at the half. 

In the first half, Corral threw for 327 yards and Dontario Drummond proved to be his favorite target in the first two quarters, grabbing four passes for 102 yards. In the first half, Corral completed four passes of over 25 yards. 

Louisville got on the board on its first possession of the second half. Hassan Hall took back the second-half kick 59 yards to set the Cards up in Ole Miss territory. The Landsharks bent, but did not break and forced Louisville into kicking a 38-yard field goal by James Turner to cut the Ole Miss lead to 26-3. 

Ole Miss regained its 26-point advantage on the ensuing possession. After driving 55 yards, Costa drilled a 38-yard field goal and the Rebels held a 29-3 lead. 

Louisville finally got into the end zone late in the third quarter. Facing a fourth down, Cunningham connected with Braden Smith for a 4-yard touchdown. The conversion cut the Ole Miss lead to 29-10. 

Undaunted, Ole Miss took the ensuing kick and drove 75 yards to a Conner 11-yard scoring run and Costa nailed the conversion and the Rebels’ held a 36-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. 

Louisville returned to the end zone on its next possession as Cunningham capped a 14-play, 70-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown. The kick cut the lead again to 36-17. 

On the next Ole Miss drive, Corral finally got his first touchdown pass of the season. Corral found Drummond with a six-yard scoring strike and Costa’s kick extended the Rebels’ lead to 43-17. 

Corral to Drummond #HYDR https://t.co/eJ3fGk9eFk

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) September 7, 2021

Cunningham got into the end zone once more with less than four minutes remaining, this time from nine-yards out. The conversion sliced the Ole Miss lead to 43-24, which was the final. 

Defensively, Otis Reese, A.J. Finley, Tysheem Johnson and Ashanti Cistrunk each had eight total tackles with Cistrunk added 2.5 for loss and a half a sack. Keidron Smith and Chance Campbell added seven stops apiece for the Rebels. 

Ole Miss returns home to take on Austin Peay Saturday.