Nussmeier throws late TD passes, No. 13 LSU rallies to beat No. 9 Ole Miss in overtime
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- — Garrett Nussmeier threw a tying touchdown pass in the final seconds of regulation and hit Kyren Lacy for a 25-yard scoring strike on No. 13 LSU's first play of overtime, completing a stunning 29-26 comeback victory over No. 9 Mississippi on Saturday night.
The winning score marked the first time LSU (5-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) led the entire game and fans streamed onto the field to celebrate a triumph that for now will put the Tigers back in the College Football Playoff discussion.
Nussmeier struggled much of the game, and threw two interceptions, but came alive when it mattered to finish with 337 yards and three TDs passing. Two of those touchdowns came on the last two snaps he took.
Jaxson Dart passed for 284 yards and a score, and Ulysses Bently IV ran for a 50-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play for Mississippi (5-2, 1-2), which suffered a serious blow to its hopes for winning a conference crown or earning a CFP bid.
Ole Miss was one play away from winning in the waning minutes of regulation, but Nussmeier converted on fourth-and-6 with a pass to Mason Taylor to sustain a drive that he capped with a 23-yard TD pass to Aaron Anderon with 27 seconds left.
After LSU held Mississippi to a field goal in its opening overtime possession, Nussmeier wasted no time unleashing a decisive strike to Lacy near the right pylon.
Last season in Oxford, the Ole Miss offense gained 706 yards in a 55-49 victory over the Tigers. This year, LSU coach Brian Kelly wanted a more soundly played game by his defense and got it.
LSU exerted heavy pressure on Dart, sacking him six times and intercepting him once while holding the Rebels well below their scoring average of 44 points coming in.
Ole Miss was threatening to widen a 20-16 lead when LSU's Zy Alexander intercepted Dart's 35-yard pass intended for Cayden Lee in the end zone to help keep the Tigers close enough to orchestrate their dramatic come back.
Ole Miss controlled the opening quarter but squandered multiple scoring chances.
Tre Harris dropped a deep pass down the middle with no one between him and the end zone. Davis missed a 32-yard field goal and Ole Miss could not cash in on defensive tackle Jamarious Brown's interception of Nussmeier's batted pass because the Rebels failed to convert on fourth- and-1 from the LSU 5.
The Rebels still took a 10-0 lead on Davis' 49-yard field goal and Bentley's long, tackle-slipping run.
The Tigers responded with Nussmeier's 12-yard scoring pass over the middle to tight end Tray'Dez Green.
Harris' 15-yard touchdown on a leaping, twisting catch in tight coverage made it 17-7. But LSU's Damian Ramos kicked two field goals in a 29-second span — the second after LSU's Whit Weeks caused Ole Miss' Henry Parrish Jr. to fumble — to make it 17-13 at halftime.
THE TAKEAWAY
Mississippi: This was the second time the Rebels sputtered as road favorites in the SEC. The first came in a 20-17 loss at Kentucky.
LSU: The Tigers proved they can play respectable defense against one of the better offenses in the nation, albeit with two weeks to prepare in this case after having a bye last week.
UNDER SUSPICION
The Tiger Stadium crowd booed repeatedly when Ole Miss players went down with apparent injuries and received treatment from trainers — apparently unwilling to give the benefit of the doubt to a team under suspicion of feigning injuries to give its players a breather at critical junctures.
In one instance, defensive end Jared Ivey went down after LSU had marched quickly from its own 25 to the Mississippi 18. Ivey was back on the field when LSU failed on third down and settled for a field goal.
On Friday, Mississippi issued a statement addressing the fact that its program had been highlighted in national discussions about faking injuries. Ole Miss said it would provide relevant medical information to national officiating coordinator Steve Shaw and that its coaching staff would speak with players to “ensure we conduct ourselves properly.”
UP NEXT
Mississippi: Hosts Oklahoma on Oct. 26.
LSU: At Arkansas on Saturday.