Ole Miss Rebels QB Shea Patterson tears PCL, out for rest of season

Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson will miss the rest of the season with a torn knee ligament, the school announced Sunday.

An MRI revealed a torn posterior cruciate ligament in Patterson's right knee.

Patterson, a sophomore, suffered the injury during the Rebels' 40-24 loss to No. 24 LSU on Saturday night in Oxford, Miss. He left the game after a second-quarter interception and checked into the medical tent before going to the locker room.

Patterson came back out during halftime warmups after the initial diagnosis was a sprained knee and played during the second half with a brace on his right knee. He played the entire third quarter and a majority of the fourth but walked with a considerable limp.

Patterson completed 10 of 23 passes for 116 yards with three interceptions against LSU.

"We felt like he gave us the best chance to win," interim coach Matt Luke said of Patterson. "We were told he wasn't going to further damage it so that's what we went with."

Patterson is leading the Southeastern Conference with 2,259 yards, completing 63.8 percent of his passes for 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Junior quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who played in Patterson's absence against LSU, is expected to become the starter when the Rebels (3-4, 1-3 SEC) host Arkansas (2-5, 0-4) this Saturday. Ta'amu completed 7 of 11 passes for 78 yards against LSU.