OXFORD, Miss. (WLBT) - Coming into Saturday’s SEC opener against Kentucky, Ole Miss football had not faced much resistance through its first four games of the season.

In their 4-0 start, the #6 Rebels allowed a total of 22 points, but the Wildcats, who took #2 Georgia to the wire in Lexington earlier this month, were more of a threat than the previous four opponents.

A little more than two minutes into the game, Ole Miss scored the first points of the game on a Henry Parrish Jr., and it looked like the run of dominance for the Rebels would continue.

However, a UK field goal in the first quarter, and a 5-yard score right before the half had the Wildcats on top 10-7 at the break.

The teams traded field goals in the third, and Jaxson Dart and Tre Harris linked up for a 48-yard score right before the end of the quarter to make it 17-13 Ole Miss.

he game, and the Wildcats in the red zone, backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt came into the game to try to score on the ground.

On an option run, Wimsatt was hit at the two yard line, the ball came free, but it popped right into the hands of nearby tight end Josh Kattus for the touchdown.

With 2:25 left on the clock, the Rebels got the ball down 20-17 with a chance to tie or win the game.

Facing a 4th and 11 play on his own 24 yard line, Dart threw a game-saving pass to Caden Prieskorn for a 42-yard gain and first down.

On 4th and 7, with the ball on the Kentucky 31, Caden Davis lined up for a 48-yard, game-tying field goal; the kick was no good wide left.

“I really thought it was going to be one of those games that start really close for a while and then we finished them off, and we didn’t do that,” Lane Kiffin said after the game. “We had every opportunity to do it. We had the ball in our hands.”

The loss is the Rebels’ first as a ranked opponent vs an unranked opponent since Oct. 30, 2021, when they lost to Auburn 31-20.

“It could’ve gone our way so many different ways, but we didn’t make the plays and we didn’t close them out,” said Kiffin. “When you have the ball up by a score and not make it come down to a play, all three phases had chances to win the game, or at least tie the game, and didn’t do it. So, commend them and a big win for them, but very discouraging and disappointing.”

The loss also complicates the path to the College Football Playoff for Ole Miss, with upcoming games at #14 LSU and home against #21 Oklahoma and #2 Georgia.

“This is going to be a wake-up call; this is going to be a season-defining game for us,” Jaxson Dart said. “How we answer that will have to do with the direction of how the season goes. So, we’ve got to buck up.”

Next up, the Rebels travel to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks.

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