In a Nutshell: No. 10 Ole Miss defeats A&M, 38-35
OXFORD, Miss. – Here’s a quick glance at Ole Miss’ 38-35 win over Texas A&M Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
THE POSITIVE: The home crowd. Several commentators said this week the Ole Miss crowd would not be out in force because of an 11 a.m. kickoff. In fact, not only was the crowd in the stands, they were a HUGE factor. The noise not only caused the Aggies false start penalties, but also forced coach Jimbo Fisher to use time outs before he wanted to use them.
Students continue to show out this season. Hotty Toddy! pic.twitter.com/1BK9ZYxDJg
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) November 4, 2023
THE NEGATIVE(S): The inability to put teams away early and also get off the field, defensively, on third down. Ole Miss had a two-touchdown lead and was driving for another when the offense got in its own way. There were penalties, missed assignments and mental lapses. Had the Rebels executed there, the game would have been over in the first half instead of having to be decided by a last-second field goal attempt.
Defensively, the Rebels started off forcing four punts. But then the Aggies’ offense cranked up and scored four touchdowns on its next five drives before missing the FG on the final play of the game.
THE KEY PLAY: Texas A&M blocked a field goal with 8:12 left in the opening quarter that the Aggies returned for a touchdown and cut the score to 14-7. A&M followed that up with a long scoring drive to make the game even closer. Prior to the scoring drive, the Aggies had only 59 yards of total offense.
Rebs Win 👍 pic.twitter.com/6i6Nkp7I70
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 4, 2023
THE KEY PLAYER: Make that players. The combination of Jackson Dart and Tre Harris was electric. The combo connected for 11 completions for 213 yards and a touchdown. This could be the most underrated combination in college football.
Dude’s a freak. 🤯@_treharris13 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/QgMfoEasLB
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 4, 2023
THE KEY UNIT: Heading into the game, a lot of attention was placed on the Texas A&M front seven on defense. But how about a little bit of love for the Ole Miss offensive front? The Rebels gained 518 total yards in the game. Dart was able to throw for 387 yards and Quinshon Judkins ran for another 102 yards and three scores. None of that happens without the guys up front.
Q FOR THE LEAD!@qaj4_ | ESPN pic.twitter.com/j7bxAT5hAU
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 4, 2023
THE MOMENTUM SHIFTER: John Saunders, Jr. had an interception in the end zone in the third quarter just when it seemed the Aggies were going to seize momentum. Sure, A&M did take a late lead that forced Ole Miss to drive for the winning score, but had Saunders not picked off that pass, the uphill climb for the Rebels would have been more formidable.
WE LOVE END ZONE PICKS@john5aunders | ESPN pic.twitter.com/MXSlWxQTje
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) November 4, 2023
WHAT THIS GAME MEANS GOING FORWARD: Some thought the Texas A&M game was a trap game for the Rebels. Looking at a game in Athens next week against Georgia, no one could have blamed Ole Miss for looking ahead a little. But the Rebs took care of business, moved to 8-1 and for the next week can focus their attention toward UGA.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
