Tigers stun No. 3 Ole Miss

BATON ROUGE -- With a combination of relentless rushing and a shutout second half by its ever-improving defense, the 24th-ranked LSU football team overcame a slew of mistakes and came back to knock off No. 3-ranked Ole Miss, 10-7, on a Homecoming Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

LSU (7-2, 3-2 SEC) put together scoring drives of 90- and 95-yards at the end of the second and fourth quarter, respectively, to bring the previously undefeated Rebels to their knees.

"You might have thought it was a middle-1970s game," LSU head coach Les Miles said just before asking how many rushes his team attempted. The Tigers ran 55 times for 264 yards against the nation's fifth-best rushing defense (97 yards per game entering the night).

Miles was presented the game ball by his team on the day after learning that his 91-year-old mother, Martha, died.

Trailing 7-3 in a field-position, back-and-forth test of wills, the Tigers broke through for a go-ahead 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Jennings to tight end Logan Stokes with 5:07 remaining in the game.

LSU buried Ole Miss senior quarterback Bo Wallace's fourth-down run at the LSU 47 to take over with 1:44 to play, punted after a three-and-out and put its defense back on the field for one final stop in the last 99 seconds.

Wallace, who was harrassed by the Tigers into 14-of-33 passing, converted a fourth-and-8 to keep his final drive alive and reached the LSU 25 with nine seconds to play. While mulling its options, Ole Miss was flagged for a critical delay-of-game penalty as it lined up for a game-tying 42-yard field goal. LSU took a timeout to prepare for the play and Ole Miss put its offense back on the field for a final shot at the endzone.

Wallace's pass to the left-front corner of the endzone was intercepted by Ronald Martin with two seconds to go, sending the stadium into a frenzy similar to Billy Cannon's 1959 Halloween run or Bert Jones to Brad Davis in 1972.

Only this time, it was 102,321 Tiger fans who can claim to have been there when the LSU put a first blemish on the Ole Miss ledger. Thousands poured out of their seats and onto the field following the victory - which will draw a $5,000 fine from the SEC.

Despite four turnovers including a fumble at the 1-yard line, LSU held the ball for 36 minutes by ramming holes in the Rebels defense with its talented running corps. Freshman Leonard Fournette had 113 yards on 23 carries, while Terrence Magee added 74 on 12 carries. Kenny Hilliard had 50 of his 63 yards in the fourth quarter.

Jennings was 8-of-16 passing for 142 yards and the game-winning touchdown. He wasn't sacked but threw two interceptions on long passes into Ole Miss territory. Magee and Fournette each had two catches out of the backfield for 87 combined yards. Wide receiver Trey Quinn added two grabs for 41 yards.

Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1 SEC), which entered Tiger Stadium undefeated for the first time since 1963, exited with its sixth loss in its past seven trips to Baton Rouge.

Wallace was sacked twice and threw his first interception in SEC play this season. Twelve of his 33 passes were knocked away by LSU defenders, as he threw for 176 yards and a touchdown. Wallace led Ole Miss with 40 rushing yards on 12 carries. I'Tavius Mathers had 35 and Jaylen Walton added 29.

Laquon Treadwell had 71 yards on four catches, while Cody Core added four receptions for 45 yards including the 15-yard touchdown that Ole Miss stood behind for most of the contest.

The Rebels ran 34 times for 137 yards, but had only 36 net rushing yards on 19 carries in the second half.