Placekicker Randy Bond’s 46-yard field goal attempt fell short after an Ole Miss player, either coming up the middle or off the edge, barely tipped the kick. It allowed the 11th-ranked Rebels (8-1, 5-1 SEC) to escape with a 38-35 win after a second half where the Aggies thoroughly outplayed them.

“I’m at a loss for words,” linebacker Edgerrin Cooper said.

The Aggies were missing their two starting cornerbacks, their best wide receiver, had one of their top offensive lineman ejected and their best running back knocked out of the game in the second half with a knee injury. Still, the Aggies (5-4, 3-3 SEC) had the lead with 4:34 left in the game.

It didn’t look like the game was going to be close early on, as Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart immediately attacked A&M corners Jayvon Thomas and Sam McCall, picking up a pass interference call on Thomas on the first play from scrimmage. That pass was intended for receiver Tre Harris, who would haunt the Aggies all day.

Harris had his first big catch on Ole Miss’ second drive, burning McCall on a fly pattern down the sidelines for 39 yards and a first down at the A&M 9. Running back Quinshon Judkins scored one play later to make it 7-0.

The Aggies came out with a three-man front and the backup defensive linemen two possessions later and the Rebels made them pay again, with Dart (22-33, 387 yards, 2 touchdowns) going after Thomas on a 29-yard pass to Dayton Wade. The Rebels scored again on a 5-yard pass to Harris (11 catches, 213 yards, 1 touchdown), who leapt over corner Josh DeBerry in the back of the end zone.

After A&M had another three and out, Ole Miss sprinted 53 yards in just three plays before running back Ulysses Bentley appeared to score from 11 yards out and the Aggies were on the verge of being blown out of the building.

But a holding call on Ole Miss negated the score; a second hold, on the next play, pushed the Rebels back to the Aggie 31. Ole Miss would get 8 yards back before former A&M kicker Caden Davis trotted onto the field.

Davis’ 41-yard effort was blocked by former teammate Shemar Turner, and picked up by safety Jacoby Mathews at the A&M 32. Mathews returned the block 68 yards for his first career touchdown and the Aggies had life.

“We got the critical special teams block and got back in the game,” coach Jimbo Fisher said. “And then we really got rolling on offense.”

But that didn’t happen until the Aggie defense gave up an absurdly easy touchdown. After another long completion to Harris, the Aggies completely lost track of Wade, who was standing by the Ole Miss sideline completely uncovered. Twenty-nine yards later, the Rebels were up 20-7.

“I guess our guys lost track of him. They thought he was subbing out,” Fisher said.

But A&M got back up off the mat again and pounded their way down the field for a touchdown of their own. Quarterback Max Johnson (30-40, 305 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception) found receiver Jahdae Walker twice to convert a 3rd and 13 and 3 and 4, while running back Le’Veon Moss got the running game going with 24 yards on 3 carries, including an untouched 13-yard score.

In spite of giving up 299 yards of offense, the Aggies went into the locker room down by just a score and momentum on their side.

“This is one of the first times we were down at the half, so it was a totally different mindset,” receiver Ainias Smith (6 catches, 83 yards). “The coaches came in with an edge…and we were ready to run through a wall for them.”

It looked like A&M was about to take the lead and control of the game after halftime, as the offensive line pushed around the Ole Miss defensive front on a 14-play, 70-yard drive that took 6:47 off the clock. But Johnson made his lone error of the day, throwing an interception in the end zone on a misread on a run-pass option play.

Ole Miss went deep again with success on the ensuing drive, with Dart and Harris hooking up again for a 40-yard gain down to the A&M 20. One play later, defensive end Shemar Turner was ejected after throwing an uppercut into the groin of right tackle Micah Pettus.

“We can’t have that,” Fisher said. “We can’t lose our cool.”

Even though A&M was down 28-14, momentum had started to swing their way. Ole Miss had gone 80 yards in 1:13; the Aggies responded by going 75 yards in just 1:08, with Max Johnson finding his bother, tight end Jake Johnson wide open for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

Ole Miss picked up 3 on a short field goal by Davis on their next drive, but A&M responded with another 75-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Amari Daniels (13 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD).

After a quick three and out for Ole Miss, the Aggies got the ball with a chance to take the lead. They would do so, picking up 37 of the 67 yards on the drive on the ground. For the first time all year, the Aggies were controlling the line of scrimmage.

“They got confidence, they got in a groove and played the way they can play,” Fisher said.

When Max Johnson leapt over the top from a yard out, the Aggies had a 35-31 lead with 4:34 left.

That proved to be too much, as Judkins picked up 36 yards against an Aggie defense that had done well against the run to that point. When he scored from a yard out to complete a 75-yard drive, Ole Miss had the lead back with 1:40 to go in the game.

“The tempo got to us,” Cooper said.

But A&M proved to be resilient again, with Johnson finding Walker for two big receptions for 30 yards and Smith for a 7-yard catch to get Bond in position for a game-tying field goal with 2 seconds left. Even with the tip, the kick nearly had enough before falling a yard short.

The loss was a devastating one for the Aggies, who have developed an antipathy for the Rebels and the coach over the past three seasons.

“Man, it’s tough,” Smith said. “We didn’t get the job done and it hurts.”