Football Runs Past No. 7 Ole Miss, 45-20
BATON ROUGE, La. – Quarterback Jayden Daniels accounted for five touchdowns – two passing and three rushing – to lead LSU past No. 7 Ole Miss, 45-20, on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
LSU improved to 6-2 and moved into the lead in the SEC Western Division at 4-1. The Rebels fell to 7-1, 3-1 in the SEC.
The Tigers have an open date on Oct. 29 before returning to action on Nov. 5 in Tiger Stadium against Alabama.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Daniels posted another strong performance, going 21-of-28 for 248 yards passing and 121 yards rushing with zero turnovers.
Senior linebacker Micah Baskerville recorded a team-high eight tackles, one for loss with a QB hurry and two pass breakups. Mekhi Wingo and Greg Penn III were close behind with seven tackles and six tackles, respectively.
Kayshon Boutte led the offense in receiving with four catches for 43 yards, with a long of 20. Mason Taylor and Jaray Jenkins each caught a touchdown.
Josh Williams rushed for 76 yards on 17 carries, averaging 4.5 yards per touch, with a touchdown.
KEY PLAYS
Quarterback Jaxson Dart found Jordan Watkins for a 24-yard pickup to the LSU 37-yard line. Dart continued to move the ball quickly on the opening drive, connecting with Jonathan Mingo over the middle of the field for 37 yards down to the LSU 1.
Quinshon Judkins punched it in from the 1-yard line to give Ole Miss an early 7-0 lead with 13:23 to go in the quarter.
On 3rd-and-goal from the Ole Miss 6-yard line, Daniels’ pass to Malik Nabers was caught, but caught out of bounds. The Tigers still salvaged points as placekicker Damian Ramos converted a 23-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 8:44 to play.
On 4th-and-2 from the LSU 13, Dart’s pass to Casey Kelly fell incomplete, but the Tigers were penalized for pass interference, moving the ball to the LSU 6-yard line. Judkins rushed up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown to give the Rebels a 14-3 advantage with 6:01 remaining.
Ramos’ 42-yard field goal was no good, giving Ole Miss the ball at their own 32.
Dart found Malik Heath for a 27-yard completion, advancing the ball to the LSU 29-yard line. On 3rd-and-9 from the LSU 17, Dart’s pass to Mingo was complete for 4 yards. Cruz’s 32-yard field goal was good, extending the Ole Miss lead to 17-3 with 14:57 to go in the first half.
Daniels found Nabers for a pickup of 17 to the LSU 42-yard line. Daniels found Jaray Jenkins for a 34-yard touchdown pass, making it 17-10 Ole Miss with 12:11 remaining in the half.
The LSU defense responded with their first three-and-out of the game.
Daniels found tight end Mason Taylor on a screen pass, who took it 38 yards down the sideline for an LSU first down to the Ole Miss 40. Daniels then found Boutte on a crossing route for a 20-yard completion, giving the Tigers a first down at the Ole Miss 3-yard line. The drive culminated with Daniels taking a keeper for a 3-yard touchdown to make it a tie game at 17-17 with 8:20 remaining in the half.
On 3rd-and-15, Dart was sacked by Harold Perkins Jr. for a 6-yard loss. On 4th-and-21 from the LSU 30, Cruz converted a 48-yard field goal to give Ole Miss the lead back, 20-17, with 4:08 remaining in the first half.
Masin’s punt went just 27 yards to midfield, giving the Tigers positive field position to start the offensive possession. On 3rd-and-7, Williams carried the ball for six yards, one yard short of the marker. The Tigers went quick with Williams again to pick up the first down with an 8-yard gain.
A pass interference call on Ole Miss put LSU at the Rebels’ 2-yard line. Three plays later, Daniels found Taylor on 3rd-and-1 for a touchdown connection to give the Tigers their first lead of the contest, 24-20, with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Joe Foucha made a one-handed interception of Dart in the end zone and took a knee, giving the Tigers a fresh possession at their own 20-yard line.
Daniels did it all to open the fourth quarter, converting a 3rd-and-6 completion to Kyren Lacy for an 11-yard pickup to the Ole Miss 11. On the next play, Daniels rushed left for an 11-yard touchdown run, giving LSU a 31-20 lead with 14:18 remaining in the contest.
Daniels’ 17-yard touchdown run put LSU up 38-20 with 8:36 to play.
Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run extended the Tigers’ lead to 45-20 with 2:05 to go.