Ole Miss Football returned to action on Saturday with the Oklahoma Sooners inside Vaught Hemingway with a sold-out crowd. Saturday morning was a raucous environment for Coach Kiffin and his Rebels as they looked to get right after falling to LSU on the 12th of October in a wild game in Death Valley.

Fresh off the bye week, Ole Miss knew they had to take care of business against the Sooners on Saturday to continue their march to the College Football Playoffs for the first time in school history. With two losses on the season, Coach Kiffin and his Rebels face the harsh reality of having to win out to reach the goal of the College Football Playoff paying off with the investments made in the offseason. With the expectations in front of them, every game will be a battle from here on out for the Ole Miss Rebels, with Saturday against the Sooners no different.

Ole Miss struggled early on to establish a comfortable enough advantage, giving flashbacks to the Kentucky game in late September, where the Rebels allowed a bad Kentucky team to hang around too long, allowing the Wildcats to shock the world with a massive road upset over a top-five team, as the first wake up call for Ole Miss this season.

Oklahoma carried a 14-10 lead over the Rebels at half-time, and the vibes inside Vaught Hemingway shifted to nervousness as the Rebels knew they had to reach deep inside to once again overcome the adversity of a deficit to keep the season alive.

As the second half broke away, Ole Miss would find the groove on the defensive side of the ball, creating an uneasy play style for the Sooner while holding the visitors from Norman to zero points in the second half.

On the offensive side of the ball, despite Ole Miss’s slow start, the second half saw a sixteen-point turnaround, helped by the tight end position, to secure a massive Southeastern Conference win for Coach Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday morning. Jaxson Dart finished the day with 311 yards through the air with a touchdown to add to it. Caden Prieskorn had himself a game as well, as he went for 71 yards, with a touchdown of his own, to return to being the threat he is at the tight end position.

Overall, the win over Oklahoma wasn’t pretty, but it was a win. Ole Miss did what it had to do to keep the expectations from falling by the wayside, and it will look to continue the train next Saturday with a road trip to take on Arkansas. Ole Miss has got to find some discipline, but at the end of the day, a win is a win, and Ole Miss is still in contention to complete what they set out to do in the offseason.

Photo credits: Ole Miss Football on X