A furious fourth quarter comeback came up about 30 yards short for Ole Miss as it could not overcome a slow start against Oklahoma on Sunday.
The rescheduled game due to Federal Aviation Administration and transportation complications was an ugly one. Temperatures floating in the 40’s with rain falling caused both teams to struggle offensively with athletic quarterbacks taking the lion’s share of the work.
Trinidad Chambliss racked up 211 total yards of offense while John Mateer had 181 total yards of his
own through the air and on the ground. For reference, Ole Miss’ offense had only 306 yards and Oklahoma only 299 total yards for the game.
Oklahoma jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and there had to have been thousands of televisions across the Magnolia State that were switched to NFL games given the Rebels disastrous performance last week at home. There seemed to be a bit of a Georgia hangover causing a slow start again, which has been plaguing this team in its losses this season.
The Sooners dominated time of possession, so it did felt like the Rebels didn’t have the time it needed to find its offensive flow. Going 4/12 on third down certainly did not help that cause either. The loss of Shekai Mills Knight to a reported high ankle sprain during the game complicated things even more.
Credit to the Ole Miss defense for keeping the Sooners in check and to only 24 points however. The passing game was almost non-existent, and the run game is what ultimately did enough damage in a rock fight style fashion to ice this outcome.
So where do you go from here if you’re an Ole Miss fan? The game against Wofford should be a win you can count on, and the Egg Bowl is now looming a bit larger than anyone expected coming into November. This season was not hyped to be an 8-4 type of year as the program promoted two players for a possible Heisman trophy run. Now, fans wait to hear if the bowl destination is Nashville or Jacksonville.
It’s a tough grading scale for first year head coach Pete Golding who is learning how to run an SEC program whether fans are patient or not. Historically, a first year coach going to a bowl game would be a solid accomplishment, but those have typically been scenarios when a coach is rebuilding rather than reloading. For Golding to keep the majority of the fanbase engaged, the next two games are enormous for this program, and its momentum forward.
