Just under the 12-minute mark in the third quarter with Ole Miss inside its own 10-yard line, Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson came off the edge and issued a blow to Chad Kelly near the goal line. The hit jarred the football loose. Da’Ron Payne scooped it up and lunged forward three yards into the end zone for an Alabama touchdown. It tied the game at 24.
“It’s on me. I gave them a free 14 points just like that,” a somber Chad Kelly said after the game. “As a quarterback, you can’t do that. It stinks that I’m sitting here saying it’s my mistake again, but I’ve got to correct it.”
For the second time in three weeks, Ole Miss saw a three-score lead be wiped clean almost as fast as it gained the advantage. Alabama reeled off a 38-6 run in its 48-43 win after Ole Miss jumped ahead 24-3. The Crimson Tide left the Rebels to cope with another stinging defeat that began to unravel in the final minutes of the opening half.
“We, as coaches, have to do a better job of helping our young men understand the value of every single play within the course of the game. It has the same weight,” Head Coach Hugh Freeze said. “We’ll measure that in the outcome when you’re playing a top team in the country.”
John Youngblood returns a fumble forced by Marquis Haynes for a 44 yard touchdown. Youngblood’s touchdown put the Rebels up 24-3 early in the game before Alabama would come back to win 48-43. (Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
Ole Miss started fast, scoring on its opening drive when Akeem Judd broke free from 23 yards out and ran it into the end zone. After trading field goals, Ole Miss scored two more touchdowns on a 63-yard pass from Kelly to Evan Engram and a fumble recovery of its own when John Youngblood picked up a fumble forced by Marquis Haynes and took it 44 yards for a score. Kelly finished 26-41 for 421 yards and three touchdowns. Engram caught nine balls for 138 yards and scored once.
Ole Miss was up 24-3. It had all the momentum. It then began to come undone. A personal foul and a kick out of bounds gave Alabama the ball at midfield. It set up a quick score on a Calvin Ridley 6-yard rush to make it 24-10. A minute and five seconds later, following a quick three-and-out from Ole Miss, Eddie Jackson ran a punt that was kicked in the middle of the field 85 yards into the end zone. All of a sudden, it was 24-17 at the half.
“All of those things have great value. The margin of error in winning and losing in this league is so small and we’ve got to do a lot of things better,” Freeze said.
Alabama would take the lead in a third quarter in which it scored 17 points and it would not trail again. The Crimson Tide ran for 334 yards. Hurts, the true freshman quarterback ran for 146. He was 19-31 through the air for 158 yards.
“We couldn’t stop the run and weren’t very good on third down,” Freeze said.
Ole Miss was 5-15 on third down. While it led early, injuries and fatigue caught up with the Rebels later in the game.
“Well, you know, those are some big suckers you are lined up against,” Youngblood said. “Kind of being shorthanded like we are, you go into a game not knowing how many snaps you are going to play.”
Ole Miss was without Fadol Brown and Victor Evans on the defensive line. Neither one practiced this week.
“We are playing a lot of young kids in a lot of areas,” Freeze said. “I thought that they competed.”
For as much as Ole Miss struggled defensively, it didn’t get many breaks either. Alabama scored three touchdowns on defense and special teams. The Payne fumble recovery and Jackson punt return helped stage the comeback and a Jonathan Allen 75-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter put the game on ice.
“The big thing we talk about is protecting the football and we didn’t protect the ball. So that, to me, is the difference in the game,” Offensive Coordinator Dan Werner said.
After two defeats from the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams, Ole Miss must deal with two unsettling losses as well as the physical toll these games have taken on them.
“You depend on the leadership in the locker room in D.J. (Jones), Issac (Gross) and Evan (Engram) and Chad (Kelly). Some of those guys, Tony Conner,” Freeze said.
It’s shown in flashes that it can compete with the nation’s best, but it’s inability to do it for the entirety of a game has put its back against the wall.
“The SEC is a grind for every team in this conference and anything can happen,” Engram said. “We just have to worry about ourselves and that starts tomorrow.”
Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1) plays Georgia next week at home in an 11 a.m. kickoff.
