GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Consider LSU’s season-opening loss to USC on Sept. 1 in Las Vegas virtually erased, and the Tigers’ debt paid off for now.
The No. 13 Tigers’ 29-26 overtime victory over No. 9 and 3.5-point favorite Ole Miss Saturday night in Tiger Stadium basically made up for that upset loss to the then-No. 23 Trojans. The thrilling, come-from-behind win over the Rebels moved LSU into the top 10 for the first time this season at No. 8 in the Associated Press poll released Sunday afternoon.
Without the loss to USC, LSU likely would have been in the top 10 all season.
No. 8 is the highest ranking for the Tigers since they entered the 2023 season at No. 5 before losing to No. 8 Florida State, 45-24, in the season opener in Orlando, Florida. LSU was never higher than No. 12 for the rest of the season and finished 10-3 for a final ranking of No. 12. The Tigers entered this season at No. 13.
Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2 SEC) dropped to No. 18 with its second loss in three games after being in the top five earlier this season. Texas (6-0) remained No. 1 in the A.P. poll. Ohio State (5-1) dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 after losing, 32-31, to No. 3 Oregon, which rose to No. 2. Penn State (6-0) is No. 3. Georgia (5-1) is fifth, followed by Miami (6-0), Alabama (5-1), LSU (5-1), Iowa State (6-0) and Clemson (5-1) to complete the top 10.
The Tigers (5-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) next play at Arkansas (4-2, 2-1 SEC) in Fayetteville on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN). The Razorbacks were open over the weekend after shocking No. 4 Tennessee, 19-14, in Fayetteville last week. LSU has opened as a 4.5-point favorite.
LSU trailed the Rebels (5-2, 1-2 SEC) for virtually the entire game before tying them, 23-23, with 27 seconds left in regulation on a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to wide receiver Aaron Anderson. After Ole Miss took a 26-23 lead with the first possession of OT on a 57-yard field goal by Caden Davis, it took the Tigers one play to win it.
Nussmeier threw a 25-yard, walk-off touchdown pass to wide receiver Kyren Lacy for the win and LSU’s first lead of the game at 29-26. And LSU fans immediately stormed the field, which will cost LSU’s athletic department $250,000 for its fans breaking SEC policy. The money will be payable directly to the Ole Miss athletic department. But the Tigers will take this version of a “rent-a-win.”
Ole Miss was a road favorite against a top 15 team for the first time since 1978 when college football was split into Division I-A and the lesser Division I-AA, which were changed to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2006.
Lacy finished with a team-high 111 receiving yards on five catches and the touchdown. Anderson caught three passes for 81 yards and the tying TD. Nussmeier completed 22 of 51 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions and was not sacked.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier threw three TDs in beating Ole Miss Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. (Photo By Michael Bacigalupi).
“I am really proud of our football team and the way they never blinked,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “They were down virtually the whole game, and they just kept playing. There was no frustration. It would have been easy for our offense to get frustrated, but they kept plodding along.”
It was Kelly’s most significant win since his No. 15 Tigers upset No. 6 Alabama, 32-31, in overtime in his first season at LSU in 2022.
“I cannot say enough about the defensive effort,” Kelly said. “Sacks, harassing the quarterback, making big plays when they needed to.”
LSU’s defense sacked Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart six times and hurried him another five times. Dart finished 24-of-42 passing for 284 yards and a touchdown with one interception by cornerback Zy Alexander in the end zone with 11:02 to play in the fourth quarter. That pick kept LSU within 20-16.
“That is what we’ve been talking about in terms of us getting better each and every week on both sides of the ball,” Kelly said. “That was complementary football for us, and you have to do that to beat a top 10 team.”
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