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No. 12 Ole Miss won another thriller last week, besting Tennessee on the road in front of one of the most raucous environments I have ever witnessed in person. In doing so, quarterback Matt Corral turned in yet another gutsy performance, rolling up 426 total yards and two passing touchdowns.
Hell, it might have been three or four if not for some uncharacteristic drops by a few Rebel receivers.
The Rebels are now 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. They take on the LSU Tigers this weekend in another big-time, nationally-televised game, giving Corral yet another chance to prove his Heisman worth. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young held serve last week in a blowout win over Mississippi State so the two-person race narrative continues as we head into Week 8.
247Sports’ David Johnson touched on Corral’s legacy in his post-game column, showing just how good he has been in 2021:
- Corral becomes the first Rebel to run 30 times in a game since 2007 (BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Missouri)
- Corral has thrown a touchdown pass in 18 straight games, the second-longest streak in school history ... He trails only Chad Kelly (22)
- Corral moved to No. 3 in career total offense with 7,840 total yards
- Corral moved to No. 3 in career passing touchdowns with 51, passing Chad Kelly’s mark of 50
- Corral remains No. 4 in career passing yards with 6,666 yards ... Corral is only the sixth Ole Miss QB to surpass 6,000 yards
- Corral owns 474 career completions and ranks No. 6 all-time on that list
- Corral threw his first interception of the season ... Dating back to 2020, he had 233 pass attempts without a pick, a new school record and 5th longest streak ever in the SEC
Updated Bovada Heisman Odds, Top 5
- Bryce Young +180
- Matt Corral +190
- CJ Stroud +900
- Kenneth Walker +1800
- Desmond Ritter +2000
Lane Kiffin was very clear in his Monday press conference that the Ventura, Calif. native should not be asked to run the ball 30 times a game and, myself included, think it was a little “talking through the media” to challenge this running back room to step up so he isn’t asked to do so much with his legs. But, it doesn’t seem to bother Corral to step up and do what it takes to win a football game.
Corral figuratively put the Rebels on his back last weekend and willed them to a huge road win over the Vols and you can best believe he is going to want to put his stamp on the Magnolia Bowl rivalry this weekend and give Ole Miss their first win over Ed Orgeron in the series as this will be his final appearance in it now that he has been relieved of his duties as head coach.
The Ole Miss quarterback has currently put up 1,728 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air and has run for 450 yards and eight more scores. The Rebels are 3rd nationally in total offense (553 ypg), 4th in rushing offense (262.8 ypg), 5th in scoring offense (43.7 ppg), and 10th in passing efficiency (169.2) heading into this weekend’s game that is slated for a 2:30pm CST kickoff on CBS.