OXFORD — A strange bounce and a hooked kick turned Ole Miss’ dream season sideways.

Kentucky tight end Josh Kattus plucked a fumble out of the air at the goal line and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:25 remaining, and the Wildcats upset No. 6 Ole Miss 20-17 on Saturday.

Ole Miss’ Caden Davis missed a tying 48-yard field goal attempt with 48 seconds left as the Rebels (4-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) — a team with designs on winning an elusive SEC championship and reaching the College Football Playoff — suffered their first loss of the season.

“Beyond disappointing. It’s a disappointing day,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “The game comes down at the end with us having a chance to win in every phase and we didn’t do it. Got to give credit to (Kentucky coach Mark) Stoops.”

It was just the fifth time in program history that Kentucky has beaten a team ranked in the nation’s top six. The Wildcats ended a seven-game road losing streak to Ole Miss. Their last win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was in 1978.

The win was extra sweet for Kentucky (3-2, 1-2), which pushed No. 2 Georgia to the limit two weeks ago before losing 13-12. This time it finished the job thanks to a gamble and an unusual touchdown play that might go down in program lore.

Trailing 17-13 with just over four minutes left, Stoops elected to go for it on fourth-and-7 from his own 20. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff hit Barion Brown on a deep pass, and Brown took the ball all the way to the Ole Miss 17 for a 63-yard gain.

Kentucky was 3-for-3 on fourth down in the game.

“On the critical downs, we made the critical plays,” Stoops said. “We were not sloppy, we got a turnover and we’ve gotten better every week.”

Two plays later, backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt ran inside the 5-yard line. He was hit by Ole Miss defender Trey Washington at the 2 and fumbled. The ball popped in the air to Kattus, who stumbled forward into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.

.@JKattus TOUCHDOWN 🙀🙀😼 pic.twitter.com/DWDYF6n4Ap

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 28, 2024

Ole Miss got the ball back with 2:25 remaining. Jaxson Dart threw a 42-yard pass to Caden Prieskorn on fourth-and-11 to move the Rebels into field goal range, and they wound up having to bring out Davis for a 48-yard try.

Davis badly hooked his kick to the left, and Kentucky escaped with the SEC’s biggest upset of the season so far.

OLE MISS SHANKS THE KICK AND KENTUCKY IS GOING TO BEAT THEM IN OXFORD FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1978

pic.twitter.com/D69EnSY5pl

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 28, 2024

Ole Miss’ high-powered offense never found its rhythm against a tough Kentucky defense. The Rebels came in averaging 55 points 670 yards per game and finished with 353 on Saturday. Dart was sacked four times.

Still, the Rebels fought through that tough sledding to take a lead into the fourth quarter. Dart hit Tre Harris on a slant pattern on fourth-and-7, and the receiver turned it into a 48-yard touchdown that put Ole Miss ahead 17-13 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

Harris finished with 11 receptions for 176 yards. Dart was 18-of-27 passing for 261 yards.