Ole Miss Defeats Tennessee 31-26 on Rocky Top

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 13 Ole Miss defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 31-26 on Rocky Top Saturday night.

“Awesome to win a game in that environment,” head coach Lane Kiffin said.

Ole Miss (5-1, 2-1 SEC) held off a last-second comeback by the Volunteers with three seconds remaining on the clock. The Rebels forced Tennessee’s Joe Milton out of bounds at the eight-yard line after time had expired.

In the final minute of the game, Tennessee failed to convert on a fourth down and 24 that turned the ball over. The fans started throwing debris on the field that delayed action for almost 20-minutes.

The Rebels were led by junior quarterback Matt Corral who threw for 231yards and rushed 195 yards. The Ventura, California native carried the ball 30 times.

“My o-line did a great job of protection along with running backs and the receivers,” Corral said.

Corral continued his passing touchdown streak to 18-straight games.

Corral found Dontario Drummond (16 yards) and Dannis Jackson (33 yards)for a pair of touchdowns.

Ole Miss used all three running backs in the game with Henry Parrish got 41 yards, Snoop Conner with 24 yards and two touchdowns and 

In the fourth quarter, Corral threw his first interception of the season. He went 233 pass attempts without an interception, which ranks 5th all-time in the SEC.

The Rebels offense put up a total of 510 yards against the Vols.

In the first half, the Rebels held Tennessee to only 141 total yards of offense. The Vols finished with 467 total yards of offense.

Ole Miss’ defense pressured Tennessee’s quarterback Hendon Hooker and recorded five sacks. The Vols got to Corral and sacked him five times on the night.

Hooker finished the game throwing for 233 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 108 yards and a score.

The Rebels defense was led by Mark Robinson with 14 tackles and two sacks.

“Our defense won the game twice,” Kiffin said. “We stopped them a number of times including a fourth down.”

The Rebels had Jake Springer in the game. Springer finished the night with 11 total tackles and one sack.

“He makes a difference and we made plays,” Kiffin said.

Ole Miss returns home on Saturday as they play host to the LSU Tigers. The kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS.