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Ole Miss has the SEC West second-place advantage.
The No.17 Rebels defeated No.13 Arkansas, 52-51, in a wild game Saturday afternoon in Oxford after Arkansas scored in record time. The two teams combined for over 650 rushing yards while making many big plays in the passing game.
The biggest passing game came from Ole Miss QB Matt Corral to WR Braylon Sanders with 1:07 to go. Sanders opened wide in the Arkansas secondary for 68 yards that put Ole Miss ahead. The touchdown came just seconds after Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson scored a touchdown with 1:22 left to tie the game.
Arkansas (4-2) then scored with the clock at zero when KJ Jefferson found Warren Thompson for a nine-yard touchdown behind the end zone. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman immediately signaled a two-point conversion and the win, but Jefferson’s pass in traffic fell incomplete.
Ole Miss (4-1) took the lead with 9:01 to go on Snoop Conner’s third TD of the day. That score was established by Corral’s first bombshell at Sanders, who plunged three feet from the end zone. Both teams traded punters after the touchdown before Jefferson equalized the game.
Corral finished the game 14 of 21 passing for 287 yards and two touchdowns to go with 15 carries for 94 yards and two rushing touchdowns. It was a stellar rebound after throwing six interceptions against Arkansas in 2020.
Jefferson himself has scored six touchdowns. The Mississippi native had 25 of 25 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns and one interception as he rushed for 85 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback performances were one of the main reasons it was so surprising to see each team punt in the fourth quarter. Arkansas scored 37 points in the second half while Ole Miss had 31 in the final two quarters.
Ole Miss in the driver’s seat for SEC West # 2?
Alabama are clearly the No.1 team in SEC West after annihilating Ole Miss a week ago. But the Rebels now have a big advantage over Arkansas for second place in the division.
Saturday’s game was huge for division positioning, with each team suffering their first loss of the season. There’s a blockage behind the Crimson Tide in the West and it’s easy to get wowed by Ole Miss’s offense – although the defense still needs some work. Lane Kiffin was not proud of the defensive performance in his post-match interview for obvious reasons. Arkansas had 676 yards and was 7 of 13 on the third downs.
But Ole Miss can say he has the best QB in the division. Corral has 20 touchdowns in five games so far and leads the conference with eight rushing touchdowns. If Ole Miss gets 10 wins in 2021, he is preparing to be a Heisman finalist.
Arkansas is still designed to be more than a spoiler. Although now missing the head-to-head tiebreaker with Ole Miss, a home win over Auburn in Week 7 keeps Arkansas firmly in the mix for a top-three ranking in the division.
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