Then-No. 13 Ole Miss Football held onto its lead against then-No. 4 LSU to win 24-19 on Saturday. The Rebels are now the No. 4 team in the country entering their first bye week of the season. The matchup proved various team strengths for Ole Miss.
The offense is one of the best in the country
Before Ole Miss, LSU had allowed 37 total points in its first four games. The most points the Tigers had allowed against a single opponent was 10.
This matchup, though, was a different story. Head coach Lane Kiffin’s talented offense put up 24 points and totaled nearly 500 yards of offense. The Rebels did an excellent job of extending drives. They went 8-for-16 on third down attempts and 2-for-2 on fourth down attempts.
The depth in the Rebel receiver room played a huge role in the offense’s performance. Chambliss did not need to rely on one pass-catcher the whole game, although tight end Dae’Quan Wright had four catches and was Chambliss’ go-to target in key moments.
Harrison Wallace III, the leading Ole Miss receiver on the season, had only one catch for 18 yards. Wide receiver Cayden Lee had four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Fellow wideouts Deuce Alexander and Winston Watkins had 64 and 38 yards, respectively.
Ole Miss is No. 8 in the country in yards per game with 530.6. Running back Kewan Lacy is second in the SEC in rushing yards with 445. In receiving yards, Wallace is No. 6, Alexander is No. 12, Wright is No. 18 and Lee is No. 28.
The offensive line’s performance was also strong. The unit, which did not give up a single sack, consistently gave Chambliss enough time to throw.
Ole Miss had 28 first downs and possessed the ball for 32 minutes. The LSU defense looked sluggish by the end of the game, undoubtedly due to several long, drawn-out drives by the Rebel offense. After LSU cut the score to 24-19, Chambliss led a five-minute drive which ran out the clock and sealed the win for the Rebels.
Chambliss solidified himself as the QB1 against LSU. To put his amazing season into perspective, LSU quarterback Garret Nussmeier has 115 completions for 1,159 yards in five starts. Chambliss, in only three starts, has 65 completions for 1,033 yards.
The Ole Miss offense has found a way to put up big numbers in every game this season. The Rebels are deserving of their ranking at the top of the SEC.
The defense can compete
If further evidence was needed that the Rebel defense’s 35 points allowed against Arkansas was a fluke, this game was it. LSU’s offense might not be stellar, but the Tigers have weapons in wide receivers Aaron Anderson and Zavion Thomas. Nussmeier himself was a preseason favorite for the Heisman.
Ole Miss held LSU to 256 total yards and just 59 on the ground. LSU was 2-for-11 on third down conversions. They had just 2.8 yards per rush and 5.8 yards per pass.
The Rebel secondary looks much improved from last year. The defensive backs limited big plays by the LSU offense, and Wydett Williams Jr. had a big interception in the first half on a drive that looked like it was going to end in points.
The defensive line pressured Nussmeier throughout the game. Defensive tackle Will Echoles got home for a sack. Fellow defensive tackle Jamarious Brown and defensive end Kam Franklin also contributed tackles for loss.
The whole defense looked sharp on Saturday. Obviously, it is not as strong as the defense from a year ago, yet defensive coordinator Pete Golding’s group proved that it is competitive enough to keep Ole Miss in any game.
Lane Kiffin is an elite coach
In his time at Ole Miss, Kiffin has really matured as a head coach. This season he has avoided bad decisions that led to a few losses last year. His aggressive, all-or-nothing attitude is still prevalent in his coaching, but there is a clear difference in Kiffin’s choices between this season and previous seasons.
After two consecutive punts to open the game, Ole Miss’ third drive ran 18 plays and over seven minutes. At the end of the drive, the LSU defense forced the Rebels into a fourth-and-4 at the LSU seven-yard line. Typically, so close to the end zone, Kiffin would keep the offense on the field to go for a touchdown, but this time he took the points and settled for a field goal.
Of course, Kiffin still took a few risks. Just before the end of the first half, Ole Miss faced a fourth-and-1 on the LSU 13-yard line. This time, Kiffin kept his offense on the field, and Chambliss’ eight-yard pass to Wright along the sideline set up an Ole Miss touchdown a few plays later.
Most notably, on a fourth-and-3 late in the fourth quarter, Kiffin once again elected to go for it when a first down would have ended the game, but a turnover on downs would have set the Tigers up with decent field position.
This risk paid off. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. designed a beautiful play that left Wright wide open for an easy pitch-and-catch, and Chambliss knelt out the clock.
Kiffin, it seems, has tamed his aggressive nature. This season, he has shown a knack for playing risky in the right situations and capitalizing on attempts — exactly what a good head coach does.
