“Jor-dan Jeffer-son.”
 
Those words were music to junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson’s ears after LSU’s victory against Ole Miss on Saturday evening.
 
A career-high night of 254 yards on 13 of 17 passing led the LSU student section to echo the name of their quarterback, who became the game’s hero after two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
 
“Hearing the Tiger fans chanting my name after the game, [it was] just a sigh of relief,” Jefferson said. “It helps me be comfortable to be at home and play as well as I did.”
 
Jefferson stole the hearts of the 92,915 fans in attendance with an impressive game-winning drive.
 
A 7-yard touchdown run by junior running back Stevan Ridley and a successful two-point conversion by Jefferson put LSU up seven points with 44 seconds on the clock and sealed LSU’s 10th win of the season.
 
“[Offensive coordinator Gary Crowton] gave us some great plays to run in that drive, and we just wanted to stay away from a repeat of what we did last year,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson’s poise down the stretch of the game aided in avenging last season’s debacle in Oxford, Miss.
 
Jefferson helped the Tigers regain the lead in the middle of the fourth quarter with a forward pitch to redshirt freshman running back Michael Ford, who scored on a 27-yard touchdown.
 
“Jordan is really improving,” Ford said. “Our offense really found our groove tonight. We were executing and moving as an offense.”
 
Jefferson cashed in on a 3-yard touchdown run in the beginning of the fourth quarter, cramming between his offensive linemen en route to the end zone.
 
“I’ve definitely been waiting for a night like this,” Jefferson said. “I’m just glad that it finally came.”
 
The third-year quarterback’s career at LSU began with a bang as a freshman in the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl, leading LSU to a 38-3 win against Georgia Tech. Since then it’s been an up-and-down roller coaster ride.
 
“I looked at a freshman playing against Georgia Tech as a pretty significant win,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “This may well be one of those games that he’ll look back on and say, ‘Maybe that was my best game.'”
 
The biggest difference in Jefferson’s play were his actions off the field, according to junior left guard Josh Dworaczyk.
 
“[Jefferson] stepping up as a leader was big tonight,” Dworaczyk said.
 
Dworaczyk said Jefferson usually lets junior cornerback Patrick Peterson and senior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard talk to the team before the game, but Jefferson let his voice be heard before Saturday’s game.
 
“Jordan finally stepped up and spoke with us and said, ‘Let’s go out there and do it for the seniors, let’s go out there and do it for us,'” Dworaczyk said.
 
The offensive line kept Jefferson clean, only allowing one sack.
 
“A couple times during the game he came over to the offensive line — something he’s never done all year — and sat down and spoke with us and said, ‘Y’all keep protecting me, I’m going to keep making plays.'” Dworaczyk said.
 
Jefferson’s target of choice Saturday night wasn’t senior wide receiver Terrence Toliver or sophomore wide receiver Rueben Randle. It was junior tight end Deangelo Peterson.
Jefferson hooked up with Peterson for 76 yards on three catches, and two of them nearly made it into the end zone.
 
“Jordan played a great game,” Peterson said. “He came out with a chip on his shoulder, and Crowton let him be him.”
 
Crowton gained compliments from Miles and the players on his decisions against Ole Miss.
 
“Coach Crowton was very aggressive with the play calling,” Jefferson said. “I just had the hot hand, and with coach being aggressive and opening the play book like that [I felt] comfortable.”
 
Jefferson has been sharing the quarterback position with junior signal caller Jarrett Lee, but Lee only had 4 yards on four attempts.
 
The hero of Saturday’s game said he wasn’t sure how the tag-team would operate in the future.
 
“As of right now, I can’t even speak upon that,” Jefferson said. “Jarrett Lee came in the game and managed the game the way we needed him to do.”
 
 
 
____
Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]