Ole Miss Rebels Offense Misfires in Costly Moments vs. LSU

The Ole Miss Rebels left Baton Rouge in heartbreak following a loss where the offense missed some big time moments.

DeShawn Womack 15 tackles Jaxson Dart 2 as the LSU Tigers take on the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels suffered another heartbreaking loss on Saturday at LSU, and while the offense put up big numbers, the stats do not tell the whole story.

Both the Rebels and the Tigers started out slow, as they each went scoreless through the first quarter, including the Rebels' first missed opportunities of the game.

Jaxson Dart looked downfield and hit Tre Harris in stride for what looked like an 81-yard touchdown catch-and-run, but Harris dropped the ball, and Ole Miss came away empty. They would eventually go three-and-out and punt.

The next Rebels possession looked promising as they got all the way down to the LSU 15-yard line before being stopped and attempting a 32-yard field goal from kicker Caden Davis, which he missed.

The Rebs defense bounced back, forcing a wild interception that was batted around before landing in the hands of Jamarious Brown. However, the offense could not capitalize, turning the ball over on downs.

The rest of the half went well for the Rebels outside of a fumble with 26 seconds left on their own 30, leading to a field goal for LSU which cut the lead to four going into the half.

"Those things catch up with you," head coach Lane Kiffin said postgame. "That's why I felt like we were outplaying them. We were the better team for the majority of the game, but again, you've got to close them out. We left a lot of points there, and still after that, were ahead with the ball in the fourth quarter. Tough one."

The Rebels found themselves marching again early in the second half, when Dart threw a pass downfield that was picked off in the end zone, crushing the Rebels' momentum once again. Ole Miss would hold the lead until LSU's final drive of the fourth quarter when the game went to overtime after some late heroics from the Tigers.

Ole Miss had opportunities in the second half to put the game away, but they were only able to muster a pair of field goals in the final two quarters of the game and one in overtime. That led to LSU's comeback and eventual win in overtime.

"It never should have gotten [to overtime]," Kiffin said. "We should have finished it when we had the ball up four with a chance to go down and make it two scores. Similar to the Kentucky game, we put ourselves in a much harder situation.

"Really disappointed, obviously. We should win that game. Kind of commanded the game for the majority of it, but credit to them for making plays in the fourth quarter and overtime."

Kiffin was asked postgame how he felt he and the team handled the environment in Baton Rouge, but he doesn't believe that played as big a role as the opportunities the Rebels themselves missed on Saturday.

"It's an electric atmosphere, great crowd," Kiffin said, "but they don't block, they don't tackle, they don't drop the ball, they don't miss kicks. We've got to make plays and coach better because we should have won that game. They're a good team, we're a good team, but we should have won that game."

"I don't understand how we lost," quarterback Jaxson Dart said. "I never felt like we were going to lose until it happened."

The Rebels offense had a good game statistically (464 total yards) despite the loss, but, missing some big opportunities ultimately led to their second crushing defeat in just three weeks. They now head into a bye week as they prepare to return home against Oklahoma in two weeks.