COLUMN: Ole Miss Falls After Rushing Attack Stalls vs. LSU

The Rebels lost their first game of the season to LSU after the Ole Miss offense hit a speed bump.

BATON ROUGE, La., -- The No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels could not keep up with the LSU Tigers on the road Saturday and ended up losing 45-20 after putting together a competitive first half.

The Rebels were unable to rely as heavily on their run game as they have in previous weeks with running back Zach Evans limited due to a knee injury. Evans was spotted wearing a knee brace during pregame warmups and did not record a single carry versus LSU.

With Evans out, true freshman running back Quinshon Judkins got the start, but the rushing attack just never found a rhythm for the Rebels.

Judkins led Ole Miss in rushing on Saturday with 25 carries, 111 yards, and two touchdowns. Judkins was the only player who exceeded 100 rushing yards for Ole Miss in Week 8. The Rebels rushed for 116 total yards versus LSU, their lowest rushing total all season. 

The game was put in the hands of quarterback Jaxson Dart once Ole Miss lost the lead in the third quarter, but he could not keep up with the scorching hot LSU offense in the second half.

I mentioned after the Auburn victory in Week 7 that the Rebels will only go as far as their run game will take them this fall, and that statement held true on Saturday. 

Ole Miss scored two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter and then did not find the endzone for the remainder of the game. 

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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