LSU shook the college football world on Saturday night. In a defensive slug-fest, the Tigers pulled off a fourth quarter comeback and knocked off the third-ranked Ole Miss Rebels. LSU got dominant efforts in several phases of the game. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the upset victory.

  • Les Miles is one tough dude. The coach was on the sidelines for his Tigers less than a day after his mother, Martha, passed away. Miles clearly tried to deflect all of the attention he was getting from the media, but his team looked motivated to go out and play hard for their leader. Miles has plenty of fortitude, but this has got to be one of his most hard-fought and emotional wins.
  • The defense is coming together. After putting up an impressive outing against Kentucky last week, the Tigers were even better on defense against Ole Miss. While the Ole Miss offensive line and running game are both mediocre or worse, LSU still beat them both into a pulp and made Bo Wallace look like Bad Bo for the majority of the night. The issues stopping the run could well still be there, but you weren’t able to tell against the Rebels. The pass rush, led by Danielle Hunter, was outstanding, and Kendell Beckwith led a ferocious effort to squelch the run.
  • The offensive line is finally meeting expectations, and then some. Against one of the stingiest defenses in the nation (the stingiest by points allowed), the Tigers offensive line plowed holes open for the backs. By the end of the game, the Rebels looked exhausted from getting smashed by the Tigers’ front five all night. The line looked even better when Kenny Hilliard came into the game fresh in the fourth quarter, hitting the holes they were opening up with vigor. The 264 yards LSU rushed for were the most Ole Miss has given up this season by a wide margin, and they came as a result of the offensive linemen winning their battles all night.
  • LSU can win with Anthony Jennings being just mediocre. Jennings had one of his worse outings of the season, throwing 2 interceptions against an Ole Miss team that takes the ball away better than anyone in the nation. He once again only completed half of his passes, completing 8-of-16 passes for 142 yards. But he’s turning into a game manager that’s more than capable of turning around and handing it off, making throws only when necessary. He did just that against Ole Miss, tossing a perfect lob to Logan Stokes in the end zone for the game-winning score. Jennings is by no means spectacular and he’s not going to win any games for the Tigers with his arm, but he’s not going to lose them either.
  • Death Valley is where championship aspirations go to die. Miles said it himself in his on-field interview, and it proved true. The crowd noise affected Wallace and the Rebels offense on their second-to-last drive, as they moved excruciatingly slowly up the field, possibly because of how loud it was in Tiger Stadium. With the stadium rocking, confusion reigned on the Ole Miss sideline, helping the Tigers to escape with the win.