Jayden Daniels sharp again, credits Brian Kelly for steadying him as Tigers roll Rebels 45-20

LSU is headed for the AP Top 25 again following a statement win over No. 7 Ole Miss at Tiger Stadium on Saturday. After falling behind early, the Tigers stormed back to blow out the Rebels 45-20.

Ole Miss had jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the game before LSU got into gear and closed the game on a 42-3 run.

“Consistency, you know?” coach Brian Kelly told CBS sideline reporter Jenny Dell on the field after the win. “Our best players played well today and our defense, hats off to them in the second half. Obviously that’s a really good offense that they shut down in the second half.”

Ole Miss led 17-3 just three seconds into the second quarter following a 32-yard field goal by Jonathan Cruz.

That was about all she wrote for the Rebels, though.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was fantastic again, just one week removed from a six-touchdown performance in a 45-35 win on the road at Florida. Daniels finished 21-of-28 passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns passing while adding 23 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

He credited his head coach with helping him stay steady during the season, leading to the Tigers’ romp over the Rebels on Saturday.

“It means a lot. Like coach said, just the consistency, trusting the process, our preparation,” Daniels said after the game. “After our Auburn game, me and coach had a talk. He was like, ‘Just go out there, trust yourself, trust your receivers and be decisive and good things will happen.'”

LSU likely to enter Top 25 this week

LSU has now won six of its last seven games, with the lone loss coming against No. 3 Tennessee. Surely that will send the Tigers back into the AP Poll following the weekend.

In fact, outside of the loss to the Volunteers the Tigers have been competitive in every game this season.

A season-opening loss to Florida State was a tough one; kicker Damian Ramos‘ game-tying point-after attempt with no time left on the clock was blocked into the crossbar to give the Seminoles a 24-23 win.

But with just one loss in SEC play so far, LSU vaulted to the top of the SEC West standings following the win over Ole Miss.

The Tigers are 4-1 in conference play, with games against No. 6 Alabama, Arkansas (on the road) and Texas A&M (on the road) remaining. Alabama can join LSU at 4-1 this evening. The Crimson Tide are hosting No. 24 Mississippi State at Bryant Denny-Stadium in a game that kicked off at 7 p.m. ET.