The Rebels faced their toughest battle of the 2026 football season when former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and his LSU Tigers returned to Oxford. In the tough matchup, the Rebels held strong and won the game, 32-24. Here are three takeaways from the Rebels’ win.
Will Echoles was a disruptive force
Heading into the season, fans expected big things from Echoles, the Rebels’ star defensive tackle. Despite getting off to a slow start to the season, he delivered against the Tigers. He finished the game with one sack and five total tackles, four of which were solo.
These stats are strong, especially considering the fact that Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding said getting to LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt was not the game plan for the defensive line.
“It wasn’t going to be a super fun night for (the defensive line) because we were trying to make (Leavitt) a pocket passer,” Golding said in his postgame press conference. “We’re not going to win this game based on sacks — we’re going to win this game based on scramble yards. (The defensive line) did a good job, for the most part, containing and compressing the pocket.”
Echoles was a key piece for the Rebels and consistently forced his way towards the quarterback. As a result of Echoles’ and the entire defensive line’s strong performance, Leavitt was forced to get rid of the ball faster, which created opportunities for the secondary and led to cornerback Jaylon Braxton’s interception that sealed the game.
Kiffin also praised Echoles in his postgame press conference.
“(Ole Miss) rushed really well, and Echoles, I thought, played a really good game,” Kiffin said.
When asked to evaluate himself, Echoles told the media that even though he had some strong moments, there are still opportunities for both him and his teammates to improve.
“I think I played great, (but) I feel like I could have made … more tackles. I think I missed a couple, but I think I was very disruptive as a player,” Echoles said. “I feel like I had a bunch of pressures when I was rushing the quarterback, and I feel like I did my job.”
Fans helped propel the Rebels to victory
With a new attendance record of 70,033 attendees in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the Rebel fanbase showed up for the long-awaited matchup against the Tigers.
Part of the reason for the enormous and energetic crowd was the numerous special additions to the stadium atmosphere. The game began with a flyover from two Boeing C-17 Globemaster III’s, and Rebel legend Archie Manning led the Hotty Toddy cheer from the video board.
From there, the energy only built. Ole Miss Athletics gave fans bracelets for numerous light shows during timeouts, and there were multiple drone shows with fireworks.
Golding said in his postgame press conference that he believed the crowd’s energy helped throw the Tigers off their rhythm.
“(The fans) created an unbelievable atmosphere, which is the norm here,” Golding said. “They’re going to show up and be loud, (and) our guys just are so grateful for that. (There were) a lot of false starts today (that) got (LSU) behind the chains because of the crowd noise.”
While Golding gave credit to the fans, he noted that he did not get the chance to enjoy the events because he was so focused on the game. However, the Tigers noticed the commotion the fans created.
In the first half, Leavitt looked rattled, and the Tiger offense struggled to get going, especially as the Ole Miss defensive line constantly forced Leavitt to make difficult decisions.
In the first quarter, the Tigers only had 34 total yards of offense, compared to the Rebels’ 122. At the end of the first half, the statistical discrepancies were still large: The Tigers only had 51 passing yards, while the Rebels had 248.
When the Tigers clamored back, the Rebel faithful were able to help generate enough noise to cause the Tiger defense to jump offsides not once, but twice, on the Rebels’ 2-point conversion attempt.
While the product on the field ultimately won the game for the Rebels, it cannot be denied that the fans and the atmosphere backed the Rebels immensely.
The Rebels’ counter adjustments took far too long
After halftime, the Rebels struggled on both sides of the ball. The offense did not score in the third quarter, while the defense allowed 17 unanswered points. Seven of those points came on the heels of Rebel quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’ interception.
This lapse after halftime was also a theme in the Week 2 matchup against Charlotte. Ole Miss did not score in the third quarter, and the 49ers had a touchdown. For two straight games, it seems like the halftime rest kills the Rebels’ momentum.
Kiffin is an excellent coach, and after halftime, the Tigers were fired up. Leavitt found his groove and rushed for a 4-yard touchdown. Just six minutes later, he threw a 26-yard touchdown to former Rebel Winston Watkins Jr.
In comparison, Golding looked like his adjustments were made more to protect the lead than continue the same level of pressure that was present in the first half.
Changing calls and communication errors could also have been an issue. Golding mentioned in his interview with ESPN’s College GameDay that it is tough to make adjustments quickly.
“When we start changing calls, getting 11 guys on the same page isn’t always perfect,” Golding said. “We have to do that on the field with our players, so … all 11 guys are on the same page.”
In the end, Golding’s defense held strong and delivered a win, but in the future, the Rebels will need to adjust faster.
