OXFORD, Miss. – “Gladiator” Russell Crowe made an appearance before Saturday’s Ole Miss games asking Rebels fans and players “are you ready?”
The Ole Miss faithful and players were both ready for the game but not as ready as the LSU defense. The Tigers (10-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) took a 17-14 victory before 62,552 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
After three quarters, the Rebels (8-3, 6-1) managed just 98 yards on the Tigers defense, 227 total yards for the game. Ole Miss quarterback and Heisman candidate Eli Manning went 16-for-36 for 200 yards passing in the game, 88 yards below his season average.
“They were bringing pressure and we were trying to react to it and just didn’t make plays,” Manning said.
The Tigers sacked Manning three times late in the ball game, but LSU defensive tackle Chad Lavalais said the Tigers were getting good pressure on Manning all day.
“If you watch the film, you’ll see him throwing off his back foot a lot,” Lavalais said. “We [were not] sacking him. We were pressuring him. Somebody was in his face. He was throwing off his back foot a lot throughout the game. Maybe as the game went on … maybe the sacks got to him.”
LSU coach Nick Saban said the Tigers’ tenacity on defense was the key to the victory.
“I think our players had a very good understanding of what [Ole Miss] do,” said LSU coach Nick Saban after the game. “Our defense did a very good job against a fine offensive team and a very good quarterback. I’m really proud of them for that.”
The Rebels jumped out to a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. On LSU’s first offensive possession, quarterback Matt Mauck threw an interception that was returned six yards for the touchdown by Ole Miss cornerback Travis Johnson.
Mauck threw three interceptions in the game, but the defense yielded no points to the Rebels on the last two turnovers.
“Any time you can get out of a plus-3 turnover situation and give up no points you feel very fortunate,” Saban said. “Our defensive players went in there time and time again and made those plays when they had to.”
LSU lit up the scoreboard with a 45-yard field goal, trailing the Rebels 7-3 at the 6:44 mark of the first quarter. LSU amassed 52 yards on 15 plays during the drive, eating 7:10 off the clock.
A nine-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Michael Clayton from Mauck with 2:44 left in the second quarter gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead at halftime.
Mauck’s third interception came less than four minutes into the third quarter, but Tigers cornerback Corey Webster picked off Manning’s pass on the next play.
“Coach said somebody needs to make a play and I went out there and I made a play,” Webster said.
LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson hauled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from Mauck to increased the lead to 17-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter. The drive spanned 69 yards on five plays.
Ole Miss scored on a 10-yard touchdown reception by running back Brandon Jacobs from Manning on the ensuing possession. The score was setup on the sixth play of the nine-play, 76-yard drive with a 43-yard reception by wide receiver Bill Flowers from Manning, putting the Rebels on the LSU 20-yard line.
“The one thing that they did that we weren’t prepared for was they prereleased a back in four wideouts,” Saban said. “That’s what they did on the touchdown wide open down the middle. They did it a couple of times earlier in the game. That’s why we shouldn’t have done what we did in that situation. That was an error on my part, on our part as coaches.”
Rebels placekicker Jonathan Nichols missed two field goals in the game – one in the second quarter and one with 4:15 left in the game. Converting on either opportunity would have tied the game.
The Rebels defense forced the Tigers to go three-and-out and Ole Miss took possession of the ball with 2:16 left in the game at its own 32-yard line after a 58-yard punt by Donnie Jones.
The Tigers forced three Manning incompletions before the Rebels took a timeout with fourth-and-10. The entire LSU squad rallied around the defense and on the next play Tigers defensive tackle Chad Lavalais pushed the Ole Miss center into Manning who fell for a 5-yard loss. Lavalais said he was so focused he did not even notice the team huddle before the play – just what Saban wanted.
“What I was trying to do was to get the players focused on fourth-and-10 and not get all excited about what the moment was and to be able to focus on what we needed to do at that time to make the play we needed to make,” Saban said.
The Rebels got the ball back with nine seconds left in the game, but the Tigers snuffed out the Rebels hopes of a miracle touchdown pass. The Tigers’ victory also snuffed out the Rebels’ hope of clinching a spot in the SEC Championship game on Saturday.
“We put ourselves in a position to have a chance to win,” said Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe. “That’s what we intended to do, and knew it wasn’t going to be easy. As I said at the beginning, I am proud of our effort and proud of what we did. Now we have to put it behind us and move forward.”
LSU can clinch the SEC Western division crown with a win over Arkansas or an Ole Miss loss to Mississippi State. Ole Miss must defeat Mississippi State and LSU must lose to Arkansas for the Rebels to clinch the title.