Post Game Review: No.15 Ole Miss 29, No. 11 Texas A&M 19

Too little, too late.

No. 11 Texas A&M stumbled out of the gate in Oxford, falling behind 15-0 in the first half, and never recovered as No. 15 Ole Miss defeated the Aggies, 29-19. The loss ended an outside shot at an SEC West championship for the Maroon & White.

The pace of Lane Kiffin's offense flustered the Aggies early, but A&M eventually cut the lead to two points midway through the final quarter.

Trailing 15-13 and needing a score with seven minutes remaining, Zach Calzada fired a second-down pass to Demond Demas that was high and off the receiver's hands, leading to an interception by Ashanti Cistrunk at the Aggie 14. Two plays later, Snoop Conner was in the end zone as Ole Miss reclaimed a two-score lead.

On the ensuing drive, Calzada was intercepted again, with A.J. Finley returning it 52 yards to the house to put the game on ice.

Matt Corral and the Rebel offense opened the ballgame with an impressive tempo, converting on a third-down before a 24-yard pass to Braylon Sanders and a 17-yard pass to Dontario Drummond moved the home team into A&M territory. However, the Aggies held firm in the red zone, forcing Caden Costa to kick a 33-yard field goal.

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Lane Kiffin’s squad bolted out to an early lead and never trailed in the game.

A&M failed to respond, but Nik Constantinou pinned the Rebels at their 6-yard line. Jerrion Ealy opened the drive with a 24-yard carry before Corral connected with Sanders for 12 yards. The Rebels continued to find chunk plays on their way to the red zone. On fourth-and-goal at the 2, Lane Kiffin elected to go for it, and Corral hit Drummond on a slant to give Ole Miss a 10-0 advantage.

Needing an answer, the Aggies found little success, picking up one first down before punting yet again.

Starting at their 19, Ole Miss’ offense sputtered as Mike Elko's unit forced the game’s first three-and-out, but once again, the Aggies’ possession was short-lived as they stalled at the Ole Miss 42-yard line. Constantinou's third punt of the night was downed at the 13.

Ole Miss closed the first half with a 30-yard and 18-yard completions to Jahcour Pearson. A facemask against Leon O’Neal Jr. moved the Rebels to the A&M 26. To open the second stanza, DeMarvin Leal stripped Corral, and Tyree Johnson jumped on the fumble as A&M took over at their 31. Unfortunately, the Aggies failed to capitalize on the turnover, punting for the fourth time in four possessions.

Ealy took the ensuing drive's first play 53 yards to A&M's 31. Two plays later, Henry Parrish Jr. ripped off a 12-yard gain to the Aggie 19. A 14-yard pass to Casey Kelly set the Rebels up with first-and-goal at the 5. On second down, Corral fumbled again, but the Aggies could not rover as the play resulted in an 18-yard loss. Costa knocked through a 32-yard field goal.

A&M went three-and-out on their next possession, and the Rebels continued to find chunk plays as a 20-yard pass to Sanders opened the drive. Back-to-back carries by Ealy moved the Rebels into A&M territory. After Antonio Johnson dropped a possible interception, Corral fired a strike to Drummond for 14 yards. Snoop Conner ripped off a 19-yarder to move into the red zone. A Corral keeper set up first-and-goal inside the 1, but the Aggies stopped the Rebels on four straight plays to stand tall at the goal line.

Any momentum the Aggies might have gained quickly evaporated as Isaiah Spiller was dropped in the end zone for a safety on the very next play to give Ole Miss a 15-0 lead.

The Aggies began the second half with the ball and picked up two quick first downs. A dirty hit by Jake Springer on Demas after a 9-yard completion resulted in targeting, moving the Aggies into Ole Miss territory. Despite ultimately reaching the red zone, A&M settled for a Seth Small 30-yard field goal to get on the board.

Elko's defense pitched a three-and-out, but after a muffed punt by Ainias Smith, the Aggie offense started with poor field position at their 12-yard line. Calzada connected on passes to Caleb Chapman, Jalen Wydermyer and Demas before Devon Achane ripped off a 24-yard touchdown run as the Aggie offense found the end zone for the first time in over 100 minutes of game action.

Aided by a facemask against Leal and questionable officiating, the Rebels moved into Aggie territory, but a dropped handoff by Ealy set Ole Miss behind the sticks. Edgerrin Cooper blew up the third-down play as the Rebels were forced to punt. However, A&M's offense couldn't capitalize, quickly giving the ball back after a three-and-out.

Again poor officiating bit the Aggies as Tyreek Chappell was flagged for a phantom unnecessary roughness call against Corral. Still, the Aggies stood tall and snuffed out a fake field goal on fourth-and-3 to take back possession as O'Neal stopped holder Mac Brown a yard short of the line-to-gain.

Early in the fourth, an 18-yard completion to Smith followed by a 27-yard pass to Wydermyer moved the Aggies into Ole Miss territory. Achane ran for 21 yards to the Ole Miss 10, but A&M settled for a 43-yard field goal by Small to cut Ole Miss' lead to two points.

The two late interceptions served as the dagger as the Aggies’ comeback came up short in Oxford despite Achane adding his second touchdown with 3:11 to play.

Texas A&M will return to Kyle Field next Saturday to host Prairie View A&M for the final home game of the season.

RUMBLED: Matt Corral & Co. dominated early. Texas A&M's defense struggled to keep up with the pace of Lane Kiffin's offense. At the break, Ole Miss led 15-0 and held a sizable advantage in total offense, outgaining the Aggies, 408-91.

STUMBLED: Isaiah Spiller found very little running room all night behind the A&M offensive line. The Aggies' feature back was held to just 41 yards on 15 carries.

UNSUNG HERO: Devon Achane ran well in the losing effort as he amassed 110 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

TURNING POINT: Midway through the fourth, Texas A&M appeared poised to completely erase a 15-point deficit, but a high pass from Zach Calzada to Demond Demas was intercepted by Ashanti Cistrunk at the A&M 11-yard line. Two plays later, Snoop Conner turned a two-point lead into a nine-point advantage.

KEY STAT: Texas A&M's offense gave Ole Miss nine points. Isaiah Spiller was stopped for a safety in the second quarter, and Zach Calzada had a fourth-quarter pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

Scoring Summary

First-quarter

UM: 12:56 - Caden Costa 33-yard field goal. Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards. TOP: 2:00. Ole Miss 3, Texas A&M 0

UM: 6:48 - Matt Corral 2-yard pass to Dontario Drummond. Drive: 14 plays, 94 yards. TOP: 4:05. Ole Miss 10, Texas A&M 0

Second-quarter

UM: 9:34 - Caden Costa 32-yard field goal. Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards. TOP: 2:55. Ole Miss 13, Texas A&M 0

UM: 4:00 - Isaiah Spiller tackled for a 2-yard loss and a safety. Ole Miss 15, Texas A&M 0

Third-quarter

A&M: 10:03 - Seth Small 30-yard field goal. Drive: 12 plays, 62 yards. TOP: 4:57. Ole Miss 15, Texas A&M 3

A&M: 6:24 - Devon Achane 24-yard touchdown run. Drive: 7 plays, 88 yards. TOP: 3:06. Ole Miss 15, Texas A&M 10

Fourth-quarter

A&M: 10:19 - Seth Small 43-yard field goal. Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards. TOP: 3:19. Ole Miss 15, Texas A&M 13

UM: 6:57 - Snoop Conner 13-yard touchdown run. Drive: 2 plays, 14 yards. TOP: 0:25. Ole Miss 22, Texas A&M 13

UM: 4:50 - Zach Calzada intercepted by A.J. Finley, returned 52 yards for a touchdown. Ole Miss 29, Texas A&M 13

A&M: 3:11 - Devon Achane 9-yard run (2-point conversion is NO GOOD). Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards. TOP: 1:33. Ole Miss 29, Texas A&M 19