Let me start by clarifying that Ole Miss’ dunking celebration was not specific to the Kentucky matchup. It’s something the Rebels do against every opponent, both home and away, for every touchdown and turnover.

That’s become their thing — for whatever reason.

“A lot of people have a chain or a belt, and we’ve done things over the years,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said this past week. “So it’s just, ‘What could we do to be really creative?’ And that’s to dunk.”

The idea was introduced last season, bringing a backyard hoop to the sideline and taping the opponent’s logo on the backboard. Players have embraced it, excited to make plays knowing that basketball will find their hands and they’ll be able to throw down a dunk, the Rebels trying to one-up each other both on the field and on the makeshift court.

#WATCH – Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) is doing things differently in the ‘Sip and it all starts with #OleMiss‘ touchdown and turnover celebrations.

So why did Kiffin start it and who is the best dunker? Hint: it’s “not Jaxson Dart.”@Cayden_X_Lee | @juicew3lls | @TreyAmos21 pic.twitter.com/E1HU6EgtoM

— Rachel Phillips (@rachphillipstv) September 24, 2024

Fast forward to Saturday and the Rebels rolled out that hoop once again, the Kentucky logo blown up and placed dead-center on the backboard for the college football world to see. Ole Miss star receiver Tre Harris got to put it to use, too, scoring on a 48-yard catch-and-run on 4th and 7 at midfield to give the Rebels a 17-13 lead going into the fourth quarter.

It was a massive shift in momentum given Kentucky’s offensive woes and Ole Miss finally finding some success moving the football, Harris seemingly dunking on the Wildcats’ chances to pull off the upset — or so he thought.

Call it a coincidence, call me a skeptic, whatever, but it felt a little too close to home given the basketball vs. football school controversy hanging over the program’s head the past couple of years. It was a ‘stay in your basketball lane’ dunk, assuming Ole Miss would take that late momentum and cruise to a big win as the three-score favorite and title contender they were projected to be. The College GameDay crew picked the Rebels in a clean sweep while Desmond Howard joked he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to pick Kentucky to cover or win outright because the Wildcats had no shot to win in Oxford. Why would they think otherwise?

The Wildcats flipped that narrative in a hurry, holding firm defensively in the fourth quarter while scoring the game-winning touchdown in the final minutes to earn the historic upset victory. When given the chance to tie it up and send it to overtime, Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis shanked it wide left to confirm the loss and send the Rebel faithful home wondering where their lives went wrong.

It was poetic, really. Everything you could ever ask for as a road underdog given no chance to win.

Dunk on that, dorks.

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