Oxford, Mississippi — Considering the circumstances, the first half couldn’t have gone much better for Oklahoma.

The Sooners, who entered the game as nearly a three-touchdown underdog, led Ole Miss 14-10 at halftime. The offense looked reenergized with Jackson Arnold back at the controls and Joe Jon Finley in the booth, and the defense had done enough to limit Ole Miss’ explosive offense.

The second half was a completely different story. The Rebels outscored the Sooners 16-0 in the final 30 minutes as Oklahoma simply ran out of gas.

Despite the first-half momentum, the result was a third-straight loss for the Sooners as they fell to the Rebels, 26-14, on Saturday. The Sooners drop to 4-4 on the season and 1-4 in conference play.

Here’s a look at takeaways from the game:

The Sooners had struggled to run the ball all season. They’ve averaged 3.1 yards per carry on the season and a ghastly 1.9 YPC in conference play, and they hadn’t run for more 130 yards in their previous four SEC games. Considering they entered the game ranked 114th in rushing offense and the Rebels ranked second in rushing defense, there wasn’t much reason to count on success.

Instead, the Sooners had by far their most success running the ball this season. It was the Jovantae Barnes and Jackson Arnold show in the first half, as the Sooners ran for 125 yards while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Arnold was utilized heavily with quarterback draws and was routinely making the right decision on RPOs (run-pass options), while Barnes picked up chunk plays between the tackles.

The issues in the second half weren’t because of the running game. The Sooners totaled 28 rushing yards in the third quarter on four yards per carry, but the passing offense accounted for -5 yards in the quarter.

In total, the Sooners finished with 147 yards (their most in an SEC game) on 50 carries. They had 34 yards taken away because of sacks.

The true sophomore quarterback was simply lights out in the first half.

Arnold commanded control of the offense from the opening drive. On the first drive he had rushes of eight, nine and 10 yards to go with a 20-yard completion, and OU took a 10-play, 74-yard drive inside Ole Miss’ two-yard line. But the Sooners came empty handed and turned the ball over on downs.

But Arnold and the Sooners responded with an eight-play, 60-yard drive that was capped off with an 11-yard touchdown from Arnold to Sharp. His best play of the game came with six seconds left in the half, when he avoided a sack, scrambled right and found Jacob Jordan for a nine-yard score.

Arnold was decisive with his decision making and was a real problem for Ole Miss in the running game, totaling 44 rushing yards while completing 10 of 13 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

However, the second half was a completely different story. Arnold couldn’t find much of a rhythm in the passing game (72 yards after halftime) and was sacked six times in the final two quarters. The Sooners, as a result, had 94 total yards in the second half.

Arnold finished with 182 yards and two touchdowns on 22 of 31 attempts to go with 39 rushing yards on 24 attempts.

One of the main reasons for the collapse was the Sooners' offensive line. The Sooners surrendered six sacks in the second half and nine for the game. That ties the program for most sacks allowed in a game... which was originally set last weekend against South Carolina.

In the last three games, the Sooners have allowed 24 sacks.

The Sooners’ rushing defense was excellent in both halves. The Rebels finished with just 69 rushing yards on 31 carries, averaging just 2.2 yards per attempt. Outside of Henry Parish's nine-yard touchdown run on the first drive, the Sooners largely suffocated Ole Miss' running game.

The problem was the Rebels figured out they could attack OU's defensive backs at will, specifically Kani Walker. Jaxson Dart completed 22 of 30 passes for 311 yards, averaging over 14 yards per completion. He completed seven passes of 20 yards or more.

It was difficult considering the Sooners led the game 14-10 at halftime in part because they limited Ole Miss' offense. The Rebels had just 165 yards in the first half and only scored three points on their last three drives of the half. But they finished the game with 380 yards and had 201 yards in the third quarter, with 185 of those coming through the air.