Down goes Ole Miss: Kentucky football upsets the Rebels 20-17

In a stunning performance by the Kentucky Wildcats, they pulled off the impressive upset of the sixth AP ranked Ole Miss Rebels with a final score of 20-17. It was a back-and-forth game, and it came down to the final seconds with a 48-yard missed field goal by Rebels kicker Caden Davis. The Wildcats were then able to kneel out the clock to capture their first SEC win of the season and the first time they have beaten Ole Miss in Oxford since 1978,

As Kentucky Head Coach Mark Stoops was leaving the field after the game, he was stopped by sideline reporter Molly McGrath, who asked him about that missed field goal at the end. He said, "I was telling Coach White that we've played so well, we need something to break our way, whether it was a miss or a block. We were really fortunate to get the miss."

The Wildcats were the heavy underdogs, with most sources having them around -18 to Ole Miss. They weren't picked by any analysts on College GameDay, and Desmond Howard even went so far as to say, "I didn't know we were picking this game; I have Ole Miss BIG. I thought we might be picking against the spread." The Wildcats proved Howard and the other doubters wrong.

Kentucky played an almost perfect game on defense, only allowing 353 total yards to an offense that was averaging first in the nation at 670.8 yards a game. The offense also put together big drives at critical moments and took risks when needed. The play of the game that led to the Wildcats' victory was a huge fourth-down conversion that led to the final touchdown and the Wildcats taking the lead.

The Wildcats were actually able to convert all of their 4th down chances today, going 3/3, and that helped them, on two different drives, walk away with points. Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff wasn't stellar, but he made plays when it mattered most and posted a stat line of 18/28, 243 yards, and a touchdown.

Kentucky will head into their bye week believing that they can compete at the highest levels in the SEC and the nation. They took Georgia to the final seconds a couple of weeks ago and were unable to pull it off, but now, with their first SEC win under their belt, it's a big one to start with.