Matt Corral, the quarterback for Ole Miss, left the field mid-game after suffering an injury late in the first quarter of the Sugar Bowl. The loss of 21- 7 to Baylor was mainly salt in the wounds, as the quarterback was unable to get back into the game after failing to put weight on both of his legs.
Corral had suffered a sprained ankle- something Peter Corral, Matt’s father, told Chris Low of ESPN on Sunday. On the third- and 20 with just 2 minutes 13 seconds left in the quarter, Corral was sacked by the defensive tackle of Cole Maxwell of Baylor for a 6-yard loss and was in immediate need of medical assistance as he kept holding his leg.
Matt Corral Had To Watch His Team Lose from the Sidelines
When Matt Corral was helped off the ground by the staff of Ole Miss, he couldn’t put weight equally on his right foot- which led to him being finally carted into the locker room- but after that, he came back to the sideline holding on to crutches. After the game ended, Lane Kiffin, the head coach for the team stated that the X-rays for Corral were negative, though he did not clarify what injuries Corral had suffered when he was sacked.
When asked about what he felt when Matt Corral got injured, Kiffin stated that it was a very difficult situation for him, especially due to the kid playing in the game despite having a previous injury. A lot of thoughts raced by his head as he saw his player, who he also thought of as his son, get tackled and then couldn’t walk. Kiffin further stated that he believed he hadn’t done a good job with the team, and Corral- considering he had played his heart out and had nothing to show for it.
Matt Corral was then replaced by Luke Altmyer, a freshman who had just nine attempts at passing the whole season. Altmyer ended up finishing the game 15 for 28 for 174 yards with just a single touchdown, and two interceptions.