Ole Miss Rebels' Defense Makes Critical Plays When Needed

The Ole Miss Rebels' defense surrendered the most yards of total offense in two years, but in the end, does it really matter?

The No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels' defense had surrendered 49 points and 588 yards of total offense, needing one more stop on the No. 13 LSU Tigers' final drive.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels completed a 42-yard pass to Chris Hilton Jr. — his only catch of the game — and following a horse collar penalty on Rebels linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, the Tigers were set up for a potential game-tying touchdown at the Rebels' 16-yard line.

Daniels took a shot down the sideline that was broken up by Jean-Baptiste and, after a pair of false start penalties, had one final shot to the end zone with five seconds left from Ole Miss' 26-yard line.

Daniels dropped back with only a three-man rush from the Rebels, as Cedric Johnson forced him to spin around and roll to his left. Daniels planted his feet and rifled a pass that hit Hilton in the hands but was knocked away just in the knick of time Rebels safety Daijahn Anthony to preserve the nail-bitting 55-49 victory.

"Our players played their butts off, and we stopped them when we needed to," head coach Lane Kiffin said on the ESPN broadcast after the game. "Finally."

Final play of the Ole Miss 55-49 win over LSU as called by @RebVoice pic.twitter.com/FfAqSbvRI5

— SportsTalk Mississippi (@SportsTalkMiss) October 1, 2023

Kiffin's not wrong. 

From four minutes to go in the first quarter until 3:41 remaining in the third quarter, LSU's offense had its way with Ole Miss' defense. In that span, the Tigers scored six touchdowns in seven drives, and the only non-touchdown drive resulted in a missed 56-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half by LSU kicker Damian Ramos.

In the fourth quarter, though, the Landsharks hunkered down, forcing two punts and getting the stop to end the game in their four drives on the field.

Ole Miss' defense held LSU to 129 yards and seven points in the fourth quarter, but the lone touchdown wasn't without controversy. 

After Johnson was called for an offside penalty, Daniels took a shot down the sideline knowing he had a free play. After replay, it was determined wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. had control of the football with a foot in bounds, but it didn't look that way as it appeared he was still bobbling the ball after trailing into the white chalk.

Ole Miss' offense picked up the defense with a drive that trimmed the deficit to 49-47. The Rebels' defense needed a stop to give their offense the ball back for a chance to take the lead, and they did just that.

A 22-yard completion brought the ball out to LSU's 47-yard line, but after two rushes went for a combined 5 yards, Rebels linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk came on a delayed blitz off the edge and sacked Daniels to force a punt. Ole Miss drove down and scored what was a game-winning touchdown with 39 seconds remaining.

Ole Miss' defense wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, allowing 637 yards of total offense — the most it's allowed in a game since surrendering 676 in a 52-51 win against Arkansas Oct. 9, 2021.

But, with the way the Rebels' offense was clicking at the end of the game, all that mattered is they got the necessary stops in crunch time to secure a program-defining win.