Kentucky led Ole ma’am 10-7 at halftime after settling in defensively and making life extremely difficult for the country’s top-ranked attack.

Kentucky’s defensive line in particular has done a really good job of putting pressure on the quarterback Jaxson Dart and making sure he doesn’t get into a rhythm. Ole Miss only had 126 yards in the first half.

“They are doing a good job. They are really good, like I said all week,” coach Rebels Avenue Kiffin told ABC sideline reporter Molly McGrath during halftime. “These guys have really good players, and we have to do better. “We made some shots and we missed them deep, so we’re going to have to make them and be more consistent.”

Ole Miss’ first drive was clinical. The Rebels marched 83 yards in six plays to score a touchdown and take a 7–0 lead. After that they gained only 43 meters.

Kentucky controlled the tempo, limiting Ole Miss to just five first-half possessions and 8:20 of possession.

However, some of that was due to self-inflicted mistakes by Kiffin’s side on the other side of the ball. The Rebels had chances to end the attacks of some Wildcats, but saw the yellow flag flying.

‘Well, we made some of it ourselves. We have three defensive holds or pass interference on third or fourth down, three of them,” Kiffin said. “It kept their drive alive. So we need to do a much better job after the first attack in terms of consistency. We’re in the type of game we’ve played with these guys before.

Ole Miss was penalized eight times for 53 yards in the first half, while Kentucky had just one holding call for 10 yards.

UK quarterback Brock Vandagriff was sharp in the first half, finishing 10 of 14 passing for 84 yards and a touchdown. He also ran nine times for 24 yards, picking up some key first downs with his legs. For UM, Dart was 7-of-11 for 97 yards at halftime. He also ran eight times for 24 yards.

Ole Miss has won the last three meetings in the series, with all three games taking place since 2017. Kentucky’s last win in the series came in 2011.