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No. 1 LSU Dominates Ole Miss; Makes History at 11-0
OXFORD,
Miss. -- While others in the Top 25 struggled on Saturday, No. 1 LSU
ran for 353 yards and four touchdowns, and scored twice defensively for
its most lopsided win in the 100-game series with Ole Miss, 52-3.
LSU,
which is 7-0 in Southeastern Conference play, improved to 11-0 in the
regular season for the first time in school history. The 1958 National
Champions finished 11-0 after its Sugar Bowl victory.
On Friday,
Nov. 25, the Tigers will face Arkansas (10-1, 6-1 SEC) in the final
game of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. CT at Tiger
Stadium on CBS.
In order to setup the matchup, LSU had to get by
its rival on their Senior Night. Twenty-eight seconds in the game, the
Tigers took all of the momentum when cornerback Ron Brooks intercepted
a third-down pass and ran 46 yards for a touchdown.
The Tigers
scored 21 points in the opening quarter and added another defensive
score early in the second quarter when linebacker Kevin Minter picked
up a fumble in the endzone. By halftime, LSU was up 35-3 and only the
margin of victory was ever in question.
Nine Tigers combined to
rush for 353 yards on 50 attempts. Alfred Blue led the way with 74
yards on four attempts including a 57-yarder - LSU's longest run of the
season.
Spencer Ware added 70 yards including a 35-yard
touchdown run in the second quarter, while Kenny Hilliard also scored
and gained 59 yards on nine carries. Freshman Terrence Magee entered in
the fourth quarter and had 55 yards on seven attempts, while Michael
Ford used five carries for 50 yards including a 19-yard touchdown.
Quarterback
Jordan Jefferson became the school's all-team leading rusher at the
position with 955. He finished the night 7-of-7 passing for 88 yards
and a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Russell Shepard in the
first quarter. Jefferson had 26 rushing yards on six carries.
Both
Jarrett Lee and Zach Mettenberger saw plenty of action at quarterback
for the Tigers, but only one pass was thrown by the two. Lee completed
a 17-yard pass to tight end Deangelo Peterson in the third quarter.
Ole
Miss (2-9, 0-7 SEC) managed 195 yards of total offense including 148 on
42 carries. Backup quarterback Barry Brunetti led the way with 74
rushing yards including a long of 47 yards late in the second quarter
that led to the Rebels' only score. Brunetti was 5-of-10 passing for 30
yards and had 15 rushing attempts.
Starting quarterback Zack
Stoudt was 3-of-8 passing for 17 yards and the interception that was
returned by Brooks. Senior running back Brandon Bolden had 58 yards on
13 carries by the Baton Rouge native.
LSU won the coin toss and
deferred its decision until the second half, as Ole Miss started the
game with the ball. The Rebels quickly went three-and-out with two of
Ole Miss starting quarterback Zack Stoudt's passes falling incomplete
to open receivers before his third was intercepted by cornerback Brooks
at the 46 and returned for a touchdown.
Only 28 seconds in the game, LSU took control with a 7-0 lead.
Ole
Miss gained a first down when Stoudt connected with Sanders for 18
yards on third-and-6 from the Rebels 18, and 15 yards were tacked on
after a personal foul on Minter. However, a 3-yard sack on third-and-9
from the LSU 47 by safety Brandon Taylor put an end to the drive.
Jefferson,
who played both series in the first quarter, began an 86-yard scoring
drive with a 22-yard pass to Rueben Randle to the LSU 36. The
quarterback scrambled for 19 yards to the Ole Miss 41 before Ford ran
to the 35 with a 16-yard gain. On first down, Jefferson's 13-yard pass
to Odell Beckham Jr. setup a 1-yard run by Hilliard.
LSU led 14-0 with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter.
LSU's
defense came up with another turnover on the next series of Ole Miss
downs, as Stoudt was sacked from behind by Brooks who recovered the
loose ball at the Rebels 26.
On the second play from scrimmage,
Jefferson found Shepard open in the endzone for a 22-yard touchdown and
a 21-0 lead with 5:11 left in the opening quarter.
With the
quick Brunetti at quarterback in relief of Stoudt, the Rebels showed a
change of pace and earned a first down with 15 yards on third-and-14.
The Rebels advanced no further and punted.
The Tigers came up a
yard short on their first series of downs and punted for the first
time. Brad Wing's 46 yard was returned for minus-1 yard to the Ole Miss
14.
On first down, Brunetti wasn't able to outrun defensive
tackle Michael Brockers who sacked the quarterback at the 2 for a
12-yard loss. Brunetti then fumbled in the endzone and Minter recovered
for a touchdown. The fumble recovery in the endzone was the Tigers
first since Chuck Wiley against Alabama in 1997.
LSU led 28-0 with 12:42 left in the half.
With
Jefferson under center, the Tigers added a final first-half touchdown
after another long drive. An 11-play, 95-yard drive was capped by a
35-yard touchdown run by Ware on first down, giving the Tigers a 35-0
lead with 3:01 left in the half.
Ole Miss' lone scoring drive of
the half came on its final possession, as Brunetti rolled off 47 yards
to the LSU 27 on third-and-16 at his 26.
A 39-yard field goal by Bryson Rose gave the Rebels their only score.
LSU
led 35-3 at the half, it's largest lead at the break since having the
same advantage in the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl win over Georgia Tech.
Rushing the ball all but one time in the second half, LSU continued to pour it on to the Rebels.
Ford's 57-yard run to the Ole Miss 18 setup his 19-yard touchdown on third-and-11 for a 42-3 lead on its first possession.
Later
in the third quarter, fullback James Stampley scored his first career
touchdown with a 1-yard run to finish off a 74-yard drive. LSU led 49-3
with 55 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Tigers added a 29-yard field goal by Drew Alleman with 9:30 remaining in the game for the final margin.
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