Ole Miss Rebels at Oklahoma Sooners

Chambliss leads No. 8 Mississippi to 34-26 victory over No. 13 Oklahoma

Ole Miss closed better than it did the previous week, when the Rebels led Georgia by nine in the third quarter before falling apart late in a 43-35 loss.

“Same Georgia feeling. Crowd started coming alive," Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. "And then obviously, much different response by us. And I didn’t feel like they ever, you know, kind of freaked out. And they had each other’s back.”

Chambliss also rushed for 53 yards and often scrambled to create extra time to make throws.

“He’s a winner," Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. "It’s what he’s done against everybody. But we needed to play better (to) have a chance to win. We needed to do a better job against him. So I didn’t have them ready to do that.”

Lacy had a hard-earned 78 yards on 27 carries and Winston Watkins had four catches for 111 yards for the Rebels (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference).

Ole Miss put up 431 yards on a team that led the nation in total defense and ranked second in scoring defense heading into the weekend.

“A lot to learn from in a really painful way,” Venables said.

John Mateer was 17 of 31 for 223 yards and a touchdown and an interception for Oklahoma (6-2, 2-2). Isaiah Sategna had six catches for a career-high 131 yards, but he had a costly fumble in the fourth quarter that stunted the Sooners' momentum. Xavier Robinson ran for 109 yards and two scores.

Chambliss looked like a magician in the first half while gouging Oklahoma's typically stout defense with 160 yards passing and 40 rushing. Lacy ran for a touchdown in the first quarter and another in the second to help the Rebels take a 22-10 lead at halftime.

Ole Miss offered Oklahoma a lifeline early in the third quarter by going for it on fourth-and-1 from its 25. A mishandled snap gave the Sooners the ball at the Ole Miss 15, and the Sooners kicked a field goal to trim the deficit to 22-13.

The Sooners then got their dormant ground game going. Robinson's touchdown runs of 65 and 9 yards in the third quarter put Oklahoma up 26-25 heading into the fourth.

Chambliss' 8-yard touchdown pass to Trace Bruckler early in the fourth put Ole Miss up 31-26.

Oklahoma had a chance to trim the deficit, but Bruckler forced Sategna to fumble and Ethan Fields recovered near midfield with just over seven minutes remaining. Lucas Carneiro's 37-yard field goal put Ole Miss up 34-26.

The game appeared to be over in the final minute when Mateer lost control of the ball and Ole Miss recovered, but it was ruled an incomplete pass. Oklahoma converted on fourth down on the next play, but Mateer eventually threw a desperation heave incomplete just short of the end zone on the last play.

“Hurt for our guys," Venables said. “They fought their butts off. They showed great toughness and resolve. Had a chance on a day where we didn’t coach them good enough and we didn’t play good enough situationally. We still had a chance with the ball to go down to tie the game against a really good football team.”

New look Oklahoma installed padding around Owen Field three weeks after receiver Keontez Lewis ran headfirst into a brick wall past the endzone.

The padding was added to both end-zone walls and the sideline walls outside the team bench areas before Saturday’s game.

Lewis was injured against Kent State after a pass by Michael Hawkins Jr. was a bit overthrown and Lewis’ momentum took him into an unpadded section of the wall behind the end zone. Lewis was carted off after barely moving for about 10 minutes. He did not play Saturday.

Two more Lacy increased his rushing touchdown total to 12. He has rushed for at least one touchdown in all but one game this season and has scored at least two four times season.

The takeaway Ole Miss: The Rebels could have put this game away much earlier, but they couldn't shake the Sooners and settled for four field goals by Carneiro.

Oklahoma: The Sooners' inability to run the ball early — 16 yards rushing in the first half — made things tougher for Mateer. Oklahoma's inability to sustain drives put extra pressure on the defense.

Up next Ole Miss hosts South Carolina next Saturday.

Oklahoma visits Tennessee next Saturday.