Oklahoma’s defense was toothless on its opening drive against Ole Miss.
The Sooners made life far too easy for the Rebels, allowing them to march 75 yards in six plays to take an early 7-0 lead.
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was 2-of-2 passing for 51 yards, including a 35-yard completion to tight end Dae’Quan Wright.
Running back Henry Parrish Jr. capped the drive with a touchdown, breaking several attempted tackles on his way to the end zone.
Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3 SEC) entered Week 9 reeling, losing at home to South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC), 35-9, last Saturday.
The Sooners’ offense has struggled, ranking last in the SEC and 128th in the country in total offense (288.1 yards per game). Their defense must be stout for them to have a chance to pull off the road upset against Associated Press No. 18 Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2 SEC).
The Rebels have the SEC’s top-ranked offense, averaging 560.7 yards and 41.4 points per game.
Oklahoma’s inability to tackle early is troubling. The Sooners need two wins in their final five games to become bowl eligible. Based on their effort over the past two weeks, that doesn’t seem likely.
Oklahoma hosts FCS Maine in Week 10, followed by a brutal end-of-season SEC schedule that includes games against No. 21 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC), No. 15 Alabama (5-2, 2-2 SEC), and No. 8 LSU (6-1, 3-0 SEC).
Its debut season as an SEC member has been hugely disappointing, and Oklahoma wasted no time against Ole Miss writing the first page of the next underwhelming chapter.