History has a habit of repeating itself, and it did in a big way for No. 8 LSU on Saturday night.
LSU sophomore wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. powered a fourth-quarter LSU comeback with an 89-yard punt return eerily similar to Billy Cannon’s famous return on Halloween night in 1959 that propelled then-No. 1 LSU to a 7-3 win against No. 3 Ole Miss.
The 89-yard touchdown was a career long for Beckham, and went for the exact same distance as Cannon’s return 53 years ago.
Cannon was even in attendance to see the game-changing return.
“Wow, what a game,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “When Beckham was running, I felt like I was at the bowling lane.”
Miles completed his statement with a little dance that’s sure to become an Internet sensation.
Beckham broke only four tackles compared to Cannon’s eight. Beckham covered more total ground than Cannon, as he started breaking toward his left then cut right to take it up the sideline.
“[Beckham] is a very crafty guy,” said LSU junior defensive end Sam Montgomery. “He is very agile, like a cat … he was able to wing through those people and score the touchdown.”
The players did, however, score in the same end zone and crossed the end line in the same location.
“The fact that they crossed in the same spot is really weird,” said LSU junior defensive end Barkevious Mingo. “I had no idea that it was that similar [to Cannon’s return].”
The Beckham touchdown tied the score at 35-35, and after consecutive sacks that forced Ole Miss out of field goal range, the Tiger offense drove down the field for the game-winning touchdown by freshman running back Jeremy Hill.
Beckham has struggled recently with punt returns, muffing a punt in last week’s game against Mississippi State and averaging less than 4 yards per return in the past five games.
“[Beckham] is an amazing player and he showed up at a critical time for us.” Montgomery said. “He let people know that he’s still that guy that he was when he first came here.”
The return was set up by a block from LSU freshman cornerback Jalen Collins.
As Collins sprinted down the field, he signaled for Beckham to come his way and delivered a block on Ole Miss junior defensive back Charles Sawyer.
The block sprung Beckham from the initial coverage and allowed him to switch fields, making a few Ole Miss defenders miss along the way.
“Everyone had their man and everyone covered their assignments,” Beckham said. “I saw a crease and just hit it.”
Another freshman corner, Jalen Mills, delivered a block that allowed Beckham to turn the corner on the right sideline where he was met by a convoy of LSU blockers.
Beckham said LSU sophomore wide receiver Jarvis Landry helped him finish off the return by reeling him in and directing him toward the end zone.
While Cannon’s return was a game-winner, Beckham’s kept LSU in a game in which the defense was struggling to stop a hot Ole Miss offense led by sophomore quarterback Bo Wallace.
Wallace totaled 364 yards on the day to go with four total touchdowns.
Ole Miss was never able to recover the momentum after the score, totaling only 36 yards of offense for the rest of the game.
“Standing on the sidelines I knew something great was about to happen,” Hill said. “I think all of us knew how special that return was when it was happening.”
‘I think all of us knew how special that return was when it was happening.’
