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Gamer: Ole Miss defense stands tall as the Rebels rally from fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Razorbacks, 27-20

Posted by | Oct 7, 2023 |

Gamer: Ole Miss defense stands tall as the Rebels rally from fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Razorbacks, 27-20

OXFORD, Miss. – The first chilly night of the year in Oxford played host to a hard-fought SEC matchup that eventually saw the Ole Miss Rebels use a girtty defense to come out victorious over the Arkansas Razorbacks, 27-20. 

The Rebels advance to 5-1 on the year, 2-1 in SEC play, as they head into a much-needed bye week.   

“If you were to ask me before the game, I would’ve said I don’t like it (the bye week), especially assuming we win, we were kind of on a roll and we actually were really healthy coming in. So I wouldn’t really want the bye week. Then in the game, the quarterback gets hurt, the top receiver gets hurt and it ends up being a blessing. We got a lot to work on.”

Lane Kiffin when asked about heading into the bye week  

Offense 

The Ole Miss offense clicked a week ago against LSU, perhaps more than any other time in the Lane Kiffin era.  

This one, however, looked a little different for the Rebels from the start. After being forced to punt on their first drive, Ole Miss was able to stay on the field on the next drive via Arkansas penalties and a 26-yard throw to Tre Harris. Dart then used his legs to get the Rebels deep enough into Razorback territory to set up a 27-yard field goal from Caden Davis that made it 7-3 late in the first.  

 

Needing just three yards to get in the endzone following an interception from Ashanti Cistrunk, Ole Miss used all four downs before Quinshon Judkins finally punched it in from the wildcat to give the Rebels their first lead of the game, 10-7, as the first quarter was coming to a close.  

Following the touchdown drive, the Ole Miss offense went cold. Back-to-back drives were killed by penalties and Arkansas continued to stuff the Rebels’ rushing attack.  

The Rebel defense, however, kept putting the ball back in the offense’s hands, eventually pinning Arkansas back far enough to set up an Ole Miss drive from midfield. Ulysses ‘Doo’ Bentley IV then carried the ‘rock’ for a few first downs, allowing Dart to cap off the drive with a touch pass to Dayton Wade for a 6-yard score to give Ole Miss a 17-7 lead late in the first half.  

On 4th and 5 from midfield, instead of electing to punt, Kiffin decided to take a gamble and go for it. The Razorbacks proved to be ready for it as Dart got sacked for a turnover on downs, giving Arkansas the ball back in Ole Miss territory trailing by seven.   

There was just nothing brewing for the Rebel offense throughout the entire third quarter. Ole Miss did not have a play over 20 yards in the quarter, as nothing seemed to be working for Dart and the Rebel rushing attack continued to struggle.  

After Arkansas took a 20-17 lead, the Ole Miss offense was in desperate need of a response. Judkins finally broke out a long run into Razorback territory, a 34-yard run that put the Rebels in the red zone. ‘Doo’ Bentley took it from there, capping off the drive to give the Rebels the lead back, 24-20, with just over seven and half minutes in the game.  

Coach Kiffin praised Bentley’s performance.

“Well, I thought (Ulysses) Bentley, again, showed up. I mean he’s 7.2 yards to carry and I think he was seven point something coming in, so that’s pretty consistent… I mean that touchdown drive that he’s on, we don’t block the free safety, he makes a guy miss and then the last one he makes a guy miss in the hole. He’s done a great job and it’s a really cool story of a guy that just battles even when he hasn’t been getting carries sometimes. Last year he got hurt. It’s really good to see guys that do things right continually every day on a daily basis and then they play really well.”

Kiffin on Bentley’s performance 

Bentley had a great night, proving with Judkins to be too much of a ‘1-2 punch’ for the Hogs. The senior running back finished with 13 carries for 94 yards, also scoring a late touchdown to give Ole Miss the lead.  

With about five and a half minutes left in the contest, the Rebel defense once again put the ball back in the hands of their offense. On 3rd and 15, Dart found his most reliable target, Jordan Watkins, for a 17-yard gain to keep the drive alive.  

Just as they did all night, Bentley and Judkins carried the load, getting the Rebels in field goal range which allowed them to take a 27-20 lead. This proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Arkansas as the Ole Miss defense eventually stood tall, ultimately giving the ball back to the offense again to set up the victory formation. 

Judkins talked after the game about the Rebels’ second comeback win in as many weeks.

“I think that it shows the type of team that we are. This is the hardest conference to win football games in. For us to do whatever it takes win, it might not be pretty, but to end the week 1-0, it speaks a lot about our team.”

Quinshon Judkins 

Ole Miss defense stands tall

A week ago, Pete Golding’s group had one of its worst performances of the season against LSU; however, the Rebel defense spoke all week about turning the page and challenging themselves just as the offense did had successfully done after the loss to Alabama.  

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson has had his fair share of moments versus Ole Miss. The Razorback QB got to work early, nickel-and-diming his way into Rebel territory on the Hogs’ first possession. Ultimately, penalties on Ole Miss kept the Arkansas drive alive, allowing Jefferson to eventually toss one into the endzone to give the Razorbacks a 7-0 lead.  

After a field goal from Ole Miss, Jefferson trotted the offense back out there for just three plays before throwing it right into the hands of Ashanti Cistrunk for a ‘gimme’ interception that was almost returned for a touchdown.  

Cistrunk had a huge night for the Rebel defense, recording 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and the interception.  

The Ole Miss defensive line created problems early for Jefferson, forcing him to evade the pocket on what seemed like every other play. Jefferson had 6 carries for -1 yard through a quarter of play.  

Cistrunk’s interception seemed to give the Rebel defense a good bit of confidence. Big gains became very hard to come by for the Razorbacks in the second quarter as the Ole Miss linebackers and D-Line were flying around the field.  

Jefferson was doing all he could in the first half to keep the Razorbacks within reach, but the Ole Miss defense continued to keep him under pressure. Arkansas had just 9 yards of rushing on 16 carries in the first half. It looked clear from the opening kickoff that Golding’s plan was to shut down Rocket Sanders and Jefferson early.  

Jaxson Dart talked about the defense’s performance following their struggles against LSU the week before.

“Hell yeah, they played awesome. In our player meeting this week, the defensive guys were proud of the offensive side of the ball being able to pull it out last week. I think that Coach Golding had a great plan coming into the game. I thought the guys really attacked the week on that side of the ball really well, and they had a great plan coming into the game to just stop a run.”

Dart on the Rebel defense’s performance 

The Arkansas offense found a little momentum coming out of the half behind the arm of Jefferson, getting just past midfield to set up a long 56-yard field goal that cut the Ole Miss lead to 17-10.   

Following the turnover on downs at midfield by the Rebel offense, the Ole Miss defense made a huge stand in the Red Zone. Arkansas was forced to settle for a field goal, cutting the Ole Miss lead to five, 17-13 with just under three minutes to go in the third quarter.

As good as the Rebel defense was in the first half, the Arkansas offense flipped the script in the second half. The Razorbacks had the ball to start the fourth quarter and drove down the field, scoring off the second touchdown toss of the night from Jefferson to Washington. The Hogs held their first lead since going ahead early in the first quarter. They led Ole Miss, 20-17. 

The Ole Miss offense answered and regained the lead, 24-20.

In the biggest moment of the game, the Rebel defense stood tall as they did time and time again all night. A big tackle for no gain by JJ Pegues was then followed by a huge third down sack for Ashanti Cistrunk as the Rebel linebacker capped off his terrific game. 

Lane Kiffin talked about his defense’s outstanding play.

“I thought for the most part, outside of that window, (start of the second half) we played really special defense today. We didn’t help them, and I’m sure you guys didn’t like the 4th & 4 when we went for it there at midfield and didn’t make it. I think we held them to a field goal there. So I thought our defense did a really good job. You’re not gonna hold ’em down all day, but those guys did a good job.”

Kiffin on how the defense anchored down  

After the Rebels kicked a field goal to increase their lead to a touchdown at 27-20, Arkansas had one last attempt to win the game with a little under three minutes to play. But safety John Saunders Jr. wrapped this one up and put a bowtie on it, picking off Jefferson to secure the victory for the Rebels.  

Up Next 

Ole Miss heads into a bye week, looking to get healthy and prepare for the Auburn Tigers on October 21st. Details on kickoff time and the television slot will be released on Monday, October 9th.  
Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

About The Author

Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

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