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Lane Kiffin's controversial Ole Miss football program cannot cry foul after losing an overtime thriller to Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers. The Ole Miss Rebels were in control for most of the night. However, Garrett Nussmeier was golden in growth moments while Jaxson Dart's Heisman Trophy dreams wilted away with every second-half incompletion. Dart was in disbelief after the 29-26 loss in overtime, as was Kiffin.
“We have to win out,” Dart lamented, per Brad Logan of 247Sports' Inside the Rebels. “I don’t understand how we lost. They did a few gameplan things. I don’t understand how we lost.”
The despondent quarterback finished with 284 air yards and one touchdown on 24-of-42 passing. Dart was emotional long after the final whistle was blown. There might have been a few complaints but none that could be heard over the roar of Tiger Stadium. Ole Miss now has a long road back into the SEC and CFP championship conversations. Dart's Heisman hopes are all but dashed.
As for a moment when Dart knew the game was done?
“I never felt like we were going to lose until it happened,” Dart sighed, according to Michael Katz of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
Ole Miss had a target on their backs the day schedules were released according to cornerback Zy Alexander.
“We've been looking forward to this team,” Alexander shared via ESPN. “Since we got the calendar out, we marked Ole Miss, so we know we'd be ready for that game.”
Dart was intercepted by Alexander in the fourth quarter.
“I wish I could have thrown a few balls better,” Dart grieved. “Just one more score. We had opportunities in the red zone and we didn’t score. So many chances to win and we didn’t.”
Ole Miss football lamenting lost moments
Ole Miss will get a bye week to shake things off before a visit from Oklahoma. They'll spend some of that time lamenting lost moments in film study. Like Dart, Kiffin did not sound ready to let this loss go quite yet.
“Up until that last drive in regulation, we led the whole game, until the last 30 seconds,” Kiffin quipped, per Dan Anderson of The Rebel Walk. “They made really good plays, like the scramble play, fourth-down conversions. We should’ve finished it when we had the ball. We had a chance to go up two scores, like the Kentucky game. Much harder situation. Just really disappointed, obviously. We should’ve won that game. We had command of the game for the majority of it.
“We handed them some points with a fumble and a field goal to end the half,” continued Kiffin. “That’s why I felt like we were outplaying (them). We were the better team for the majority of the game, but you have to close them out. We left points out there.”
Ole Miss is now 5-2 on the season after two losses in three weeks, with a date against another disappointing team, the Oklahoma Sooners, on deck.
