Lane Kiffin has done a lot of good things at Ole Miss during his six years as the head coach. But winning big SEC games on the road against ranked opponents hasn't been one of them.
Kiffin and the No. 8-ranked Rebels finally ended that long losing streak on Saturday, going into Norman, Okla. and beating the No. 13-ranked Oklahoma Sooners 34-26. Kiffin had been 0-7 previously vs. ranked teams away from Oxford.
The Ole Miss losing streak vs. ranked SEC foes actually extends beyond Kiffin. Former coach Matt Luke lost two as well. Their last win was against No. 23 Mississippi State at the end of the 2017 season.
The last loss was still stinging, too, because it happened just last week at Georgia when the Rebels let a big lead slip away. Coming through in a similar situation at Oklahoma was a big deal, finishing off the win at moving to 7-1 on the season.
It likely locked up a College Football Playoff spot as well, because the Rebels' schedule softens up from here. All they have left are November games against South Carolina (3-5, 1-5 in the SEC), The Citadel (3-5) and Florida (3-4, 2-2 in the SEC), and the Nov. 28 regular-season finale at Mississippi State (4-4, 0-4 in the SEC).
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss passed for 315 yards against an Oklahoma defense that had allowed just seven points or less in five games this season. Kewan Lacy also rushed for 78 yards.
Oklahoma is now 6-2 on the season and 2-2 in the SEC. They were ranked as high as No. 5 in the country, but now have lost to Texas and Ole Miss. This was the first of five straight games against ranked opponents. Those close out the year with No. 17 Tennessee and No. 4 Alabama on the road, and then home games with No. 15 Missouri and No. 20 LSU.
Here's how the SEC standings look on Sunday morning.
