SIDEBAR: Turning Point Was Clear in Ole Miss Win Over LSU

OXFORD, Miss. – As it turned out, the turning point seems fairly clear in Ole Miss' 31-17 win against LSU Saturday in Oxford.

The game was still in the first quarter. LSU was driving and already led 7-0. The Tigers were close to adding more points, or so it appeared.

That's when the Ole Miss defense stepped up. And that's when things changed in the Rebels' favor, really for the remainder of the game.

The first quarter time of possession leaned heavily in LSU's favor. Had the Tigers scored and gone up two touchdowns late in the opening quarter, Ole Miss would have potentially been digging out of a hole the rest of the way.

But on fourth and goal from the Ole Miss 3-yard line, Tysheem Johnson intercepted a Max Johnson pass and was out of bounds at the 1-yard line. The Rebel offense took over at that point, 99 yards away from its own end zone, still trailing 7-0. But things had changed.

Thirteen plays later, Ole Miss was only able to get a Caden Costa field goal of 43 yards. However, it was a sign of better moments to come for the Rebels.

Quarterback Matt Corral said the offense played better after that.

"We knew what we had to do, and we were hurting ourselves," Corral said of the early going. "We had penalties after big plays, and those things hurt us. It's hard to get out of situations when you've got 2nd and 15. Honestly, we were hurting ourselves."

Before halftime Ole Miss tacked on two touchdowns – a Matt Corral 2-yard pass to Casey Kelly and a 3-yard rush by Corral – and it was 17-7 in favor of the home team at the break.

"We didn't play great early," said Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. "I was surprised to be up by 10 at the half. But a really good end of the half there, and then we played a really good third quarter."

Defensively, Ole Miss was a different team after Johnson's interception late in the first period. The Tigers did not score again until 7:28 remained in the game on a Cade York 47-yard field goal. That cut the Ole Miss lead to 31-10.

For all practical purposes, even though LSU scored late, the game was already over at 31-7.

"Really pleased with our players, starting with the defense," Kiffin said. "We held those guys to 77 yards rushing. That's the same LSU team that beat Florida seven days ago."

In addition to the 77 yards rushing, LSU had 249 yards through the air for a total of 326 yards in the game.

Johnson said he likes where the team appears to be heading defensively.

"As a whole I believe (we're better)," he said. "We're starting to play together and play for each other and as a complete unit. It's all beginning to work out."

On the day Ole Miss retired Eli Manning's No. 10, everything seemed to turn out as the Rebels would have wanted.

"Good win today. I thought the crowd was awesome," Kiffin said. "They were here early and had phenomenal energy and the players fed off it. We're 6-1 (3-1 SEC) and we've got a lot of work to do and get players healthy on offense."

The attendance was announced at 64,523, the sixth largest crowd ever for a game in Oxford. Johnson said the players felt that energy.

"It was crazy. It was exactly what I expected," he said. "Coming off our last game at Tennessee (a 31-26 Ole Miss victory), that was a hostile environment. It was nice to be back in our hometown and playing in front of our fans."

The Rebels now head to Auburn for a game next Saturday night.

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Players Mentioned

Matt Corral

Caden Costa

Tysheem Johnson

Casey Kelly

The University of Mississippi Athletics