Defense Coming to Life in Second Half Lifts Rebels Past OU

OXFORD, Miss. — For a half it looked like Oklahoma found an offense just for Ole Miss.

After being unable to score a touchdown, the Sooners scored a couple of touchdowns to lead the Rebels on Saturday while the Rebels were kicking field goal. Folks in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium were squirming around in their seats.

Then Ole Miss’ defense started making stops and not committing penalties, Jaxson Dart got the offense in gear and an overwhelming pass rush pitched a shutout in the second half and for a 26-14 in the first SEC meeting between the two schools.

The Rebels (6-2, 2-2) found themselves trailing 14-10 at halftime against the SEC newcomers, but the defense dominated the second half, allowing just 94 total yards and zero points to comfortably complete the comeback. Ole Miss had 10 sacks on the day, including seven in the second half to win in front of a record crowd of 67,926 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Ole Miss outgained the Sooners (4-4, 1-4) 380-329 on the afternoon, including 311-182 through the air. Each team overcame seven penalties, with the Rebels being penalized for 94 yards.

Lane Kiffin became the fastest head coach to 40 wins in Ole Miss history at 57 games, joining John Vaught, Billy Brewer and David Cutcliffe as the fourth 40-win coach in program history.

Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Jordan Watkins (11) reaches for a catch as Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) defends during the second half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Offensive Leaders

Jaxson Dart turned in a strong day, going 22-for-30 for 311 yards and one touchdown, adding 24 yards on the ground. Henry Parrish Jr. led the rushing efforts with 44 yards and a score on 15 carries. Caden Prieskorn was Ole Miss’ leading receiver with five catches, 71 yards and a touchdown. The Rebel offensive line turned in an outstanding performance against a dangerous pass rush. Oklahoma entered the game at No. 2 in the SEC and No. 3 in the nation with 25.0 sacks on the year but notched just one on Dart at The Vaught.

Ole Miss Rebels linebacker Suntarine Perkins (4) sacks Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Defensive Leaders

The Ole Miss pass rush dominated the game, totaling 10 sacks for a loss of 61 yards and 15 tackles for loss in total. The 10 sacks were the most ever given up by an OU team and tied for the second-most in Ole Miss history, one shy of the school record 11 set against Mississippi State in 2008. Suntarine Perkins stuffed the stat sheet with 11 tackles, including team-highs with five TFLs and four sacks, the most by a Rebel since Cassius Ware had four against Georgia in 1993. JJ Pegues and Princely Umanmielen each had two sacks, while Jared Ivey.

Ole Miss Rebels defensive tackle JJ Pegues (38) dives for a touchdown during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

First Quarter

With his favorite target, Tre Harris, out of commission, Jaxson Dart went to his tight ends early, hitting Caden Prieskorn for 16 yards and DaeQuan Wright for 35 yards on the opening drive to set up a tough 9-yard touchdown run by Henry Parrish Jr. to make it 7-0 just 2:24 into the game.

Oklahoma looked destined to answer as it drove down inside the Rebel 5-yard line, but as the Sooners faced 4th-and-1 on the two, Jadon Canady came through with a pass breakup in the end zone to stop the threat.

A dropped third-down pass by Wright led to a three-and-out for Ole Miss on the ensuing series. The Rebel defense looked like it would stop Oklahoma quickly in response, but two personal foul penalties extended the drive. Then Trey Amos had an interception in-hand but landed out of bounds, and it all ultimately led to a touchdown pass from Jackson Arnold to Bauer Sharp to tie it at seven.

Ole Miss Rebels running back Henry Parrish Jr. (21) runs the ball for a touchdown as Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Dasan McCullough (1) and defensive back Eli Bowen (23) attempt to make the tackle during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Second Quarter

Princely Umanmielen announced his return with a key 7-yard sack early in the second quarter to force a punt. The Rebel special teams unit had a scare on a muffed punt, but Chris Graves jumped on the loose ball to maintain possession.

Ole Miss started on its own 15-yard line, but Dart quickly reversed the poor field position with a 28-yard connection to Cayden Lee and 17-yard link-up with Jordan Watkins. The Rebels drove into the red zone but were stopped for a loss on 3rd-and-1, leading to a 35-yard Caden Davis field goal to put the Rebels in front, 10-7.

Ole Miss had a second turnover slip through its fingers on the next drive when John Saunders Jr. forced a Taylor Tatum fumble, and Chris Paul Jr. recovered, but Paul was stripped on his return, giving it back to OU. It was no matter, though, as Jared Ivey lit up Arnold on a strip-sack on the very next play and recovered it safely at the 37.

Ole Miss was stopped short on a 3rd-and-2 attempt but benefitted from a facemask foul against Oklahoma’s Danny Stutsman to extend the next drive. However, the home team couldn’t turn the miscues into points. Facing 4th-and-1 on the OU 5-yard line, a Rebel end-around attempt was blown up for a three-yard loss, turning it back to the Sooners.

Oklahoma did capitalize, driving 92 yards on 13 plays, capped off with a 9-yard TD pass from Arnold to Jacob Jordan on 3rd-and-Goal to make it 14-10 at the half.

Despite averaging an SEC-worst 288 yards per game coming into the contest, Oklahoma outgained Ole Miss 235-162 in the first half, including dominating the ground game at 125-43.

Ole Miss Rebels defensive back Jadon Canady (28) knocks the ball away from Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Jacob Jordan (88) during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Third Quarter

The Rebel defense came out of the locker room inspired as they put up a three-and-out to start the second half, and the offense made the most of it. Dart hit Lee on a 20-yard gain to start the drive. He found Lee later on for 13 yards to overcome a holding penalty and set up a 24-yard scoring strike to Prieskorn. Davis’ PAT try hit the upright to make it a two-point Rebel lead, 16-14.

Another three-and-out followed for the Ole Miss defense thanks to a jarring hit by Trey Washington to break up an attempted third-down connection between Arnold and Sharp. The ensuing drive featured a key play where Dart eluded three rushers and floated a 26-yard connection to Micah Davis to convert on 3rd-and-14.

Dart continued to carve the Sooner secondary, hitting Prieskorn for 14 yards on the next play before hitting Watkins on the deep ball for an apparent 35-yard touchdown, but upon review, the Rebel receiver was just inches shy of the score. JJ Pegues finished it off, spinning off of a tackle and stretching for six. Caden Davis hit his PAT to make it a two-score game, 23-14.

The Rebel defense continued its third-quarter dominance on the next drive. They yielded one first down before a holding call and an 8-yard tackle for loss by Pegues made it 3rd-and-26. Ole Miss held Oklahoma to just 23 total yards in the third quarter, including minus-5 passing yards.

Ole MissRebels coach Lane Kiffin talks with an official after a flag during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Fourth Quarter

Ole Miss hit another chunk play, a 34-yard Dart-to-Antwane Wells Jr. pass just before the end of the third quarter, but failed to convert a 3rd-and-2 just out of the break and had to settle for a 42-yard Davis field goal to make it 26-14.

With Oklahoma in desperation mode, the Ole Miss defensive line went to work. Back-to-back sacks by Pegues and Umanmielen ended one Sooner drive. Then Perkins and Akelo Stone found home on third and fourth down of the following series to snuff out any hopes of a comeback. Perkins and Pegues each added one more sack for good measure on the final drive.

Next Up

Ole Miss will now hit the road to take on Arkansas in its third SEC road trip of the 2024 season. Kickoff is set for the early window, either 11 a.m. or noon CT. Kick time and TV designation will be announced at a later date.

Information from Ole Miss Sports is included in this story