LSU Defense Shredded By Ole Miss, And Lane Kiffin’s Offense Sucking Wind, Too, Trailing 24-7 At Half

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

OXFORD, Mississippi – No. 8 Ole Miss dominated No. 7 LSU in the first half Saturday the same way its fans swallowed up LSU fans in The Grove before the game in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The Rebels put up 289 yards against the No. 1 defense in the nation coming in, which was LSU’s with just 142.5 yards allowed a game through two easy wins over Clemson and Louisiana Tech. And Ole Miss’ defense limited LSU to just 117 yards.

LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for only 51 yards, completing 9 of 13 passes. The Tigers rushed for 66 yards on 19 carries to just 41 on 12 carries by Ole Miss. The Rebels had 15 first downs and converted seven of nine third downs to LSU’s seven first downs on five of nine conversions.

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Just like last season, coordinator Blake Baker’s defense could not handle Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who completed 21 of 27 passes for 248 yards. Chambliss threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Traylon Ray for a 17-0 lead with 9:49 to go in the second quarter to the delight of the raucous Ole Miss crowd.

It was a disastrous start for LSU coach Lane Kiffin, who returned to Ole Miss, where he was head coach from 2020-25.

The Tigers appeared to get back in the game with ball-control drive of 75 yards in 17 plays with 13 of those running plays over 7:52 to get within 17-7 with 1:57 left before halftime on a 2-yard TD run by Dilin Jones.

“We got a little momentum there on that drive,” Kiffin said at halftime. “Obviously, Trinidad’s making a bunch of plays. We’ve got to do a better job containing him, which is the whole game plan against him.”

Chambliss shredded LSU’s defense on Ole Miss’ ensuing drive – an eight-play, 75-yard clinic that put Ole Miss up 24-7 with seven seconds to go before halftime.

Kiffin recruited Chambliss to transfer to LSU after last season, but he remained a Rebel.

“His preparation. He’s been that way all year,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said of Chambliss. “That’s who he is. Prepares extremely hard throughout the week. He’s playing well right now. He’s going to have to in the second half, too.”

Kiffin said, “We got another half. We’ve got to go in and regroup.”

Jones led LSU in rushing with 42 yards on 10 carries.

The Tigers lost starting defensive back Dashawn Spears, who plays the star position, to a lower leg injury. He was on crutches and not expected to return to the game.