After cruising past the Southeastern Louisiana Lions, the 4-0 LSU Tigers went on the road for just the second time all season to face the undefeated Ole Miss Rebels. The Tigers took the early lead but found themselves down for the majority of the game. Ole Miss would hold on late to secure the 24-19 loss for LSU.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both teams went three-and-out on their opening possessions, with Ole Miss receiving the football first. The Rebels also recorded 0 yards through their first six plays as quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw four incompletions.
LSU took the early lead on its second possession as Garrett Nussmeier completed four passes for 68 yards. Zavion Thomas made a 50-yard catch on the first play to move the ball inside the redzone. Four plays later, Nussmeier intended to find Trey’Dez Green in the endzone. The ball was tipped, and Nic Anderson came down with the football for a seven-yard touchdown.
The Rebels responded with a 17-play, 83-yard scoring drive that took seven and a half minutes off the clock. Ole Miss decided to keep the ball on the ground 12 times for 43 yards. The rushing offense moved the ball down to the LSU 13-yard line. On 3rd & 3, Chambliss’ pass was batted at the line of scrimmage by Patrick Payton, leading to a 25-yard Lucas Carneiro field goal. The Tigers were still ahead 7-3 with 1:40 left in the first quarter.
On LSU’s next possession, Nussmeier found Chris Hilton for a 10-yard pitch and catch that turned into a 25-yard gain because of a personal foul call on Ole Miss’ Jamarious Brown. The LSU signal caller made an ill-advised throw a couple of plays later, throwing into traffic. Wydett Williams Jr came down with the interception on the play and set up the Rebel offense at the team’s 12-yard line.
Ole Miss threatened to score midway through the second quarter. Chambliss began the drive with a pair of completions to Deuce Alexander for a total of 39 yards. Cayden Lee then hauled in a 32-yard catch but had the football punched out by LSU safety AJ Haulcy. Whit Weeks recovered the fumble in the endzone and set up the Tiger offense at the 20-yard line.
Five flags were thrown on Ole Miss’ next drive; four of which were on LSU. West Weeks was called for roughing the passer, then Bernard Gooden was offside and set up third and short. DJ Pickett’s pick-six was negated after he was flagged for pass interference, and PJ Woodland was also guilty of the same call on the next play. Those penalties set up a 15-yard touchdown run by Kewan Lacy to put the Rebels ahead 10-7 with 5:09 to go in the second quarter.
Lee made up for his previous turnover by making a 30-yard catch to begin the final Rebel drive of the first half. He then capped it off with a two-yard touchdown reception with 13 seconds left. LSU went into the break down 17-7.
LSU cut it to a one-possession game midway through the third quarter. The drive started at the Tiger 45-yard line and was the longest-lasting to that point as Brian Kelly’s group ran off 4:35 in seven plays. The only big play was a pass interference call on Ole Miss cornerback Chris Graves Jr. LSU would settle for a 39-yard Damian Ramos field goal to make it a seven-point game.
Following that score, PJ Woodland intercepted Chambliss’ pass on the sideline and returned the ball 31 yards to the Ole Miss 47-yard line. The Tigers couldn’t do much off the turnover and converted on a 48-yard kick to make it 17-13 with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Rebels found the endzone for a third time early in the fourth. Chambliss found Dae’Quan Wright for a 26-yard pickup to get the ball past midfield. The Ole Miss quarterback then completed four consecutive passes to set up 1st & 10 from the 15-yard line. Logan Diggs would finish it off with a six-yard touchdown. The Tigers were down 24-13 with 11:08 to go.
LSU kept itself alive with by far its longest drive of the game, going 80 yards in 15 plays. Kyle Parker came with multiple fourth-down conversion catches to keep the potential comeback alive. The Tigers kept it on the ground on the last two plays, with freshman running back Harlem Berry being the ball carrier. Berry reached pay dirt from six yards out on the second carry to bring it back to within a touchdown. Coach Kelly elected to go for two but failed on the conversion attempt. It was a five-point difference with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
That score was LSU’s final possession. Wright was wide open for a 20-yard gain
BIG NUMBER: 21
It was a flag-filled game in Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday, with 21 total accepted penalties. Ole Miss was guilty for 14 of those calls for 109 yards, and LSU had the other seven for 78 yards. The play disparity was also apparent with the Rebels running 84 plays compared to LSU’s 56.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Trinidad Chambliss
The senior transfer quarterback made plays through the air and on the ground. Chambliss completed 23 out of 39 passes for 314 yards and a touchdown. He also had 14 carries for 71 yards as LSU lost its first game of the season by a score of 24-19.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers will take the next week off for their bye before they get ready for a home game versus the South Carolina Gamecocks. Kickoff from Tiger Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, October 11th. A start time has yet to be decided, but the action will be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.