In what was the first-ever matchup between the Rebels and Bears, Ole Miss failed to get its first win against a Power 5 team in 2017. Cal beat Ole Miss by a final score of 27-16.

Shea Patterson lived up to his gunslinger reputation. Despite throwing 267 yards in the first, Patterson failed to hit the 400-yard mark for the first time this season. He also threw an interception late (his third of the game) with three minutes to go which finished off the Rebels’ attempt to get a win out west.

Unfortunately, with the Ole Miss offense being quite one-dimensional (only 57 rushing yards), the Cal defense came after Patterson throughout the second half.

The Ole Miss pass protection was pretty abysmal, and Patterson struggled to stay in the pocket and connect down field for much of the latter part of the game.

Moreover, penalties haunted Ole Miss all night. This will need to be cleaned up moving forward.

Key Stat

The lack of ground game hurt Ole Miss significantly. Without it, Patterson is asked to carry nearly the entire load on offense. If Ole Miss can’t mix in some element of a ground game, it’s likely to be a long year for Patterson.

Key Injuries

WR AJ Brown and kicker Gary Wunderlich were both injured in the game and were unable to return. Both players are key for Ole Miss.

What’s Next

Ole Miss has a bye next week before traveling to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama on Sep. 30.