A valiant comeback effort came up just short for Tennessee Saturday night against Ole Miss.
The Volunteers had their two-game Southeastern Conference wining streak snapped as the dropped a 31-26 decision to Ole Miss and former UT head coach Lane Kiffin.
Ole Miss appeared to seal a victory over the Volunteers when Ole Miss made a fourth-down stop with 54 seconds remaining in the game as Tennessee narrowly failed to convert a chance on fourth-and-long as tight end Jacob Warren came up just short of a first down.
The game was then delayed as fans threw objects on to the field at Neyland Stadium. The band, the Vols’ cheerleaders and dance team left the stadium.
After stopping the Vols on fourth down, Ole Miss failed to run out the clock and Tennessee forced a punt and had one last chance that came up empty.
On UT’s final offensive play, Joe Milton III was stopped deep in Rebel territory.
The Vols (4-3, 2-2 SEC) faced a 24-12 deficit at halftime, but gained momentum when Chase McGrath kicked a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the second stanza.
Tennessee scored on its first possession of the third quarter on a 1-yard plunge by Jabari Small to make it 24-19.
The Rebels (5-1, 2-1) answered a short time later when Matt Corral threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Dontario Drummond with 2 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the frame.
Ole Miss scored first on a 1-yard run by Jarod Conner with 9:50 left in the first quarter.
The touchdown came after Velus Jones Jr. muffed a punt.
A short time later, Tennessee’s defense scored a safety when Rebels’ quarterback Matt Corral was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.
On their ensuing possession, the Vols took the lead when Hooker connected with Cedric Tillman on a 16-yard scoring strike. Chase McGrath’s extra point made it 9-7 with 3:51 left in the opening frame.
The Rebels then scored 17 consecutive points as Caden Costa kicked a field goal, Conner had another 1-yard plunge and Coral threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Jackson.
Corral was the Rebels’ most potent and versatile weapon against the Vols as he rushed for a career-high 195 yards and passed for 231 yards and two scores.
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