Kentucky Prepared for a Fourth and 1, Yet Ole Miss Still Converted and it Flipped the Game

Ole Miss WR Harrison Wallace made a game-changing play against Kentucky, via Jordan Prather, Imagn Images

It feels like an eternity ago. Ty Bryant had picked off two passes, helping the Cats jump out to a 10-0 lead over Ole Miss. Kroger Field was rocking. The Kentucky defense was ready to deliver another haymaker to Lane Kiffin‘s high-powered offense. That’s when Lane got ’em with a play they knew was coming.

It was fourth and one from the Ole Miss 44-yard line. Their rushing attack had been stymied all night long. Another run stuff would give Kentucky’s sluggish offense another short field. The opportunity was there for the taking.

Instead of trying to run it up the gut again, Ole Miss ran a play-action pass. The flat was covered. Harrison Wallace streaked down the field. Jordan Lovett was in the vicinity but could not challenge the receiver.

It went from bad to worse. Lovett missed a tackle. Instead of just a first down, Ole Miss gained 55 yards. On the next play, Kewan Lacy punched it in for touchdown, completely sucking the air out of Kroger Field. Meanwhile, Mark Stoops was steaming.

“It’s disappointing because we worked that play (in practice). We worked that exact play,” said Stoops. “It’s us, you know, trying to do too much. You hear me talking about that and other coaches, it’s just bad eyes, and trying to do things that you’re not responsible for.”

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Lane Kiffin has created one of the most explosive offenses in America at Ole Miss. They’re going to hit a few home runs here and there. Football happens. This wasn’t football happening. Kentucky prepared for this exact situation, this exact play, and did not execute.

“(That) one really ticks us off, because we worked it. You could have a man on a man there. We covered the flat perfect. There’s no excuse. We gotta cover the two deep balls and we were just off. That’s a huge play right there, and very much playable for us. Not to say that a 50-50 ball wouldn’t go their way, but we should have a man on a man,” said Stoops.

That quick strike changed the game. Less than seven minutes of game time passed, and Ole Miss went from trailing 10-0 to holding a four-point lead. Kentucky was able to claw back and give itself a chance in the fourth quarter, but Ole Miss played with a lead for the rest of the night.