For a brief moment, it appeared Ole Miss might blow another fourth-quarter lead. But for LSU, it was not to be. Other than about five minutes at the beginning of the second half Saturday night, the Rebels completely dominated the Tigers in their 38-17 victory.

The win keeps Ole Miss (8-3, 5-2 SEC) alive in the SEC West title race. The Rebels have to win the Egg Bowl and hope Alabama falls to Auburn next week.

TAKEAWAYS

  • Chad Kelly had one of his best games of the season. He threw for 280 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions as Ole Miss moved the ball at will most of the game. Kelly also led the Rebels with 81 rushing yards and two TDs on the ground.
  • Eight different receivers caught a pass for the Rebels. Quincy Adeboyejo led the team with 62 receiving yards, including a 57-yard catch to begin the game. Laquon Treadwell and Evan Engram each had 58 receiving yards and a TD.
  • LSU running back Leonard Fournette reached the 100-yard mark, but the Ole Miss defense still did an excellent job of shutting him down. Fournette averaged just 4.3 yards per carry. The Rebels also intercepted Tigers QB Brandon Harris twice.

REPORT CARD

Offense: (B+) – Kelly is turning into one of the best signal callers in the conference. He showed great poise and kept the Rebels’ slim chances of a SEC West title alive. But Ole Miss still doesn’t have a consistent running game. Jaylen Walton gained just 15 yards on the ground. Akeem Judd was second on the team behind Kelly with 61 rushing yards.

Defense: (A-) – Ole Miss allowed 508 yards of offense but just 17 points. Shutting down Fournette was the key to the game. Ole Miss taking away the former Heisman Trophy frontrunner gave LSU no chance. The Rebels also forced three turnovers.

Special Teams: (C) – Walton fumbled twice on kickoff returns, and the second fumble was extremely costly. It gave LSU possession at the start of the second half, which the Tigers quickly turned into a touchdown, bringing them within 24-17. Walton’s mistake gave LSU hope and nearly turned the game.

Coaching: (B+) –  It was Senior Day at Ole Miss, and coach Hugh Freeze was extremely emotional before the game. But the emotions came across in a positive way. Freeze’s team was ready to play coming off the bye week and loss to Arkansas.

GAME PLAN

The Rebels followed a familiar plan that’s been effective the last three weeks against the Tigers — they did what they could to shut down Leonard Fournette and make Brandon Harris beat them with the pass. On offense, they did their best to protect QB Chad Kelly and give him time to get the ball to his talented corps of receivers.

GAME BALLS

  • Chad Kelly: 19-of-34, 280 passing yards, 2 TDs, 12 carries, 81 rushing yards, 2 TDs
  • Laquon Treadwell: 4 receptions, 58 yards, TD
  • Mike Hilton: 9 total tackles, 1 tackle for loss
  • Christian Russell: 6 total tackles, 1 interception

INJURIES

No injuries were reported Saturday night.