Penalties Play Big Factor in Ole Miss' First Loss of the Season

The Ole Miss Rebels dropped their first game of the season on Saturday at home against Kentucky, and three key penalties played large factor.

uSep 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin gives direction during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

In heartbreaking fashion, the Ole Miss Rebels recorded their first loss of the season behind a missed field goal and penalty problems on Saturday against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Ole Miss' penalty troubles continued this week, this time getting flagged 8 times for 53 yards.

This featured three third-down pass interference and holding calls, including two from cornerback Trey Amos, where he got called for holding on third and goal in the end zone. That ultimately led to Kentucky taking a 10-7 lead at halftime.

The penalty trouble started before that when John Canady got flagged for a pass interference on a very long third down.

The penalties seemed to slow the drives down and kill the Rebels momentum.

"They're potential drive killers," Trey Washington said postgame "When you keep the drive going, it's demoralizing to a defense. We have to get better at keeping our hands off and getting off the field."

Washington was very open to the media after the game, and he and Jaxson Dart both expressed confidence in their pressers for a bounce back game next week in South Carolina.

Penalties have been a reoccurring problem this season in non-conference play, and it transferred into Ole Miss' first SEC game.

"They were a major problem," head coach Lane Kiffin said after the game. "First half, there's two third downs and a fourth down conversion by a defensive holding or defensive pass interference. Those are major things, and then on the other side we go 1-of-10 on third downs for the day, so those things usually aren't going to add up very well."

Despite the loss, the Rebels look to bounce back next week as they face their first road SEC opponent in Columbia, South Carolina.