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No. 15 Mississippi holds on to topple No. 2 Alabama, 43-37
Alabama set an unsightly tone on the first play of Saturday night’s showdown against Ole Miss at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Sophomore receiver ArDarius Stewart fumbled the opening kickoff at Alabama’s 17-yard line, and though the Crimson Tide defense stiffened and held the Rebels to a field goal, the miscues were just starting. Alabama wound up losing five turnovers, allowing Ole Miss to come away with a historic 43-37 triumph in a marathon that required more than four hours to complete.
“I really don’t want to take anything away from Ole Miss, because they played a really good game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “but are you going to be a giver, or are you going to be a taker? I think if you are going to be a great competitor, you’ve got to take what you want.
“You’ve got to compete that way, and you can’t give the other team 24 points off of turnovers from the 30-yard line in.”
The Crimson Tide lost in September for the first time since 2007, a streak that covered 29 games, and dropped from No. 2 to No. 12 in The Associated Press poll. They now have lost consecutive games to the Rebels for the first time.
Alabama racked up 503 yards and had 29 first downs to just 16 by Ole Miss, which catapulted from No. 15 to No. 3 in the new AP poll, but the Rebels played turnover-free.
The game was tied 3-3 in the second quarter when Tide quarterback Cooper Bateman, who got his first career start, was intercepted by Rebels safety Trae Elston. A 28-yard return by Elston to Alabama’s 26-yard line set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Jordan Wilkins, and the ensuing kickoff was fumbled away by Kenyan Drake at the Alabama 18.
That helped set up a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Chad Kelly, giving Ole Miss a 17-3 lead and forcing the Tide to play catch-up the rest of the evening.
“I felt like we just gave them the game,” Alabama senior cornerback Cyrus Jones told reporters. “They didn’t come in here and beat us. We messed up, so that’s how we’re feeling right now. It is what it is, and we have to move on and get ready to play.”
Said junior defensive end Jonathan Allen: “This was a giveaway win. This loss is on us.”
Early in the third quarter, Ole Miss produced what is arguably the Southeastern Conference’s most memorable touchdown pass since the 2013 Auburn-Georgia game. Kelly got pummelled by linebacker Reggie Ragland as he threw the ball, and the attempt to Laquon Treadwell bounced off the helmet of Tide freshman cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick, giving Quincy Adeboyejo the chance to snatch it and race 66 yards for a touchdown that put the Rebels up 24-10.
Kelly threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Cody Core with 11:45 remaining to go up 36-24, repelling yet another rally by a Crimson Tide offense that wound up running 101 plays. Kelly weathered the noisy crowd to complete 18 of 33 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns.
“There are so many things we could’ve done better tonight,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “If our kids will stay hungry and with the right demeanor and stay humble, I know we can get a lot better than we played tonight. You know, they had a hundred plays, and that just wore our defense out.
“I was scared to go tempo because they needed a break it seemed like every time.”
Bateman and Jake Coker combined on 32-of-58 passing for the Tide, producing three touchdowns but also three interceptions.
Ole Miss became the second SEC team in a row to hang more than 40 points on the Tide inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Auburn scored 44 in last year’s Iron Bowl, but Alabama overcame a three-turnover performance to score 55 points.
Saturday night’s game kicked off at 9:21 Eastern on ESPN, and it did not end until Sunday morning at 1:26.
“The last nine minutes were the longest nine minutes,” Ole Miss senior rover Mike Hilton said.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.