OXFORD, Miss. (news agencies) — Kentucky upset No. 6 Mississippi 20-17 on Saturday, when Rebels kicker Caden Davis hooked a 48-yard field-goal attempt way wide with 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Wildcats their highest-ranked win of coach Mark Stoops’ 12-year career.
The Rebels (4-0, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had a seven-game winning streak snapped and were shocked as a double-digit favorite in their SEC opener.
The Wildcats (3-2, 1-2) took a three-point lead with 2:25 left in the fourth quarter, with a little fumble luck. Backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt was heading toward the goal line with a keeper when an Ole Miss defender knocked the ball free — right to tight end Josh Kattus, who fell into the end zone.
Two weeks after Stoops faced criticism for not being aggressive enough late in the game on fourth down in a 13-12 loss against Georgia, the Wildcats go-ahead drive was kept alive with a 63-yard completion from Brock Vandagriff to Barion Brown on fourth-and-7 at the Kentucky 20.
Vandagriff passed for 243 yards and a touchdown, helping Kentucky play keep-away from the Rebels’ high-powered offense. The Wildcats held the ball for nearly 40 minutes.
Jaxson Dart converted a fourth-and-11 with a 42-yard pass to Caden Prieskorn on the Rebels’ final drive, but two plays later Dart took a sack that sent Ole Miss the wrong way as it tried to get in field-goal range.
Davis’ potential tying kick came on a fourth-and-7.
Dart finished with with 261 yards passing, but after Ole Miss averaged 55 points against overmatched nonconference opponents, the Rebels only found the end zone once after an opening drive touchdown.
Kentucky: The combination of winning the turnover battle (1-0), effectiveness in the red zone (3-for-3) and converting on fourth down (3-fior-3) proved to be the difference. The defense has given up only 36 points in the last three games, including two against highly-ranked opponents.
Kentucky hadn’t not beaten such a highly ranked team on the road since 1977, when the Wildcats won at No. 4 Penn State.
Mississippi: A season of high expectations, spurred by a star-studded transfer portal class, has already hit a bump. Ole Miss will need a strong October bounceback against a schedule that includes three road games and home dates with No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 2 Georgia.
How far will the Rebels drop after losing an SEC home opener? The highest-ranked team with one loss is No. 12 Michigan. The Top 25 poll has nine other teams with one loss, so Ole Miss figures to land around there.
Kentucky is idle.
Ole Miss visits South Carolina on Saturday.
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