OXFORD, Miss. - LSU spent one half getting punched in the mouth and the next half storming back like it had nothing to lose. In the end, though, the Tigers came up short, and Ole Miss walked off with a 32-24 win that matched the tension hanging over this matchup before kickoff.
The Rebels seized control early and never let LSU breathe in the opening 30 minutes. Ole Miss raced out to a 17-0 lead, outgained the Tigers 289-109 in the first half and made life miserable on both sides of the ball. LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt couldn’t get much going downfield early, the run game never found traction, and defensive coordinator Blake Baker had no real answer for Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Chambliss was sharp from the start. Before halftime, he completed 21 of 27 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns, repeatedly slicing through LSU’s defense and turning Vaught-Hemingway Stadium into a bad place for the Tigers to be. Ole Miss opened with a 37-yard Lucas Carneiro field goal, then got a 5-yard touchdown run from Kewan Lacy and a 21-yard scoring strike from Chambliss to Traylon Ray to build the 17-0 cushion.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin also addressed the emotions around the game.
"I know sometimes I don't act like it, but I'm a human, too,” Kiffin said. “A lot of emotions of gratefulness for this place, and the six years went well beyond football.”
LSU finally broke through late in the half. Dilin Jones finished a 17-play, 75-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 17-7. But Ole Miss answered again before the break, and with 11 seconds left, Chambliss hit Deuce Alexander for a 20-yard touchdown to send the Rebels into halftime up 24-7.
That looked like enough. It wasn’t.
LSU flipped the game in the third quarter, and Leavitt led the charge with both his arm and his legs. The Tigers scored twice in the third and added a field goal in the fourth, clawing all the way back to tie it at 24-24. For a stretch, it looked like LSU had completely erased the damage from the first half.
Ole Miss, however, had one more surge left.
Chambliss kept the ball on a zone-read and sprinted 14 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Then the Rebels went for two, and after LSU penalties moved them closer, JT Lindsey powered in to make it 32-24.
LSU still had a shot to extend the night. Leavitt guided a 14-play, 69-yard drive that pushed the Tigers deep into Ole Miss territory. But on fourth-and-goal, his throw toward the end zone was tipped and intercepted by Jaylon Braxton, and that was that.
The defeat drops LSU to 2-1. Ole Miss improves to 3-0.
Leavitt finished as LSU’s leading passer and also made a major impact as a runner. Jones led the Tigers on the ground, Trey’Dez Green was LSU’s top receiver and Princewill Umanmielen paced the defense with 11 tackles and five sacks.
The game also brought injury concerns for LSU, with safety Dashawn Spears and tight end Trey’Dez Green both leaving with injuries.
In the end, LSU’s night came down to two very different halves: a rough opening stretch, then a comeback that almost erased it all. Almost didn’t get the job done.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Have One More Reason To Hate This Ole Miss Loss
Ole Miss left Baton Rouge with a 32-24 win over LSU, and Trinidad Chambliss had plenty to do with it. The Rebels quarterback piled up 363 passing yards, threw two touchdown passes and one interception, and also added a rushing score, turning in the kind of all-around performance that made LSU fans swallow a frustrating home loss.
As if the result itself were not enough, Chambliss gave Tigers fans one more annoyance after the final whistle. In a postgame interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe, he let an expletive slip while saying Ole Miss's "Hotty Toddy" cheer, a small moment that only added another layer to an already aggravating night for LSU supporters. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Now Has Two Injury Worries Fans Can't Ignore
LSUs 32-24 loss to Ole Miss was already a frustrating night, and the injury list only added to the concern. Safety Dashawn Spears went down early in the second quarter and was later seen on crutches, while tight end TreyDez Green left in the fourth quarter with a right knee injury after being unable to put weight on his leg.
The Tigers did get a small bit of good news from linebacker TJ Dottery, who was questionable before kickoff but still played and made an impact with five tackles and a pass breakup. Even so, losing two key starters in the same game leaves LSU waiting on answers it could hardly afford to need right now. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffins Family Is Forcing Ole Miss Fans To Confront Something Ugly
The buildup to LSU and Ole Miss has brought the usual noise, but some of it has gone well past football. Lane Kiffins family, including his daughter Landry, has been targeted with inappropriate jokes on social media, a reminder of how quickly rivalry banter can turn ugly when the game is this big. Ahead of a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on ABC, the conversation around this matchup has been complicated by a very different kind of attention.
Layla Kiffin, Lanes ex-wife, posted a message urging kindness, and Landry publicly addressed the offensive comments herself. It is the kind of episode that forces a fan base to confront where the line is, especially when the spotlight on a high-profile coach bleeds into his familys life. The football part of the night still matters, but so does the reminder that not everything attached to a rivalry belongs in the stands or online. [Read more 🡒]