It doesn’t have earthquakes or burning buildings like LSU-Auburn, nor the bitter betrayal of LSU-Alabama, or even the thrilling back-and-forth of LSU-Florida, but the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry is a classic for both teams involved.

The rivalry became known as the Magnolia Bowl in 2008, complete with a trophy, when students from both schools voted because the magnolia is the state flower of both Louisiana and Mississippi.

LSU and Ole Miss first met in 1894, a 26-6 Rebel victory in Baton Rouge, and after some brief hiatuses in the early part of the 20th century, have played each other every year since 1945. LSU leads the series 61-41-4, and on Saturday the two teams will face off for the 107th time when the Rebels travel to Baton Rouge.

LSU coach Ed Orgeron has a special connection to Oxford, Miss. He was the head coach from 2005-07, when he went 10-25 (3-21 SEC). Regardless of his personal life, Orgeron is determined that this rivalry is not centered on him.

“That was a long time ago,” Orgeron said at his weekly press conference. “Thirteen years ago. It was a great opportunity for me and my family, but we moved on since and I am glad to be at LSU.”

“Geaux to hell, Ole Miss”

It is tradition for LSU fans to scream “Go to hell Ole Miss, go to hell,” and signs, buttons and everything in between can be found with the phrase during games and tailgates. Ole Miss fans typically respond in the same fashion: “Go to hell, LSU.” But where did the iconic cheers originate?

The legend goes two ways.

One says that prior to the 1959 matchup between the two teams, LSU coach Paul Dietzel hired a plane to litter the campus with flyers saying “Go to hell, LSU” to motivate his team. Not to be outdone, Ole Miss coach Johnny Vaught did the same thing to motivate the Rebels with flyers saying “Go to hell, Ole Miss.”

Another version of the story claims that Dietzel and Vaught littered each other’s campuses with the respective flyers instead of their own.

Whichever way the story happened, at kickoff in Baton Rouge, Tiger Stadium was packed with LSU and Ole Miss fans alike screaming “Go to hell!” at each other and has continued to be like that ever since.

Notable games

1959 – Billy Cannon’s Halloween Night Run

One of the most notable pictures of LSU’s only Heisman Trophy winner is 89-yard punt return late in the fourth quarter to push the No. 1 Tigers to a 7-3 win over No. 3 Ole Miss. The Rebels drove down the field in an attempt to make a comeback on the following drive, but was stopped just short of the goal line by LSU defensive back Warren Rabb.

The Rebels would avenge their loss few months later in the 1960 Sugar Bowl, the only non-regular season meeting between the two teams. Ole Miss shutout LSU 21-0, dominating the entire game and limiting LSU to just 74 yards of total offense.

1960 – LSU held Ole Miss to a 6-6 tie as the Rebels’ only non-win of their undefeated season on their way to the 1960 national championship.

1972 – “The Night The Clock Stopped”

Down 16-10 with four seconds left on the clock, LSU quarterback Bert Jones failed to complete a pass to receiver Jimmy LeDoux. At the time of the incompletion, there was one second remaining on the clock.

Ole Miss fans in Tiger Stadium believed that the third-ranked LSU was credited with a home-clock advantage.

With that one second, Jones hit running back Brad Davis for an 11-yard touchdown pass to win the game 17-16.

2003 – The 2003 matchup between LSU and Ole Miss set the record for the largest crowd to ever watch an on-campus football game in Mississippi, and for good reason.

Ole Miss entered the game undefeated in SEC play, while LSU had one loss to SEC East rival Florida. The winner of the game would go on to play in the SEC Championship.

The Tigers were up at halftime, but the Jimbo Fisher-led offense stalled. Quarterback Matt Mauck threw his third interception of the game in the third.

Mauck threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to receiver Devery Henderson in the fourth quarter, but LSU would not gain another first down in the game.

Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning fought hard to bring the Rebels back, leading a nine-play, 76-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Manning drove his team down the field once again the following drive, but the Ole Miss kicker missed the field goal to keep the score 17-14.

Manning had one last chance to win the game in the final two minutes. On fourth down, Manning’s center stepped back into him, causing him to fall, ending the game.

LSU won 17–14, and went on to win both the SEC Championship in Atlanta and the BCS National Championship.

2013 – An unranked Ole Miss upset No. 6 LSU in Oxford for their first win over the Tigers since 2009. This marked the re-emergence into the national discussion for the first time in decades.

The Rebels jumped out to a 17-0 lead by the end of third quarter behind LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger’s three interceptions.

Then, LSU’s defense opened up and blocked an Andrew Ritter field goal. Mettenberger would redeem himself, tying the game up at 24 as he hit receiver Jarvis Landry in the endzone.

But Ole Miss would not go down. Quarterback Bo Wallace led a drive to the LSU 24-yard line that allowed Ritter to bounce back. He hit a 41-yard field goal with two seconds left on the clock to give the Rebels a 27-24 win. 

2014 – No. 3 Ole Miss came into Death Valley undefeated but fell to No. 24 LSU 10-7 and ended their chances to go the first College Football Playoff.

In true LSU fashion, the Tigers failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities in the first half, including missing a 29-yard field goal, fumbling on the goal line and throwing two interceptions. Ole Miss had the opposite issue, scoring its only touchdown late in the first quarter.

Down 7-3 in the fourth quarter, LSU ran the ball 12 straight times between running backs Leonard Fournette and Kenny Hilliard. Quarterback Anthony Jennings then hit tight end Logan Stokes for a 3-yard touchdown to give LSU a 10-7 lead.

Ole Miss had one final chance to win the game, as Wallace converted on third and fourth down. With nine seconds left, Ole Miss sent out the kicker for a 42-yard field goal, but the ball was moved back five yards due to a delay of game penalty.

Les Miles called a timeout, and Ole Miss decided against a 47-yard field goal, putting their trust in Wallace. He under threw a pass in the end zone that was intercepted by safety Ronald Martin to cement an LSU win.

2015 – A 38-17 LSU loss marked the third loss in the Tigers’ first three-game losing streak since 1999 and would increase the heat under Les Miles’ coaching seat.

Ole Miss’ offense dominated, led by quarterback Chad Kelly who threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

Miles would be fired after the fourth game of the following season.

2016 – After missing two games with an ankle injury, Fournette returned to break the record for rushing yards in a single game in a 38-21 win over Ole Miss.

Fournette had 16 carries for 284 yards and three touchdowns, but it only took him eight carries to hit the magic 253 needed to break the record.

Saturday’s matchup

The Rebels will return to Baton Rouge on Sept. 29 to take on No. 5 LSU. LSU leads all time in Baton Rouge 40-24-1.

LSU will have to step up on defense following a poor second-half performance against Louisiana Tech.

Ole Miss has averaged 42 points per game and 523 yards per game.

“This is going to test us,” Orgeron said. “[Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu] is a better drop-back passer than we’ve seen, and these guys are first round draft picks. So, we’re going to be tested, we’re going to have to mix things up, but it all starts with the pressure up front. We have to get pressure up front.”

Ole Miss has one of the most explosive offenses with the combined power of quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and receivers A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf and DaMarkus Lodge, who are called the “Nasty Wideouts.” Orgeron pointed out Brown and Metcalf are likely to be first round draft picks.

Brown leads the Ole Miss receivers with 26 catches for 381 yards and three touchdowns. Metcalf totals 18 catches for 368 yards and four touchdowns.

“If you put one guy on [A.J. Brown] then you have trouble with the other guy in D.K. Metcalf, who is just as good,” Orgeron said. “It is hard to double one guy because then you open up a can of worms with the other one. I think last year, we did a great job of covering these guys.”
[Defensive backs coach Corey Raymond] challenged our guys. We played a lot of man coverage against them and covered them pretty good, not great, but pretty good. We are going to have to mix things up because we have some new guys there this year so we will have to mix things up.”
Defensively, Ole Miss has given up 36.75 points per game and 505.2 yards per game.
LSU and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger have a real chance to open up the offense against a lackluster Rebel defense.
“We need to score more points, we need to be more efficient, we need to throw the ball better and we continue to work on that,” Orgeron said. “We need to throw the ball better on first down, we need to more efficient, not get behind the chains.”
Despite LSU open as 14-point favorites over Ole Miss, the Tigers cannot just sit back and expect a win.
“They are solid,” Orgeron said.