Game Recap: Texas A&M Football Falls to Ole Miss
![Nov 4, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (left) and Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher (right) talk prior to the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports Nov 4, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (left) and Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher (right) talk prior to the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/ed0d94c6443830fdb77b5b094583c8bf9eb63ef07729148b1a0529562f18728a.jpg)
The Aggies came out strong, with some solid runs by Amari Daniels moving Texas A&M football down to near the red zone. A fake toss to Amari nearly turned disastrous, as Max Johnson forced up a high-arcing pass that was somehow caught by Max Wright. A dart down the seam by the Aggie QB was called incomplete at first, but the referees went to review. It looked like the Ole Miss DB pulled the ball free after the process of the catch was well complete, and upon review, the referees gave Smith the catch. This set up the Aggies one yard away from the end zone. A sneak on first and goal picked moved Texas A&M football down to the half-yard line, and a second down handoff to Amari converted the touchdown, bringing the score to 31-28.
Ole Miss handed the ball off to Bentley on first down, who bounced it outside for a four yard gain. They attempted to go up the middle on second but could find no purchase, bringing up 3rd and 6. The Rebels went back to the slant route that they had had success on all day, but a great break by Jacoby Mathews kept the Rebs from completing the ball, and the Aggies would take over following a short punt.
A first down handoff to Amari was blitzed by the Ole Miss defense, and it only went for two. Johnson found Thomas on second down for a first down, and the next play went to Amari for a five yard gain. Max Wright made a great catch going to the ground on the next play to convert yet another first down. A couple of tough runs from Rueben Owens brought up third and very short. A perfect play fake by Max Johnson ended up being an overthrow to an open Jake Johnson, but a QB sneak on fourth gave Texas A&M football the conversion. A deep pass by Johnson looked like it might have been intercepted—though he did drop it while going to the ground—but a pass interference call against the corner overturned that result and moved the Aggies into the red zone. Amari picked up a tough run for about eight yards on first down, and another tough run on second moved the Aggies down to the one. A QB sneak was just short of the end zone on first down, and an offsides call with contact gave the Aggies an extra half yard for their second down attempt, which was a leap over the top by Max Johnson to give the Aggies the lead, 35-31, with four and a half minutes to play.
The Rebels took over at their own 25 after a touchback. Dart was smoked by Taurean York as he threw the ball, and it lazily fell incomplete on first down. A comeback route on second down went to 19 after the receiver broke a tackle, taking the Rebels out near midfield. More pressure forced another dead duck of a pass, but Jayvon Thomas interfered, drawing a penalty. Judkins went for about 9 on first down, and picked up another 9 on second. Just like that, the Rebels were inside the Aggie 25. A short pass on first down and handoff on second down brought up third and 4 from the Aggie 17. Judkins picked up the conversion on an option play, taking the ball down to the 3. Another handoff put the Rebels at the one with 1:43 to go, but an injury to Isaiah Raikes and timeout by Jimbo stopped the clock. Judkins scored on the ensuing play, moving the score to 38-35 with 1:40 remaining. The Aggies had two timeouts left.
Texas A&M football took over at the 25 following a touchback. Amari Daniels took a pass out of bounds for four yards on first down, and Max delivered to Ainias for a first down on the next play. Another first down brought another short pass, this time to Jahdae Walker for 3 yards. Another pass to Walker took the Aggies to midfield. The Rebels brought pressure on first down, and Max was forced to throw the ball away. A second down pass was broken up, and the Aggies were facing third and ten. Max was given time by the Aggie front, and he delivered a great pass, again to Walker, to get the Aggies in field goal range. Pressure on the next play forced a fumble, but Layden Robinson fell on the ball, moving the Aggies back four yards. Max attempted to deliver the ball downfield to Moose on third down, but a safety came streaking across the field to intercept the ball. However, a bobble by the DB as he was going out of bounds overturned the call, and the Aggies still had life. Max delivered a pass to Ainias right on target that took the Aggies to the 29, and Randy Bond would trot out for a field goal attempt to tie the game from 46 yards away. However, Ole Miss partially blocked the kick, and it fell short of the uprights, ending the game.
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