Thursday night marked the end of Ole Miss’s 2018 season, and it came via a disappointing 35-3 loss to rival Mississippi State.

The game was very chippy, featuring four ejections, and the teams were going at each other even following the final whistle.

After the game, Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said he appreciates this year’s senior class for sticking with the team through the sanctions, adding that he hated to see the group go out with a lopsided loss (via 247Sports):

“I’m really disappointed for the seniors. They’ve been through a lot, and I hate for them to go out this way. I am grateful to those guys. They’ve been through a lot. We had several guys that came back. They had opportunities to leave and they didn’t. They came back and they fought. I’m really, really grateful to those guys,” said Luke.

“As we move forward and move out of these sanctions and we start going to recruit on our plan to build this thing and get it back on track, I think those guys, when they come back, will have pride in knowing they helped keep this thing together. That’s the message. Just how to move forward. It’s time to recruit. It’s time to get this thing back to full strength, and it’s time to go to work.”

Luke also had more to say. On AJ Brown’s would-be touchdown that was called back:

“I know when A.J. scored, something happened in the far end zone. It just got out of control,” said Luke. “It’s not what we want.”

On starting QB Jordan Ta’amu’s injury:

“Jordan, on the first fumble, dislocated his finger. We taped it up, he came back, but he just couldn’t go. We put Matt (Corral) in as they taped it up for one drive in the first half. He (Ta’amu) struggled to throw it when he came back so we put Matt back in.”

On backup Matt Corral’s performance:

“That was a really good defense to go against. He came right in and made a big play to Lodge right off the bat. He didn’t look intimidated or scared, he was going around and making plays. He will just continue to get better. He is going to be the quarterback of the future and we are really excited about him.”

The Rebels’ season is now over, and we’ll have to see what changes Luke makes going forward as the Rebels are no longer banned from bowl games.