McCready: Missed call, missed chances

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OXFORD -- Ole Miss had chances.

Repeatedly, the Rebels were in position to defeat Auburn and gain something resembling a signature win in Lane Kiffin's first season as Ole Miss' head coach.

However, there was no celebrating in Oxford Saturday. Instead, Ole Miss lost to Auburn, 35-28, left to reflect on what could have been rather than what was.

Kiffin retweeted this tweet Saturday, and there's no doubt he and the Ole Miss staff are furious this play wasn't reviewed.

"They said they did (review)," Kiffin said. "You don't really challenge anymore in college because they review everything supposedly. There's no use in challenging. I go to the guy and he said they looked at it and they didn't see anything. Why they didn't stop it and look closer, I have no idea. That's the equivalent of a scoring play, which they stop all the time now and take forever, it seems like. I don't know. Someone said postgame, it looked like his finger definitely moved. Whatever."

Ole Miss had just taken a 28-27 lead, and on the ensuing kickoff, the ball appeared to hit the finger of Auburn's returner. The Rebels' Tylan Knight recovered the ball in the end zone for what should have been an Ole Miss touchdown. However, after the briefest of reviews, play continued.

As it was, Ole Miss had more chances to put the game away in the final minutes. Ole Miss' Keidron Smith had an interception in his hands but he couldn't finish the play. After forcing an Auburn punt. Ole Miss just needed a couple of first downs to run out the clock. The Rebels didn't get one.

"That's everything you want," Kiffin said.

The Ole Miss' defense had a chance to win it on their end. Bo Nix, Seth Williams and Auburn had other ideas, as the Tigers drove for what was the game-winning touchdown with a little over a minute remaining.

"If we stop them, we win the game," Kiffin said. "That's pretty discouraging. Usually you just get one shot. If either one does their job, we're sitting here with a really big win versus a really talented team. It's a tough one to swallow, probably tougher than any of the other ones because it was right there."

For whatever reason, Ole Miss (1-4) got conservative with a lead, going to backup quarterback John Rhys Plumlee in an attempt to run the ball and eat the clock.

"In those situations, we think John gives us the best chance," Kiffin said.

After Auburn scored, Ole Miss had one final chance. Matt Corral's pass to Kenny Yeboah hit the Rebels' tight end in stride at the Auburn 6-yard-line. Yeboah likely would have had a chance to score. At worst, he would have been downed inside the Tigers' 5, giving Ole Miss one final play to pull within a point. Kiffin said he intended to go for a game-winning two-point conversion.

Only Yeboah dropped the ball.

"It would've been a crazy ending there," Kiffin said.

One play later, Corral threw an interception on a desperation throw, ending their hopes.

"If guys aren't used to winning, there's no pixie dust," Kiffin said. "You have to make more plays than they do and execute the situations. That's what winning teams do. I'd like to think they think we're going to win but winning teams have that feeling. It's a mentality. I try to talk it throughout the game. ...It's what should've happened. We didn't do it."

It's a rebuild in an unprecedented season. With the game on the line, Ole Miss' defense had running back Tylan Knight and wide receiver Miles Battle playing defense. COVID-19 and injuries have decimated an already ridiculously thin defense.

There's no margin for error for this Ole Miss team. It had chances Saturday, and that's what makes the loss painful for Rebel faithful. Still, Kiffin believes progress is being made, even if it's not showing up in the win-loss column.

There were chances. A play here, a call there, and the outcome is different. Of course, that's not how it works. Games are decided on the scoreboard, and Ole Miss came up short.