A depleted Penn State defense gave up a season-high 540 yards as the No. 10 Nittany Lions (10-3) fell to No. 11 Ole Miss (11-2) 38-25 on Saturday afternoon at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Quickly adjusting to Penn State’s defensive pressure, Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns while running for another against a Nittany Lion unit that saw starting corners Kalen King and Johnny Dixon and top edge rusher Chop Robinson sit out ahead of the NFL Draft. Caden Prieskorn and Tre Harris each had over 130 receiving yards, and Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins had a game-high 106 rushing yards.
Penn State racked up 510 yards on offense but struggled to establish consistency in its passing game, which relied on tight ends and running backs through much of the contest as the wide receiver corps failed to record a reception until the fourth quarter. Quarterback Drew Allar went 19-39 for 295 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Beau Pribula had a 48-yard touchdown throw to Nick Singleton. Tight end Tyler Warren caught five passes for 127 yards.
Despite some early success on the ground, Kaytron Allen and Singleton were held to 51 and and 50 rushing yards, respectively.
Offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, who is projected as a top 10 NFL Draft pick, traveled with the team to Atlanta but did not play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Penn State’s defense used pressure to fluster Ole Miss and force a three and out on the game’s opening possession, the Nittany Lion offense went to work on the ground. Nick Singleton carried three times for 33 yards and Kaytron Allen ran twice for 29, but the drive stalled out with a couple incompletions and Penn State settled for a 26-yard Alex Felinks field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Rebel offense adjusted on its second drive and began to take advantage of a Penn State secondary missing its two top cornerbacks, with Kalen King and Johnny Dixon both sitting out. Quarterback Jaxson Dart hit an open Dayton Wade down the middle for a 34-yard gain inside the red zone. That’s as far as Ole Miss would get though after a rush for a loss and what first appeared to be a touchdown pass on third and long negated when the play was blown dead for an offsides call against Penn State. Caden Davis’ 36-yard field goal knotted the game at 3-3 midway through the first.
Ole Miss took the lead on its next drive after forcing a Penn State punt. The Rebels converted a key fourth and 1 near midfield with a variation of the Philly Special, as receiver Jordan Watkins took a pitch and floated a 15-yard pass to an open Dart. Back behind center, Dart then hit Tre Harris for a 25 yard gain and escaped pressure to find Caden Prieskorn for a 6-yard touchdown pass. Ole Miss went ahead 10-3 with 30 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Penn State answered thanks in large part to a wild play before the quarter ended. Drew Allar scrambled out of the pocket and floated a short pass into traffic that was tipped before being hauled in by tight end Tyler Warren, who ran 75 yards to the Ole Miss 5 for Penn State’s longest offensive play of the season.
The Nittany Lions needed four tries from there, but got into the end zone on a 2-yard toss from Allar to tight end Theo Johnson and tied the game again at 10-10.
Ole Miss moved quickly downfield on its ensuing possession, keyed by Dart completions of 10 and 24 yards to Harris. A false start and an incompletion short-circuited the drive, however, and another David field goal put the Rebels back in front 13-10
After converting a third down on a 12-yard completion to tight end Khalil Dinkins, Allar heaved a deep ball as he was hit by Ole Miss end Jaden Ivey and with no Nittany Lion receiver nearby, Daijahn Anthony grabbed an easy interception at the Rebel 17.
Dart and the Ole Miss passing game again led the Rebels into Penn State territory. After a fourth down conversion by running back Quinshon Judkins that saw star Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter go down with an apparent leg injury on a cut block, Dart connected with a wide open Prieskorn for a 37-yard touchdown pass as the Rebels extended their lead to 20-10.
Carter returned in the second half but was clearly hobbled.
Backup quarterback Beau Pribula provided a spark on Penn State’s next possession. After rushing for 12 yards, Pribula took a snap with Allar split out wide and found an open Singleton, who made one move and raced to the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown completion. Felkins PAT narrowed the deficit to 20-17 with 2:45 left in the half.
Neither team got on the board in the final minutes of the half, and Ole Miss went into the locker room with the three-point lead. The Rebels outgained the Nittany Lions 340 to 279 through two quarters, including 258 passing yards.
Penn State’s offense was stagnant in the the third, punting on each of its three possessions, while Ole Miss scored on its first two drives of the half. After a 52-yard Davis field goal, the Rebels went to the ground for much of their next possession. Judkins ran for 51 yards before Dart tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to the running back. Dart’s two-point conversion pass to a wide open Prieskorn extended the Ole Miss lead to 31-17.
The Nittany Lions finally started to establish some rhythm in the passing game despite several penalties to open the fourth quarter but came away with nothing. Allar completed five passes for 71 yards — including two completions to Liam Clifford for the first receptions by a Nittany Lion receiver on the day — to get Penn State to the Rebels 27, but it fell apart from there. A backwards pass to Pribula that went out of bounds was followed by a short pass and an incompletion. Ole Miss’ Zxavian Harris then blocked Felkins’ 51-yard field goal attempt.
Ole Miss cashed in on the opportunity, as Tre Harris converted a third-and-14 with a 37-yard catch-and-run to the Penn State 5. Two plays later, Dart ran 2 yards on the keeper for the score and Ole Miss was in firm control 38-17 with 6:29 remaining.
After moving Penn State to midfield, Allar was hit as he got set to throw and fumbled the ball. Ole Miss recovered at its own 47 with 5:30 remaining.
Following an Ole Miss punt, Allar led the Nittany Lions downfield, scrambling for a 24-yard gain and completing three passes for 46 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown strike to Harrison Wallace III. Pribula’s pass to Singleton for the two-point conversion narrowed the gap to 38-25 with 4:14 left in the game.
Penn State got one more chance with 1:30 remaining and moved to the Ole Miss 36, but four consecutive incompletions brought the drive to an end and Ole Miss ran out the clock for the 38-25 victory.
