No. 8 Ole Miss Football defeated No. 7 LSU 32-24 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Sept. 19 in a pivotal Week 3 SEC matchup. This was former Rebel head coach Lane Kiffin’s first game against Ole Miss since his controversial departure from the program last November. Defensive back Jaylon Braxton came up with the game-sealing interception in the end zone in the final minute of the game.
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a touchdown as well. Traylon Ray stood out amongst the receivers with 115 yards on seven receptions.
The Ole Miss defense was a significant part of the win. It totaled two sacks, four pass breakups, an interception, eight tackles for loss and six quarterback hurries.
Head coach Pete Golding spoke about Ole Miss’ late-game performance in his postgame press conference.
“It’s great to have another game to where it’s a four-quarter fight,” Golding said. “(I’m) really proud of the fight in the fourth quarter.”
First half
The Rebels received the ball to began the first half. After beating themselves up on the first drive, Ole Miss went three-and-out and LSU got the ball back at their own 39-yard line. The Rebels had a holding call against them and a 14-yard loss off a backwards pass.
Linebacker Luke Ferrelli got a hand on a pass on Ole Miss’ first defensive possession. The Rebels nearly sacked Tiger quarterback Sam Leavitt, but he scrambled for a minimal one-yard gain. Safety Sharif Denson, playing in his first game as a Rebel, came up with a tackle for loss to force an LSU punt.
Chambliss connected with Ray on an out route for a 13-yard pick up. Two plays later, LSU was flagged for pass interference, giving the Rebels a 12-yard gain. The Rebels strung together a couple more first downs, but settled for a 37-yard field goal to take the first lead of the day from kicker Lucas Carneiro, 3-0.
Chambliss was able to spread the ball out more, finding Fields and Ray for much-needed gains. Lacy was not utilized much in the run game. Chambliss was the primary runner in Ole Miss’ second drive.
The Rebel defense held Leavitt to minimal gains on LSU’s second drive. Leavitt was able to escape the pocket twice, but a Rebel defender was there to stop him quickly both times.
After another Tiger punt, Ray leaped above two defenders for a 36-yard gain. Chambliss put the ball right where he needed to. The Rebels were quickly in Tiger territory.
Tight end Caleb Odom was wide-open in the middle of the field and scratched for additional yardage on a 30-yard play. Lacy got the ball at the five-yard line and fought through defenders for the touchdown, 10-0.
Going into LSU’s third drive, Ole Miss was outgaining its opponent 122 to eight. The Tigers got their first two first downs to end the first quarter. The Ole Miss defense was on its heels a bit until edge rusher Suntarine Perkins dropped back into coverage and got a hand on the ball to force an incompletion, breaking up momentum.
Defensive tackle Will Echoles sacked Leavitt for a six-yard loss. Leavitt could not connect with his receiver after the Rebel defensive line put immense pressure on him, forcing the Tigers to punt.
The Rebels started their drive from the eight-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Lacy rounded a corner and turned on the boosters for a 22-yard gain. Odom had a couple steps on Tiger linebacker Whit Weeks and caught a pass for 23 yards.
On third and 12, Ray caught a pass on a post route and ran in for the score, 17-0. The 21-yard score was Ray’s first of his Ole Miss career.
Leavitt extended Tiger drives a few times on LSU’s next possession. Nothing was open downfield, forcing Leavitt to scramble. He was beginning to have a bit more success in running the ball.
Tiger running back Dilin Jones ran for 14 yards on third and four. A false start pushed the Tigers to third and 10 at the Ole Miss 28-yard line. Tight end Trey’Dez Green caught a pass for the first down.
Leavitt had a man in the end zone, but made an off-balance throw on the run to his left and missed his target, forcing a third and seven. Leavitt scrambled for days and threw for the first down, setting up LSU with first and goal from the two. Jones ran it in for the touchdown, 17-7.
Ole Miss got the ball with less than two minutes remaining in the half and no timeouts. Odom caught a pass for 12-yards and a clutch first down. He caught another pass and got out-of-bounds to stop the clock.
The Tigers were on the Rebels’ heels and Kiffin called a timeout to rethink the defense. Chambliss stepped up in the pocket and threw a dart to wide receiver Deuce Alexander to reestablish a 17-point lead, 24-7.
Ole Miss outgained LSU 289 to 117 in the first half. The Rebels had 15 first downs to the Tigers seven. Additionally, Ole Miss was seven for nine on third down attempts. Golding and his team put on a show in the first half, but still needed to finish the job.
Second half
LSU received the ball to begin the second half. Edge rusher Blake Purchase got things started with a sack on the second play of the third quarter. The Tigers quickly went three-and-out.
Chambliss made his first real mistake of the night with an interception, giving LSU the ball back at the Ole Miss 33-yard line. Ferrelli tackled Leavitt for no gain and forced third and seven.
Leavitt ran for the first, then ran for a touchdown, 24-14. Chambliss’ interception got the Tigers back in the game.
Chambliss ran for a quick two yards to convert on third down. While scrambling, Chambliss backhanded a pass to Ray for a 19-yard play. Left guard Delano Townsend was called for a holding penalty, resulting in second and 20.
Carneiro attempted a 53-yard field goal and missed to the right. LSU got the ball back at the 43-yard line. Notably, Lacy left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. He did not return.
LSU converted on two third and longs and scored another touchdown to make it 24-21. Braxton was on the coverage and just could not break up the play.
The Ole Miss offense had yet to score in the second half on two attempts and they desperately needed to swing momentum back in Rebel favor. Wide receiver Johntay Cook II caught his first pass of the day and got the Rebel right at midfield.
LSU sacked Chambliss for a 20-yard loss. Ole Miss was on their heels and it was not looking good. Defensive end Jordan Renaud came up with a big tackle for loss to force third and six. On the first play of the fourth quarter, LSU converted on another third down.
The Ole Miss defense came up with a huge third down stop at the two-yard line and LSU elected to kick a 23-yard field goal to tie the game, 24-24.
Fields caught a 22-yard pass and pushed up the field for more yards. The Rebels gained five yards on third and six to set up fourth and one. Golding brought in Echoles and defensive tackle Jamarious Brown for a jumbo package and running back JT Lindsey took a direct snap for the first down.
Chambliss faked the handoff to Lindsey and ran it in for the touchdown to take a 30-24. The Rebels went for two and drew the Tigers offsides, so the ball was placed at the one-yard line. On the second try, Chambliss drew another offsides call and inched closer to the end zone. Lindsey took another direct snap and scored the extremely clutch two-point conversion.
“If they jump, then it’s half the distance (to the goal line) and you have a real decision to make,” Golding said. “If we can’t get half a yard to get it to eight (points), to make sure that you don’t lose the game, worst case scenario you’re going to overtime, you shouldn’t win the game.”
Ole Miss pushed LSU to fourth and four from its own 31-yard line. Leavitt ran for the first and got the Tigers near midfield. LSU was third and eight at the two minute warning.
Out of the stoppage, defensive back Antonio Kite was flagged for pass interference, giving LSU 13 yards and a fresh set of downs. A Tiger false start made it second and 10 from the 10 with just under two minutes left. An incomplete pass set up fourth and goal.
Braxton picked off Leavitt in the end zone after the ball was deflected by defensive end Kam Franklin. The Rebels went into victory formation and let the clock trickle down to secure the 32-24 win.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to take on the Florida Gators on Sept. 26 at 2:30 p.m.
