It wasn’t pretty for the Rebels, especially in the first half. But, as the old saying goes, a win is a win.
After a losing two of their last three games, and with their playoff hopes barely clinging to life, a win is exactly what Ole Miss needed.
The Rebels came into this game off a bye week having outscored their opponents by 136 points combined in the first half this season. However, they found themselves down 14-10 at the half to a Sooners team that showed much more fight than we’d seen from them in the last few weeks.
The Sooner offense outgained Ole Miss 235-162 in the opening 30 minutes, and the offensive line allowed only two sacks. Outside of the scoreboard, that may have been the biggest surprise to everyone watching the first half. Oklahoma came into Saturday ranked second to last in the country in sacks allowed with 29 total on the season.
However, as most good teams do, Ole Miss made second half adjustments and came out of the locker room looking like a completely different team. The Rebels outgained the Sooners 201-23 in the third quarter, scoring 13 points and effectively putting the game away. The defense put the clamps down after halftime as well, pitching a shutout and recording five sacks.
With the win, Ole Miss improves to 6-2 on the year, and their playoff hopes are still alive. ESPN FPI gives the Rebels a 24 percent chance to reach the field of 12. According to that same metric, Ole Miss is currently favored to win every remaining game on their schedule.
