OXFORD, Miss. — Domanick Davis rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns and Josh Booty threw for 290 yards including a 32-yard touchdown to Eric Edwards as LSU improved to 5-2 in Southeastern Conference play with a 20-9 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday.
With the victory, LSU remained tied for the SEC Western Division lead with Auburn, as Auburn defeated Georgia in overtime, 29-26. The Tigers of LSU improved to 7-3 overall and won their fourth consecutive SEC game and their first road game since beating Auburn on Sept. 19, 1998.
Ole Miss fell to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Early in the game, both teams struggled to maintain offensive drives, as the teams swapped interceptions on the game’s second and third drives, including LSU’s Fred Booker’s second of the season in the Ole Miss endzone which saved a touchdown.
LSU took advantage of the turnover with a 13-play, 62-yard drive, but John Corbello missed a 36-yard field goal to keep the Tigers from taking the early lead.
On the fifth play of the drive, LSU redshirt freshman running back LaBrandon Toefield sprained the medial collateral ligament of his left knee and he would not return.
The key play on the drive was a 38-yard catch on 3rd-and-7 by LSU’s leading receiver, Josh Reed, his longest of the night. Reed would finish the game with eight receptions for 173 yards.
After the kickoff, Ole Miss put together a 10-play, 69-yard drive of its own to take the 3-0 lead with eight seconds left to play in the first quarter.
LSU answered with a six-play, 76-yard scoring drive to take the lead which it would never relinquish, 7-3. On 1st-and-10 at the LSU 35-yard line, Booty hit Reed once again for 28 yards and then connected with tight end Eric Edwards from 32 yards out to take the lead.
The redshirt freshman’s reception was his fifth of the season and his second touchdown.
The LSU defense then came to life on the next series, as the Rebels ran three plays and lost six yards before punting to the LSU 48-yard line.
However, the Tigers couldn’t take advantage of the excellant field position and were forced to give the ball back with 9:26 remaining in the half.
After LSU punter Donnie Jones pushed the Rebels back to their own 9-yard line to start the drive, Ole Miss pecked away at the LSU defense with a 14-play, 72-yard drive which took 6:20 off the clock.
However, LSU once again stiffened in the red zone and forced Ole Miss to set up for a 26-yard field goal. Rebel holder Ben Craddock took the snap and rolled out to throw, but Booker devoured Craddock before he could release the ball and the fake field goal failed.
The teams traded possessions before halftime before Ole Miss missed a 53-yard field goal to end the half with the Tigers leading, 7-3.
Both LSU (16 for 36 yards) and Ole Miss (17 for 28 yards) struggled on the ground in the half, while racking up 148 and 132 yards, respectively, in the air.
LSU opened the second half by going three-and-out and were forced to punt from their own 27. Jones’ punt was partially blocked by Ole Miss split end Chris Collins and recovered behind the line by LSU’s Damien James. The ball went high in the air and was caught by James at the 11-yard line. James ran the ball back 14-yards to the 25, far short of the first down.
Once again in a hole, the LSU defense came up big, holding the Rebels to three-points after they had 1st-and-goal at the 3. Deuce McAllister ran six times on the drive for only nine yards.
Ole Miss cut the lead to 7-6 with 9:00 remaining the third quarter.
The Tigers then marched 88 yards in 11 plays to increase the lead to 14-6 with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter.
Booty hit Reed for 17- and 18-yard receptions while Davis ran six times for 31 yards including a 1-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-goal.
Ole Miss went three-and-out once again, however, Booty threw his second interception of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Rebels the ball at the 2-yard line.
Ole Miss drove 89 yards in 17 plays over a 7:31 time span, but still couldn’t penetrate the LSU endzone and were forced to settle for a Les Binkley 27-yard field goal.
Ole Miss split end Grant Heard dropped a pass on a crossing route from Romero Miller on 2nd-and-11 from the LSU 14 which would have given the Rebels the ball inside the LSU 3 if not a touchdown.
With a 14-9 lead, LSU again responded to Ole Miss’ scoring with one of its own. After Booty opened the drive with a 7-yard strike to Reed, Davis rushed four straight times for 19 yards. Booty then launched a 38-yard strike to Reed over the shoulder to take the Tigers down to the 1-yard line, for what became the play of the game.
Davis nailed the coffin shut with a 1-yard touchdown to give LSU a 20-9 lead with 4:08 remaining the the game.
LSU outgained the Rebels, 442-360, including 152-73 on the ground. McAllister, Ole Miss’ all-time leading rusher and the top senior for the 2001 NFL draft, was held to 48 yards on 24 carries.
Booty finished the game 16-of-30 for 290 yards and one touchdown. Eight of those passes went to Reed with six other Tigers also receiving the ball. After Toefield’s injury, Davis dominated the LSU rushing attack and kept the Rebel defensive back in man-to-man coverage throughout the game.
LSU finishes the regular season against Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 24, in Little Rock. LSU does not play next weekend.