No. 14 Ole Miss holds off No. 7 Kentucky in win

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Lane Kiffin changed his opinion of his defense after No. 14 Mississippi forced two turnovers in the final three minutes to preserve a 22-19 win over No. 7 Kentucky Saturday.

"Our guys really showed up, especially in the fourth quarter, getting those two turnovers to win it," Kiffin said. "I had told them at halftime, I didn’t think they were very good. At the end, our team found a way to come through."

Even better, Austin Keys and Jared Ivey each created those takeaways inside the red zone. They forced Wildcats quarterback Will Levis to fumble on consecutive possessions with AJ Finley and Tavius Robinson recovering.

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Quinshon Judkins (4) of the Mississippi Rebels carries the ball during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Oct. 1, 2022, in Oxford, Miss. (Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Both plays stopped potential game-winning drives inside the 20 to preserve the victory for the Rebels (5-0, 1-0 SEC).

Jonathan Cruz's go-ahead, 26-yard field goal late in the third quarter put Ole Miss up 22-19 and set the stage for the tense, frantic finish. The Rebels' defense first forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs early in the fourth before creating the turnovers to seal the win.

"We certainly had our opportunities," Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. "It came down with two opportunities late in the red zone. We came away with zero."

Levis led Kentucky (4-0, 1-1) to the Ole Miss 18 before fumbling while diving for additional yardage. The Wildcats created a final opportunity on a Levis 51-yard pass to Barion Brown to the 7. After a