Storybook Rivalry
Well-known matchup set to add another chapter
By Bryan Wideman, Sports Writer
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Of all the gridiron rivalries in the LSU football chronicle, not one has a more storied account than that with the Ole Miss Rebels.
From the first encounter in 1894 to now, the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry has electrified each generation of fans who despise the other, wishing them to the fiery pits below with chants such as, “Go to Hell LSU!” or the alternative, “Geaux to Hell Ole Miss!”
These two teams battled on the field for Southeastern Conference supremacy for years, and the memories of those games are thick in the minds of fans.
Perhaps the most memorable of all in the LSU-Ole Miss conflict took place in Tiger Stadium in 1959.
Trailing 3-0 to the third-ranked Rebels, the Tiger defense forced Ole Miss to punt to Billy Cannon.
Cannon fielded the punt at the 11-yard line, sprinted the length of the field breaking seven tackles putting the Tigers on top 7-3 early in the fourth quarter.
“I got a hand on him,” said Ole Miss defender Jake Gibbs, following the game. “But he just shook me off like a puppy.”
The game has been remembered ever since as the “Billy Cannon Run.” But the most important play of the game is rarely told.
The Rebels gained control of the ball and marched it methodically the span of the field. Ole Miss had the ball at the 1-yard line with hopes of ending the Tigers’ 18-game win streak. But a historic goal line stand at the south end zone from LSU defenders Cannon and Warren Rabb sealed the victory for the Tigers.
Football historians said it was that punt return and goal line stand which assured Cannon of the 1959 Heisman Trophy. And many Tiger fans consider it the greatest play in the history of LSU athletics.
The Ole Miss head coach at the time John Vaught made light of the run when he said, “Outside the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, many Cajuns consider Billy Cannon’s run the greatest event in state history.”
But the Rebels were granted the opportunity for a rematch in the Sugar Bowl at the end of that season. The Rebels’ defense did not allow LSU inside the 38-yard line, and their revenge was sweet in the 21-0 Sugar Bowl win.
Possibly the most controversial game in the rivalry took place Nov. 4, 1972. LSU quarterback Bert Jones was able to deploy four plays in the final 10 seconds of the game. As time expired, Jones hit Brad Davis in the south end zone to tie the game at 16. The extra point gave LSU the 17-16 win.
Just days following that historic game, a sign was erected near the Louisiana-Mississippi border by Rebels’ fans. The inscription on the sign read, “Entering Louisiana — Please Set your clocks back four seconds.”
According to Ole Miss fans, the LSU timekeeper gave the Tigers a bit too much home-field advantage.
This year’s game has a subplot in the Tigers-Rebels’ rivalry. When a Manning is under center, Ole Miss is 3-1 against LSU. And this year, Eli Manning takes nest as the Rebel signal caller and is looking to improve that record to 4-1.
LSU strong safety Norman LeJeune was impressed with Manning’s abilities after Ole Miss’ 35-24 victory last season.
“He has great poise, and he’s a calm passer,” LeJeune said. “He knows where he wants to go with the ball, and if it’s not there, he looks off.”
Eli’s father Archie also gave LSU problems posting a 2-1 record against LSU.
This great tradition was revived in 1997 when LSU, coming off a huge win over then-No. 1 ranked Florida, welcomed the Rebels into Baton Rouge only to suffer its second loss of the season.
In 1998, Ole Miss downed the Tigers in a 37-31 overtime win in Oxford.
This year’s Tigers do not have the same hatred for Ole Miss as older generations, but they still respect the rivalry.
“Every week in the SEC it seems it is a big rival,” said senior linebacker Jeremy Lawrence. “We’ve just got to go out and play hard like we always do in the West.”
Ole Miss has won the last three games in Baton Rouge. And if the Tigers want to secure a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game, they cannot let the Rebels extend that to four.