Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M football 2017: Ole Miss fails on fourth down to net 31-24 loss

The Rebs played valiantly but in the end failed on a fourth down conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter and ultimately failed out of the game to the tune of a 31-24 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. They drop to 5-6 on the year.

To get a sense of just how much of a hurricane this game was, Ole Miss scored on the opening drive, then Texas A&M returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to the Rebels’ 11 yard line and scored a touchdown themselves. They traded blows from there — Ole Miss in fact forced two punts — and the score was 14 apiece after the first 15 minutes were in the books.

The second quarter offered much of the same, with both teams ripping off big gains then having to punt. Both framed touchdowns in the second 15 minutes and they were tied at 21 right before halftime, until an Ole Miss trip into the red zone stalled out and the Rebs were forced to kick a field goal. Gary Wunderlich’s effort hit home and off to recess they went, with the Rebs holding a 24-21 advantage.

Out of the break, the Aggies quickly drove down the field, but their drive stalled out after Montrell Custis flew in for a huge stop on a third and six play. That forced a field goal attempt and the wind took A&M’s offering off to the right and the good guys retained a 24-21 lead.

That lead was not long for this world, however, as Jordan Ta’amu threw an egregious pick-six he had no business dealing on the Rebs’ second possession of the third quarter and suddenly the game had been flipped to a 28-24 Aggie advantage. Somehow Ole Miss stalled a promising Aggie drive and forced a field goal late, and with two minutes remaining, TAMU held a 31-24 advantage.

Ole Miss failed to convert on a fourth-and-two and screamed FUCK at my television. That was the game.

Here are three quick takeaways from Saturday’s windy proceedings in Oxford.

Ole Miss established the run early, and their run defense also showed up, but they failed too often to sustain a win.

This is encouraging, though we’re not entirely sure how sustainable an effort like this may be. A&M matched Ole Miss’ shit with its own shit at times, which is helpful, but not bankable in the SEC West. One remarkable item is the fact that Ole Miss was averaging 8.5 yards per carry at halftime. Jordan Wilkins had 123 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Yes, you read all of that right.

Still, those standard weaknesses manifested themselves on Saturday, and they’re a reminder that this defense is still very much flawed. They got pushed over too many times, and that’s not conducive to football success.

They also failed to convert a fourth down to essentially end the game.

Braylon Sanders scored his first touchdown and promptly received the NWO belt.

That shoulder fake is pretty nifty.

A.J. Brown committed another homicide.

Dude, you keep this up, and the police will soon be knocking on your door.