It was a picture-perfect weekend in Oxford, Mississippi, as the hometown, Ole Miss Rebels welcomed Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats to town for a star-studded matchup. SEC Nation was in town, the birds were chirping, and it was the perfect fall weekend at Ole Miss. Kentucky and Ole Miss both needed a win on Saturday at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. It was the Rebels who etched out the Wildcats to remain unbeaten.

Saturday’s matchup between the Wildcats and Rebels was everything you would have expected out of the top-15 Southeastern Conference matchup between two programs on the rise. Ole Miss jumped out on Kentucky early on in the game. Despite a roaring effort of a comeback from Mark Stoops and company, Ole Miss was able to fend off visitors to earn a program-defining win over Kentucky.

So far, during his career at Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin has changed the perception around the program for the better. He has two wins over Kentucky, a program that has turned into the measuring stick for the Rebels to measure up against in comparison to success. As much as both fan bases of Ole Miss and Kentucky hate to admit it, the two programs are identical in how College Football views them. However, in recent years, the edge of the two has gone in favor of Ole Miss.

Saturday at Vaught Hemingway Stadium was no different. Ole Miss wanted the win more than Kentucky, while the Wildcats had their chances at victory but could never follow through.

On the Kentucky Wildcats’ side of things, Saturday was a disaster. Anything that could go wrong for the Wildcats happened, and Kentucky returned to Lexington with a heartbreaking loss. Ole Miss forced Will Levis out of the pocket, and the levee broke for Kentucky. We saw it twice on Saturday afternoon when the Rebels forced two massive fumbles to seal the deal late in the 4th quarter. Kentucky had no answer for the Landshark defensive unit from Ole Miss. Ole Miss focused this week on applying pressure to the Wildcats and forcing Kentucky into dark places of the unknown.

However, in conversation with an NFL scout after the game, Will Levis is still considered an elite talent that many NFL teams would find beneficial as early as next season. That same NFL scout on Saturday mentioned opening the playbook a bit to better suit Will Levis and the Kentucky Wildcats offensive unit. Kentucky will look to rebound on Saturday night as they host the South Carolina Gamecocks at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.

For Ole Miss, Saturday’s win over Kentucky was a gigantic step into the building of the next great SEC program. Saturday was another opportunity for Lane Kiffin to highlight his coaching abilities as Head Coach in the Southeastern Conference. Saturday at Vaught Hemingway Stadium was a special day for the Rebel Nation. In a year that many said Ole Miss would rebuild after losing a lot of talent from last season’s Sugar Bowl birth, to remain unbeaten heading into the meat of the conference slate is nothing short of amazing.

Ole Miss hits the road this week to take on Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, before returning home to welcome the struggling Auburn Tigers. A win in both games sets Ole Miss for a showdown in the Magnolia Bowl on October 22nd with Brian Kelly and his LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. Ole Miss has the entire season in front of them with the ceiling of unspeakable realities.