*Matt Corral, Mississippi Football News: Draft Scout Player News

10/24/21 - QB *Matt Corral, rJr/2022, Mississippi

Lane Kiffin is not ready to proclaim No. 12 Mississippi as an elite team. Not yet, anyway. "We're good, but not great. But we're close," the coach said after the Rebels defeated LSU 31-17 Saturday with 31 unanswered points that spanned the second and third periods. "We've got to get healthy. If we can do that and execute, then we could be a really special team," he said. Matt Corral threw for a touchdown and ran as the Rebels (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) defeated LSU (4-4, 2-3) and lame duck coach Ed Orgeron. The Tigers lost in their first game since it was announced Orgeron wouldn't return next season. A former Mississippi coach, he led the Tigers to the national championship less than two years ago.

Mississippi retired the No. 10 jersey of former All-America quarterback Eli Manning at halftime. The capacity crowd of 64,523 enthusiastically cheered Manning and his family members during the tribute. "It was a good day and a good win," Kiffin said. "I've got to be more positive. It wasn't the prettiest win, but considering Matt wasn't 100 percent and how banged up we are, well, I've just got to be more positive." Trailing 7-0, Corral led four consecutive scoring drives, including a 3-yard touchdown run and a 2-yard touchdown pass to Casey Kelly. The Rebels led 17-7 at halftime and kept pulling away. Corral enhanced his status as a Heisman Trophy contender with an efficient performance after being considered questionable from injuries sustained in last week's win over Tennessee. He finished 18 of 23 passing for 185 yards, rushed for 24 yards, including three third-down conversion runs before yielding to reserves in the final period. - Mississippi/AP College Football

rJr/2022