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I’ll be honest — I didn’t breathe the entire time Matt Corral was off the field.
While the Heisman contender was out with an ankle injury, the Ole Miss Rebels were a team without a leader, and it seemed to lose any and all momentum early in a 31-20 loss to Auburn.
The Rebels (6-2, 3-2 SEC) lost Corral in early in the game due to a low tackle to his left ankle, causing the clear leader of the Ole Miss team to take nearly one quarter of the game in the locker room getting medical attention.
Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC) was able to capitalize on a hampered Ole Miss squad, and Tank Bigsby was the shining star for the Tigers. Bigsby rushed 23 times for 140 yards and a touchdown in the game.
Undoubtedly, there will be some criticism on coach Lane Kiffin’s calls to go for fourth down conversions repeatedly in Auburn territory. It’s a tricky situation honestly where Ole Miss got behind early, and the Rebels were trying to make a statement in this game — unfortunately the fourth down calls seemed disjointed, most likely due to a lack of personnel.
Despite all this, Corral joined some impressive company on Saturday night.
Matt Corral has 15 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns this season.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 31, 2021
The last 3 SEC players to do that through their team's first 8 games of the season?
Dak Prescott in 2014
Johnny Manziel in 2012
Tim Tebow in 2007 pic.twitter.com/9yQz2WdCQj
Ole Miss and Auburn compiled nearly 1,000 yards of offense and were separated by only 20 yards of total offense on the night.
Next up for Ole Miss is the Liberty Flames on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 11am.