Kentucky Shocks No.6 Ole Miss In Incredible Fashion, Sending Lane Kiffin And Rebels Into Panic Mode

The Kentucky Wildcats took everything they learned from the close loss to Georgia two weeks ago, and shocked the college football world by upsetting 6th-ranked Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday afternoon. 

For all of the talk of the Rebels making a run towards the national championship this season, a performance like this will keep them from making the college football playoffs. On a day when Kentucky’s Brock Vandergriff had more of an impressive day passing than Jaxson Dart, Kentucky found a way to win. 

This Ole Miss squad struggled all afternoon to get anything going on offense, and Ole Miss had a chance to tie the game on 4th and 7, with :53 seconds remaining. 

A monster win by Kentucky will send Ole Miss into a frenzy, dropping a game in which fans were certainly expecting the win, as they made their trek to the playoffs. Now, folks should start to wonder if the Rebels have enough to prevent other losses of this nature. 

This was a massive failure by the Rebels, while the Kentucky defense has shown that it can cause problems on that side of the ball. 

“It means a lot, our guys just keep on fighting. We took the number one (Georgia) down to the wire. I love these kids and this group,” Mark Stoops said postgame. 

This was Kentucky’s highest-ranked win on the road since 1977, and it came against an Ole Miss team that was pegged for the college football playoff. 

OXFORD, Miss. – Head coach Mark Stoops of the Kentucky Wildcats  before the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 28, 2024. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Where Does Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin Go From Here After Loss?

I have no idea where this Lane Kiffin-led squad goes from here, but a trip to South Carolina will not be easy, followed by another road game against LSU. It was preached all off-season that the Rebels had bought themselves a squad that could contend for a national championship, but Kentucky proved that a hard-nosed defense could derail those expectations.

We came close to seeing a shocking upset on Friday night between Miami and Virginia Tech, but it turns out we just had to wait another 24 hours for a shocking win. 

OXFORD, Miss. – Trey Amos #9 of the Mississippi Rebels reacts during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 28, 2024. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

This one will not sit well with the Ole Miss faithful, and nor should it. They were leaning on this team to put-up massive numbers on offense, giving them a chance at playing for an SEC Championship, en route to the playoffs. 

If they put this product on the field over the next two weeks, they could be looking at least one more loss in this stretch. It’s not as if their schedule gets easier, with a game against Georgia on the schedule. 

So, if Ole Miss wants to be in contention for the college football playoff, it better find a way to prevent another loss like this before the Bulldogs head to town. Because a 3-loss Ole Miss team is not getting into the playoffs with performances like what we just witnessed. 

Just when we thought we’d seen some of the craziest upsets in the early portion of this 2024 season, Kentucky walked into Oxford and sent Ole Miss into panic mode. 

Just another weekend of college football.