#15 Ole Miss held a halftime lead against #12 Alabama, but the Crimson Tide pulled away in the 2nd half to win a hard-fought 24-10 slugfest at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.
The Rebels were evenly matched with the Tide, but Alabama was able to grind Ole Miss down in the late stages of the tug-of-war, winning the 2nd half 18-3 to hand Ole Miss its first loss of the season.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart went 20-for-35, throwing for 244 yards and scoring the only Ole Miss touchdown of the day with his legs. Jordan Watkins caught a career-high nine receptions for 57 yards, and Dayton Wade add five catches for 88 yards. Quinshon Judkins handled most of the carries on the ground, rushing 13 times for 56 yards.
Linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk led the Rebels in tackles with a season-high of eight while also recovering his first fumble of the season on a kickoff return. Freshman linebacker Suntarine Perkins had two sacks for the first multi-sack game of his career.
Ole Miss will return home for another SEC West matchup against #12 LSU next Saturday, September 30. Kickoff inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is scheduled for 5 PM CT on ESPN.
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and DB Zamari Walton met with the media following the loss. Video is courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics.