Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Outback Bowl
Mississippi quarterback Matt Corral (2) eludes Indiana linebacker James Miller during the first half Saturday in Tampa, Fla. Corral threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns to pace a 26-20 victory to sour Indiana’s breakout season.
MISSISSIPPI 26, NO. 11 INDIANA 20
TAMPA, Fla. — Even before Mississippi took the field for the Outback Bowl, the Rebels felt good about the direction they’re headed.
Coach Lane Kiffin was rewarded with a new contract despite having only been at the school one season. There also was no guarantee one of the nation’s lowest-ranked defenses would slow down No. 11 Indiana enough to ensure the team’s first nonlosing record since 2017.
“It’s really only up from here,” quarterback Matt Corral said after throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns to pace a 26-20 victory that ruined the finish to surprising Indiana’s breakout season.
Corral’s 3-yard pass to Dontario Drummond put the Rebels (5-5) ahead for good with 4:12 remaining.
The Ole Miss defense, which allowed 535.7 yards and 40.3 points per game during the regular season, came through with one more stop to clinch the school’s first bowl win since beating Oklahoma State in the 2016 Sugar Bowl.
“We talked about it all week. We’re going to need that,” Kiffin said. “We were not going to go score 60 points. We knew it was going to be a struggle, and it was great to see the defense play like they did.”
Drummond finished with six catches for 110 yards. Corral completed 30 of 44 passes without an interception, including a 5-yard TD throw to Casey Kelly that put Ole Miss up 13-3 midway through the second quarter.
Jack Tuttle was 26 of 45 for 201 yards in his second start in place of Michael Penix Jr. for Indiana (6-2), which lost its star quarterback to a season-ending knee injury in late November.
Stevie Scott III rushed for 99 yards and scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards to help Indiana wipe out a 20-6 deficit in the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss missed the extra point after Drummond’s goahead TD catch, leaving Indiana with an opportunity to pull out its first bowl win in nearly 30 years.
The Hoosiers, who don’t have a postseason win since the 1991 Copper Bowl, drove to the Rebels 33 before turning it over on downs.
“They made enough plays to come up with the win. I’m disappointed for our players,” Indiana Coach Tom Allen said. “They have been through so much, sacrificed so much and worked hard. This one is going to hurt for a while.”