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If this season goes as well as I think it might — and Monday night’s win over Louisville supports that thought — Matt Corral might look back on one of the worst days of his career and be thankful.
Last October, Corral threw six interceptions in a 33-21 loss at Arkansas. On that afternoon, the Razorbacks rushed three and dropped defenders into coverage. Barry Odom, the Hogs’ defensive coordinator, disguised the look throughout that game, but Corral never completely figured it out.
Some 11 months later, Louisville tried to emulate Arkansas’ strategy. The Cardinals failed miserably.
Corral, a year older and eons more confident, never took the bait. Instead, Ole Miss’ quarterback took what Louisville gave him. Corral was patient, deadly accurate on short and intermediate routes and surgically precise in picking apart the Cardinals’ defense.
Corral was 22-for-32 passing for 381 yards and a touchdown. He added 12 rushes for 55 yards and a score on the ground.
With the Ole Miss offense, a defense can’t take everything away. It’s too balanced, too explosive. If a defense packs the box and brings tons of pressure, Corral’s feet, his deep-ball arm and the Rebels’ collection of weapons can make opposing coordinators pay.
So last season, defenses tried to lure Corral into mistakes. Occasionally, it worked, so he knew going into this season it would be the blueprint teams would use against him.
It was just one game, but on Monday night, Corral sent a message to future teams and coaches who must prepare for him — if you sit back and play passively, I’ll just kill you slowly.
Corral also showed his leadership skills. Linebacker Mark Robinson was dejected after being disqualified from the game for a targeting penalty committed late in the first quarter. Robinson didn’t have to make the walk of shame to the locker room, but he had to surrender his helmet to staffer Tom Luke and then stand on the sideline.
Corral got off the bench, walked to the sideline, put his left arm around Robinson’s shoulder and consoled his teammate. Before he returned to his station with his offensive mates, Corral said something to Robinson that appeared to conclude with, “I promise you that.”
Maybe that happened a year ago. However, in 2021, it’s clear — crystal clear — this is Corral’s team. He trusts his teammates and they trust him.
On Monday, with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin back in Oxford due to a positive COVID-19 test, Corral played the roles of cheerleader, encourager, motivator and more. A year ago, Corral couldn’t say it but he had to feel the pressure to be perfect, to score every time he took the field.
On Monday, Corral had help on the other end of the ball. Louisville didn’t score until the third quarter, and by the time they did, Ole Miss led, 26-3.
Corral wasn’t perfect Monday, but he didn’t have to be. He went through his progressions. He used his feet when he needed to. He distributed the football to multiple targets. He put a lot on film.
What he showed was pretty damn good, and on a night when the Rebels’ defense was stingy against both the run and the pass, his performance was more than enough.
More importantly, in a long season, Corral forced future opponents to consider changing strategies a bit. Perhaps future defensive coordinators will be more aggressive, trying to create turnovers and force mistakes. Maybe that’s the path to slowing him down, even if that opens up the big-play capability that Corral is known for.
One thing was made clear Monday — the lesson of Fayetteville has been learned.
