Ole Miss nearly pulled the upset at Auburn, but fell 20-14 after a final drive ended on fourth down with an interception.

“Disappointing loss, disappointed for our kids, I thought they fought their guts out,” coach Matt Luke said, according to Ole Miss Sports. “Pretty proud of our defense, the way they bowed their neck in the red zone, gave us a chance to win the football game.”

Asked about Ole Miss’ offensive struggles, Luke said, “Auburn’s got a really good defense. They give a lot of people problems. Tried to stay consistent in the run game. Again, three and outs left our defense on the field a long time, I think that hurt our defense in the second half, for sure.”

Ole Miss was 3-for-15 on third down conversions and had just 99 passing yards.

“We didn’t execute great,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with the defense that you’re playing, too. Give those guys credit. I thought our guys competed good, right to the very end. … I thought we left some plays out there, too.”

Asked about going with Matt Corral in the first half, and John Rhys Plumlee more in the second half at quarterback, Luke said Plumlee’s running ability made the difference.

“The draw stuff was working to convert on third down,” Luke said. “We were struggling to convert on third downs and some of the draw, RPO stuff gave us a chance.”

Luke said the Rebels need to hit more play-action and run-pass option plays down the field.