Lane Kiffin credits Ole Miss for making plays in fourth-quarter comeback vs. LSU

Ole Miss entered the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against LSU down by a touchdown, but showed up when it needed to in the final 15 minutes. The Rebels not only scored on their final two drives — including the go-ahead touchdown with 39 seconds remaining — but also came up with a defensive stop to seal the win.

The Tigers got all the way down to the Ole Miss 16-yard line with 12 seconds remaining after the Rebels dropped an interception a couple plays prior. But the final pass from Jayden Daniels to the end zone fell incomplete as Ole Miss hung on for a 55-49 victory in front of a record crowd of 66,703.

With Rebels fans jumping from the stands to storm the field behind him, coach Lane Kiffin offered his thoughts on the big-time win.

“I’m really happy for our players and our fans,” he told ESPN postgame. “Electric atmosphere. This ain’t about me. Our players played their butts off and we stopped them when we needed to.”

Ole Miss found itself trailing 49-40 with 8:34 remaining after LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. scored a 34-yard touchdown. Thomas appeared to bobble the ball on the play, but officials made the controversial ruling that he had possession as the crowd made its frustrations known.

The Rebels wasted no time responding after that tough blow, however, marching 65 yards downfield on the ensuing drive to cut the deficit to 49-47. They then got the ball back as the defense forced the Tigers to punt.

Ole Miss ran some time off the clock early in the drive before leaning on quarterback Jaxson Dart the rest of the way. Dart completed all three of his passes on that final drive, including what was ultimately a game-winning 13-yard connection with Tre Harris.

The win was much-needed for the Rebels, who were coming off a 24-10 loss to Alabama in Week 4.

“That’s a hard game to come back from and they played their ass off today,” Kiffin said. “We scored more than they did.”

Dart finished the contest an impressive 26-of-39 passing for 389 yards and four touchdowns — all of which went to different receivers. Ole Miss also had 317 yards rushing as Quinshon Judkins finished with a season-high 177 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries.

Although it was a back-and-forth game with plenty of ups and downs, Ole Miss held strong defensively in the final quarter. Those stops led to the Rebels coming away with their first SEC win and they’ll hope to keep rolling into next week against Arkansas.