For the third consecutive week, the Oklahoma Sooners will wake up Sunday morning with the taste of defeat. Oklahoma traveled to Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday to take on Lane Kiffin’s 18th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels. The Sooners put up a fight in the first half but ultimately fell 26-14.
The game started rough as the Rebels marched down the field in six plays and scored the game’s opening touchdown on a nine-yard TD run from Henry Parrish Jr. It looked as if Ole Miss was going to have its way with the Sooners, but Zac Alley’s unit made considerable adjustments the rest of the half.
The Sooners used their first possession, aided by some key penalties on the Rebels, to march all the way down to the Rebel’s two-yard line, where the Sooners were unable to convert on 4th and goal. Jackson Arnold hit Brenen Thompson in the gut with an Ole Miss defender draping him and couldn’t come up with the catch.
Oklahoma’s defense settled in forcing a punt on the Rebels’ next possession. The Sooners finally found pay dirt in the first half for the first time since they traveled to Auburn. Jackson Arnold delivered a rainbow of a throw to tight end Bauer Sharp for an 11-yard score.
Oklahoma and Ole Miss traded punts before the Rebels nailed a field goal to go up 10-7 in the second quarter.
Despite Ole Miss forcing a fumble to give themselves incredible field position, the Oklahoma defense stopped the Rebels on fourth down to get the ball back at their own eight-yard line.
Jackson Arnold and the OU offense, led by terrific running from Jovantae Barnes and timely decision-making from Arnold, pushed all the way downfield 92 yards, culminating in a nine-yard touchdown toss to Jacob Jordan. Arnold made an incredible individual effort to evade pressure and roll right before throwing a dart to the walk-on receiver for Jordan’s first career touchdown.
Oklahoma would go into the half up 14-10, their first lead at halftime in almost two months.
Out of the half, the Sooners were unable to get anything going on their first possession and Ole Miss responded with a touchdown to take a 16-14 lead.
Oklahoma’s offense began to sputter, and the Rebels scored another touchdown on their second drive of the second half. That all but sealed the game. The Sooners had a drive in the fourth quarter to potentially cut a 26-14 lead to a one-score game, but consecutive sacks right outside the red zone knocked Oklahoma back and forced them into an impossible fourth-down situation.
Jackson Arnold was calm despite the constant pressure he was under en route to finishing 22 of 31 for 182 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He was sacked eight times. That comes a week after the Sooners offensive line gave up nine sacks last week. Barnes had 16 carries for 67 yards and added five catches for 57 yards as he had his best game of the season.
Bauer Sharp led the team in catches with eight but struggled to secure the ball and was put in some bad positions by the offensive coordinator with failed tight end screens and a tight end pass.
Ultimately, this game came down to the offensive line’s inability to pass protection in the fourth quarter. The Sooners lost Jacob Sexton to injury and that killed any momentum the offensive line had created through three quarters. Arnold was under siege, and the offensive line allowed nine sacks for the second straight week.
Oklahoma will put its head down and get back to work searching for win number five this season as they host the Maine Black Bears next week.
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