Notes and Notables from the Rebels’ 22-19 win over Kentucky

Oxford, Miss. — Here are the “Notes and Notables” from the Rebels’ 22-19 win over No. 7 Kentucky, courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics.

SERIES NOTES

• Today’s meeting was the 45th all-time between Ole Miss and Kentucky, dating back to 1944.
• It was just the second time Ole Miss and Kentucky have met while both were ranked … The other came in 1958.
• The Rebels lead the all-time series vs. the Wildcats 29-14-1.
• The original series record is 30-14-1, but Ole Miss vacated a win in 2010 due to NCAA ruling.
• Ole Miss holds a 8-2 edge in games played in Oxford, Mississippi.
• The home team has won the five of the last seven contests in the series.
• This was the fourth time Ole Miss has hosted Kentucky for a Homecoming matchup, first since 1978 … The Rebels are now 2-2 in Homecoming games vs. the Wildcats.
• Kiffin improves to 3-0 vs. Kentucky … The previous two victories were in overtime.

STARTERS

• OL Micah Pettus and S Trey Washington made their first career starts as Rebels.
• OL Nick Broeker and OL Jeremy James tallied their team-leading 28th consecutive start for Ole Miss on the offensive line.
• Other notable starting streaks include S AJ Finley (14th).

GENERAL NOTES

• Attendance for today’s game was 64,828, the sixth largest crowd ever at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
• Dating back to Nov. 14, 2020, the Rebels have now won 13 straight home contests … It marks the longest winning streak in Oxford since winning 21 straight games Nov. 1, 1952 to Nov. 7, 1959.
• The win helped mark the first 5-0 start for the Rebels since 2014 (on the field) … Those wins were later vacated … By official records and wins, it’s the first 5-0 start since 1962.
• Today was the 95th Homecoming game at Ole Miss since 1924 … The Rebels are 72-16-2 (.811 winning pct.) in Homecoming games (after vacated wins).
• Ole Miss has won 23 of their last 26 Homecoming matchups on the field.
• The last Homecoming loss was a 27-7 defeat to Louisiana Tech in 2011.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• It’s the first time since at least 1976 that Ole Miss has had a 100-yard rusher in each of the first five games of a season.
• It’s the first time since 1999 that Ole Miss has had a 100-yard rusher in five straight games.
• RB Quinshon Judkins ran for a team-best 105 yards and one TD on 15 carries.
• Judkins has now rushed for 535 yards this season, the most by any Ole Miss freshman in the first games of the season since at least 1976.
• Judkins’ 48-yard TD rush in the first quarter was the longest rush of the year for Ole Miss.
• Judkins now has six rushing touchdowns on the season … He has scored a TD in four of his first five collegiate games.
• Judkins averaged 7.1 per carry.
• WR Malik Heath tallied six catches for a career-high 100 yards receiving … It was the second 100-yard game by an Ole Miss receiver this season (Mingo vs. UCA).
• Malik’s previous best receiving performance was 88 yards vs. Memphis last season as a Mississippi State Bulldog.
• QB Jaxson Dart finished the game 15-of-29 for 213 yards.
• TE Michael Trigg tallied a season-high 41 receiving yards.
• Ole Miss tallied 106 yards rushing in the first quarter, giving the Rebels five 100-yard rushing quarters this year.
• The Rebels are averaging 178.0 rushing yards in the opening half this year.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• Ole Miss has held nine of its last 10 opponents to  21 or fewer points.
• The Rebels registered nine tackles for loss … Ole Miss came into the game No. 25 in FBS in TFLs and have now tallied nine of more TFLs in three of the five games this season.
• Ole Miss has forced at least one turnover in four of its first five games.
• LB Troy Brown and S AJ Finley both tallied nine total tackles, including six solo stops by Finley.
• Finley registered his fourth career fumble recovery.
• CB Davison Igbinosun recorded a career-best eight total tackles.
• LB Austin Keys registered a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss.
• Keys and DE Jared Ivey both forced a fumble for the first time in an Ole Miss uniform … The two forced fumbles came in Kentucky’s final two drives and helped seal the Ole Miss win..
• DE Tavius Robinson registered a his first career fumble recovery.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• K Jonathan Cruz was a perfect 2-for-2 on field goal attempts including a long of 53 yards.
• It marked the first time this year that Cruz had made multiple field goals in a single game.\
• Cruz’s kick tied for the sixth longest kick in school history and the longest since 2012 (Bryson Rose vs Arkansas).
• Ole Miss blocked a PAT for the first time 2008 (vs. Florida).

(Feature image credit: Dan Anderson, Ole Miss)

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.