Football Opens SEC Play with 30-23 Win at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – (Release) No. 14 Ole Miss football had a slow start in its SEC opener at Kentucky, but Lane Kiffin and the Rebels found their way and left Kroger Field with a 30-23 road win to open conference play.

A couple of early interceptions helped Kentucky jump out to a 10-0 lead, but Ole Miss responded with two of its three rushing touchdowns on the afternoon to go on top. The Rebels never trailed from there, fending off the Wildcats thanks to a late rushing score by Austin Simmons and three Lucas Carniero field goals.

Ole Miss outgained Kentucky 455-354, including a 220-yard day on the ground for the visitors. The Rebels were a perfect 5-for-5 in red zone scoring and logged three sacks, while the Wildcats had zero.

Offensive Leaders
Austin Simmons finished 13-for-24 with 279 total yards (235 pass, 44 rush), one rushing touchdown and two interceptions. Kewan Lacy had a monster day, rushing for 138 yards and a score on 28 carries. Both Lacy and Harrison Wallace III had consecutive 100-yard performances to start their Rebel careers. Wallace hauled in four passes for a team-high 117 yards.

Defensive Leaders
TJ Dottery, Jaden Yates and Zxavian Harris tied atop the Rebel tackle sheet with six apiece, with Harris notching a sack for the second straight game. Princewill Umanmielen had a team-high two tackles for loss, including a sack. Will Echoles logged a sack as part of his three total tackles. Ole Miss broke up six passes on the afternoon, including two by Wydett Williams Jr.

First Quarter
Ole Miss had one first down in the game’s opening drive before punting. Then a Princewill Umanmielen tackle for loss on first down, followed by a Wydett Williams Jr. pass breakup on third down, led to a quick three-and-out in response.

Austin Simmons hit Deuce Alexander on a short pass early in the ensuing drive, and Alexander took it 30 yards up the sideline into Kentucky territory. The Wildcat defense locked down from there, and Lucas Carniero’s 51-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright to keep it scoreless.

The Ole Miss defense answered with another three-and-out, but Kentucky intercepted Simmons on the following drive, leading to a touchdown drive, capped by a 9-yard score by Seth McGowan to give the home team the early 7-0 lead.

Second Quarter
A strong Kentucky pass rush forced Simmons into another interception just before the end of the first quarter, and the Wildcats cashed in three more points with a 33-yard Jacob Kauwe field goal, making it 10-0.

The Ole Miss offense, which had trouble getting going, made a gutsy call to lead to a touchdown on the following drive. Facing 4th-and-1 just shy of midfield,  the Rebels ran play action, and Simmons hit Harrison Wallace III, who raced 55 yards before being tripped up at the goal line. Kewan Lacy finished it off on the next play with a 1-yard touchdown run to get Ole Miss back to within three, 10-7.

Antonio Kite swatted a third-down pass attempt to seal a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, then the Rebel offense clicked into gear. Simmons connected on a 9-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling, followed by a 23-yard catch-and-run by Alexander. Then the Rebel QB took it himself on a 14-yard gain down to the goal line to convert on 3rd-and-4 and set up a 1-yard Damien Taylor touchdown to give Ole Miss the 14-10 lead.

Kentucky looked like it might retake the lead as it answered with a 62-yard drive down into the Ole Miss red zone, but Kapena Gushiken knocked down a Zach Calzada pass attempt in the end zone to force a 31-yard Kauwe field goal, which cut the lead to one, 14-13.

Lacy sparked the following drive for Ole Miss with a 26-yard run to cross midfield down to the UK 32-yard line, setting up a 43-yard Carniero field goal to make it 17-13, Rebels. Kentucky pushed into field goal range just before the half, but back-to-back penalties set the Cats back to keep it a four-point Ole Miss lead at the break.

Third Quarter
Pressure by Suntarine Perkins led to a three-and-out for Ole Miss defensively to open the second half, but Kentucky responded with a quick stop of its own. The Rebel defense continued the string with a third three-and-out to start the second half before the offense broke through.

Simmons found Wallace deep over the middle for a 39-yard gain and the first play for a first down in the second half. That big connection appeared to lead to six for Ole Miss, but Lacy’s 10-yard rushing touchdown was called back for holding, and the Rebels settled for a 28-yard Carniero field goal to go up by a touchdown, 20-13.

Kentucky responded with a similar drive, as Calzada connected with Ja’Mori Maclin for a 44-yard gain, but the Wildcats finished it off in the red zone with an 8-yard McGowan touchdown to tie the game at 20.

Ole Miss swung right back, though. Simmons hit tight end Trace Bruckler for 23 yards and the pair’s first-ever connection. The Rebel QB then scrambled for 14 yards, and Lacy followed suit with a 15-yard run of his own. Simmons finished it off on the ground as well with a 7-yard touchdown, his first career rushing score, giving Ole Miss a 27-20 lead, which stood through three.

Fourth Quarter
Kentucky came up with a defensive stop to start the fourth quarter and quickly moved across midfield, where Zxavian Harris came through with a sack of Calzada to put the Wildcats behind the chains. However, UK rolled the dice and racked up 18 yards on 4th-and-4 to move to the Rebel red zone. There, a holding call set Kentucky back, and a pair of incompletions led to a turnover on downs.

The home team got it right back and moved deep into Ole Miss territory after a pass interference call, and a 15-yard Dante Dowdell run, but the Rebel defense held strong, as an Umanmielen sack turned it over on downs with 4:10 to go.

A 33-yard Lacy run led to a 36-yard Carniero field goal to make it a two-score game, 30-20. Kentucky hit a 38-yard pass in the final minute to set up a Kauwe field goal from 39 yards out to get those three back, but Ole Miss recovered the onside kick attempt to ice it at 30-23.

Next Up
Ole Miss continues its first stretch of SEC play at home next weekend against Arkansas. Kickoff is set for 6 or 6:45 p.m. on ESPN or SEC Network.

(Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)