Gamer: Ole Miss dominates LSU in 31-17 win over the Tigers
OXFORD, Miss. – On a day reserved to celebrate Eli Manning, his former team, the Ole Miss Rebels, stole the spotlight.
The Rebels were expected to face a challenge from LSU, but Ole Miss ran by the Tigers 31-17 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
“Good is the enemy of great,” head coach Lane Kiffin said after the game.
“We weren’t great today either. The good thing is we are close. If we can get healthy, we can be a really special team.“
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin on beating LSU
After punting on its first drive, Ole Miss was not ready for what came next. LSU easily drove 90 yards on nine plays, and the capacity crowd was quieted as the Tigers took a 7-0 lead when Tyrion Davis-Price scored from the one and Cade York added the conversion.
The Tigers were ready to pounce again, but facing a fourth-and-goal, Tysheem Johnson picked off a pass at the goal line and Ole Miss took over at its own one-yard line.
On 4th and goal from the OM 3, the OLE MISS DEFENSE STANDS UP!!! Tysheem Johnson picks off Max Johnson! @tysheemjohnson5
Ball on the 1….but at least it's ours!!
Hotty Toddy!!!
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) October 23, 2021
Snoop Conner took it upon his shoulders, and on three carries moved the ball to midfield until a penalty quashed the drive. But Caden Costa came on and drilled a 43-yard field goal to cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-3 early in the second quarter.
A crowd favorite, #OleMiss RB Snoop Conner. pic.twitter.com/JbrOUcta3Q
— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) October 23, 2021
On the next LSU drive, Cade York attempted to match his counterpart, but missed a 55-yard attempt to keep the score the same.
Ole Miss made the Tigers pay following the miss with a 63-yard march that led to a 2-yard scoring strike to Casey Kelly. After Costa’s kick, the Rebels held their first lead at 10-7.
God bless Casey Kelly! What a comeback for this young man pic.twitter.com/njbtEfTKZU
— Derrell Hart Jr., Pharm.D. (@Derrell_PharmD) October 23, 2021
Ole Miss added to the lead just before the half. Corral directed the offense down the field and with seconds left in the half, he shook off any injury he may have had and barreled into the end zone from the 3. Costa’s kick gave Ole Miss a 17-7 advantage at the break.
In the postgame press conference, Corral talked about the win and what the Rebels are doing to win even in spite of so many being out with injury.
“It’s easy to be a good team but it’s hard to be that great team….No matter who is out there, we are going to make it work. We don’t know who is going to be that star player and we don’t care. Every week it’s a new person. It’s all a mental game. Rely on our training.“
Ole Miss QB Matt Corral
After falling behind by a touchdown, Ole Miss had scored 17-unanswered points in the first two quarters.
It would become a 17-point lead on the initial drive of the second half.
Corral once again put his team on his back and drove the Rebels on a 10-play, 66-yard drive and when Henry Parrish, Jr., ran in for the touchdown and Costa made the kick, it was a 24-7 Ole Miss lead.
From there, the blowout began.
Ole Miss was able to put the game away and now turns its attention to Auburn next week.
(Feature image: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
