Football Falls in Overtime at LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 8 Ole Miss football couldn't overcome numerous missed opportunities and miscues as it fell 29-26 in overtime at No. 10 LSU (5-1, 2-0).

Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2) didn't trail until the final play of the game, but had a sure touchdown dropped, a turnover on downs inside the 5-yard line and a missed short field goal, as well as 12 penalties for 110 yards, including two in overtime, as it fell short of its first win at Tiger Stadium since 2008.

First Quarter
The Ole Miss defense halted LSU with a three-and-out on its opening series. The Rebels looked like they might quickly capitalize when Jaxson Dart hit Tre Harris on a deep pass down the left seam, but the star receiver couldn't hold on in an uncharacteristic drop, leading to a punt.

The Rebel defense responded with another three-and-out thanks to a Trey Washington tackle for loss, and it looked like Ole Miss would turn the stop into points, but Caden Davis was wide right from 32 yards out to keep the game scoreless.

Ole Miss just kept making plays defensively, though. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Suntarine Perkins swatted a Garrett Nussmeier pass into the air, and Jamarious Brown snagged it for his first career interception. However, Ole Miss couldn't capitalize as Henry Parrish Jr. was stopped on a 4th-and-1 attempt inside the 5-yard line.

Nussmeier hit Kyren Lacy to get off of his own 5-yard line, but after another 10-yard gain, the Rebel defense locked down again to force a punt as the first quarter ended 0-0.

Second Quarter
Dart found Harris on a 47-yard gain just before the end of the first quarter. The Rebels faced 4th-and-4 to start the second quarter but elected to take the points, and Davis was right down the middle from 49 yards out to give Ole Miss the 3-0 lead.

LSU crossed midfield for the first time on its first drive of the second quarter when Nussmeier connected with Lacy for an 18-yard gain, but the Rebels again were up to the task. On a 4th-and-2, Perkins made another huge play, stopping Kaleb Jackson for a loss with help from Washington for a turnover on downs.

The Ole Miss offense finally broke free on the following drive. On a 4th-and-1, Ulysses Bentley IV made an incredible run, sneaking behind his blockers before breaking away and outrunning the LSU defense for a 50-yard touchdown to make it a 10-0 game.

However, the LSU offense also broke free on its next drive as Nussmeier hit four passes of 12 yards or more, including the 12-yard scoring strike to Trey'Dez Green for the home team's first points.

Ole Miss responded with an impressive drive, moving the chains four times on an 11-play, 75-yard march. Harris capped it off with a spectacular catch in the end zone, going over top of LSU's Major Burns and pulling down the touchdown through tight coverage to make it 17-7.

The Tigers swung right back, though, using a couple of big gains through the air to enter the red zone, where the Rebels held to force a 33-yard Damian Ramos field goal. Parrish fumbled on the first play of the next drive to allow LSU to steal three more points as Ramos hit from and the LSU kicker hit from 45 yards out to make it 17-13 at the half.

Third Quarter
It looked like Ole Miss was on a scoring drive out of halftime, moving the chains three times down to the LSU 38 where the drive imploded. Dart was sacked by Burns, and Ole Miss was flagged for a personal foul on top of it, followed by a false start to make it 2nd-and-37 and ultimately lead to a punt.

Nussmeier hit a 46-yard gain to Aaron Anderson on the following drive, but the Rebel secondary bowed up with consecutive pass breakups to force a field goal try. Ramos was off target from 46 yards out to keep the score 17-13.

The ensuing series was similar as Dart hit Lee on a couple of big gains to move into LSU possession, but the Tigers ratcheted up the pressure to force three Dart incompletions in the red zone. Davis, however, hit his 35-yard field goal to stretch the lead to seven, 20-13.

LSU got those three right back as a penalty against the Rebels near midfield put the Tigers in scoring position, and Ramos connected from 41 yards out to make it 20-16.

Fourth Quarter
Dart was sacked on the last play of the third quarter but hit Lee along the sideline to convert 3rd-and-15 to open the fourth. Facing 4th-and-1 later in the drive, Ole Miss faked a rush to Pegues and Dart found Lee again for a 33-yard gain. He looked Lee's way once more on a long pass to the end zone but was picked off by Zy Alexander.

Trey Amos got it right back, though, as he intercepted a Nussmeier underthrow on the very next play. Ole Miss went three-and-out, but a booming 55-yard punt by Fraser Masin pinned LSU at its own 15.

Two key reviews defined the ensuing drive. The first overturned what would've been a first-down gain for the Tigers. The second overturned what would've been a sack-fumble for the Rebels. When all was said and done, LSU punted and—after a holding call against the Rebels for their 10th flag of the game—Ole Miss took over at its own 27 with 6:26 to go.

Dart took the ball in his own hands to stretch the Rebel lead, ripping the Tigers on rushes of 16 and 15 yards up the middle. Ole Miss also benefitted from a personal foul flag against LSU en route to a 37-yard Davis field goal to make it a touchdown game, 23-16, with 3:14 to go.

On its final drive of regulation, LSU converted 4th-and-6, then 3rd-and-10 and then on 4th-and-5 at the Rebel 23-yard line, Nussmeier threw a 23-yard touchdown strike to Aaron Anderson, and Ramos added the PAT to tie it at 23.

Overtime
Ole Miss was flagged twice to plague its overtime drive, forcing it to settle for a 57-yard Caden Davis field goal. Nussmeier found Lacy for a touchdown on the first play of its overtime series for the win.

Next Up
Ole Miss will have its first of two bye weeks next week before welcoming Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2) to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for its first time as a member of the SEC. Kickoff is set for the early window (11 a.m. – noon CT).

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Team Stats

Jaxson Dart

Players Mentioned

Trey Amos

Ulysses Bentley IV

Jamarious Brown

Jaxson Dart

Caden Davis

Tre Harris

Fraser Masin

Henry Parrish Jr.

Suntarine Perkins

Trey Washington

The University of Mississippi Athletics