Ole Miss lost a heartbreaker of a game last night after one of its wide receivers made an all-time blunder. Wide receiver Elijah Moore ended up scoring a touchdown with four seconds left in the game to bring the Rebels within one point of tying the game and sending it to overtime. Rather than just flipping the ball to the ref after the score, Moore decided to celebrate by crawling on all fours through the end zone, lifting his leg to imitate a dog urinating. The celebration instantly drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and pushed the extra point attempt back. As a result, kicker Luke Logan missed the 35-yard attempt wide right and Ole Miss ultimately lost, 21-20.
Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke and athletics director Keith Carter issued a joint statement about Moore's celebration, apologizing as a program to the Ole Miss family for the "disappointing and unacceptable action" that occurred during the game.
"Elijah is a fine young man who lost control of his emotions in the moment," the statement said. "This incident does not reflect in any way the type of student-athletes on our football team or the culture of respect that permeates our locker room. Discipline is a staple of our program as evidenced by being the least penalized team in our league, and we will continue to uphold uncompromising standard of behavior on and off the field.”
Moore himself apologized for his actions on Friday as well, stating: "I apologize to my teammates, coaches and Rebel Nation for my actions at the end of the game," Moore said in a statement. "It was an emotional moment, and I deeply regret it. It does not represent who I am or who we are as a team, and I will grow stronger from this mistake.”