Ole Miss 37 Tulane 20

The score doesn’t really encapsulate the game since Ole Miss scored a garbage touchdown toward the end of the game to inflate it; the highlight for me was when the outcome was still in question with the Rebels leading 27-20 in the 4th quarter. The Rebels offense stalled and Kiffin sent out his kicker, Caden Davis, to attempt a 56-yard field goal. The announcers, ever stupid, talked about how it was a bad decision, that the smart money was on punting. Davis nailed the 56-yarder to put the Rebels ahead 30-20, effectively ending the Tulane threat. The kick would have been good from 66 yards, so Ole Miss has a kicker this year.

Other than that, the Rebels looked jangled at times; some of that, a lot of that, must be credited to Tulane, which is a pretty good team with some good line play. The Rebels’ conditioning was good, and that’s a good sign. Playing in 90-degree heat in sticky New Orleans, the Rebels put the foot on the gas in the 4th quarter. Ole Miss was tested for sure, and it is probably a good thing to get tested early in the season.

Next, the Rebels take on Georgia Tech at home, which should be an easier opponent than Tulane, and perhaps the team can tune up its jangled offense before it takes a trip to Alabama next weekend.