No. 12 Ole Miss beats No. 11 Texas A&M 29-19 with defense

A.J. Finley returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown and Matt Corral threw for 247 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 12 Mississippi to a 29-19 win over No. 11 Texas A&M on Saturday night.

The Rebels (8-2, 3-3 Southeastern) held a 15-13 lead in the fourth quarter before Ashanti Cistrunk’s interception set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Snoop Conner with 6:32 left. 

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Finley provided an insurmountable cushion on the next series, grabbing Zach Calzada’s throw and returning it down the Texas A&M sideline.

Texas A&M (7-3, 4-3) trailed 15-0 at half, but whittled the lead to to 15-13 in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard scoring run by Devon Achane and field goals by Seth Small. 

Achane scored on a 9-yard run to finish the scoring with 3:11 left.

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Corral completed 24 of 37 passes and Caden Costa kicked field goals of 33 and 32 yards. Chance Campbell and Keidron Smith added a safety by tackling Isaiah Spiller in the end zone in the first half.

The Rebels finished with 504 yards of total offense, highlighted by Jerrion Ealy with 24 carries for 152 yards and added 34 yards on four receptions. 

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Drummond had a game-high six receptions for 49 yards.

Achane had 110 yards on 12 carries. Calzada was 24 of 41 passing for 237 yards.

THE TAKEAWAYS

Texas A&M: The loss snapped a four-game winning steak and ended the Aggies hopes winning the SEC West. 

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Ole Miss: A 10-win season and New Year’s Six bowl berth are within reach, and the Rebels still have slim hopes for an SEC West title. Alabama would have to lose its last two games for Ole Miss to have any chance. 

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The No. 12 Rebels have spent one week in the Top 10 and the impressive win could push them back into that company. The loss will drop the Aggies, who figure to remain in the Top 25.