No. 11 Mississippi rallies past No. 3 Alabama, 23-17

— Alabama’s new high-powered offense was nowhere to be found Saturday afternoon. Its usual clutch plays in the fourth quarter weren’t there either.

Instead, it was upstart Mississippi with the big moments in the final minutes, with quarterback Bo Wallace rallying the 11th-ranked Rebels to a 23-17 victory over No. 3 Alabama.

Alabama led, 17-10, midway through the fourth quarter and appeared to have the game in control, grinding away at the Mississippi defense with running backs T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry. Yeldon finished with 123 yards in 20 carries.

But Wallace emerged as the hero, throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter. The go-ahead touchdown was a 10-yard pass to Jaylen Walton with 2 minutes 54 seconds remaining.

Alabama (4-1 overall, 1-1 in Southeastern Conference) still had a chance to win, driving the field quickly in the final minutes, but Senquez Golson intercepted a pass by Blake Sims in the end zone with 37 seconds remaining.

“You really have to give Ole Miss a lot of credit in the way they finished the game,” Coach Nick Saban said. “We did not finish the game like we needed to. I think the question for our team is, ‘How do you respond to a loss?’ There are several teams around here who have lost games and responded the right way.”

But before that happens, the Crimson Tide will likely spend at least a day or two wondering how this one got away.

The Rebels (5-0, 2-0) have won five games to start the season for the first time since 1962 and ended a 10-game losing streak against Alabama.

The Rebels tied the score, 17-17, on Wallace’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Vince Sanders with 5:29 remaining.

On the ensuing kickoff, Christion Jones fumbled and Kalio Moore recovered, giving the Rebels the ball at the Alabama 31. Channing Ward forced the fumble.

A few plays later, Wallace found Walton in the end zone for the lead.

“Dropped balls, turnovers, penalties and those sorts of things are not something you can do against a good football team, especially on the road,” Saban said.

Golson’s interception was an acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone after the long heave by Sims. He was originally ruled out of bounds, but replays showed he cradled the pass with his left hand and landed just inside the end zone.

Wallace completed 18 of 31 passes.

The Rebels won despite being outgained, 396 yards to 323.

Amari Cooper caught nine passes for 91 yards for Alabama.

Mississippi took a 3-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, but Alabama responded with a 12-play, 68-yard drive midway through the second quarter that ended with Sims’ one-yard touchdown run on fourth down.

But Alabama’s biggest play came a few minutes later. Cyrus Jones stripped the ball from running back I’Tavius Mathers, scooped it up and ran 13 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.