INSTANT REACTIONS: LSU 29, Ole Miss 26

SHOOTERS SHOOT

God DAMN what a win.

LSU won an overtime thriller against Ole Miss 29-26 as Garrett Nussmeier hit Kyren Lacy on the Tigers’ first play of the OT period.

Make no mistake, while Nuss and Lacy made the splash play at the end the combination of some good ole Tiger Stadium voodoo and a hellacious effort by a ferocious LSU defense is what kept LSU in this game.

Whit Weeks was the tip of an LSU spear that had six sacks, nine TFLs, five quarterback hurries, and forced two turnovers. Weeks had 18 tackles and his epic performance would have been cut unceremoniously short had but thankfully a targeting call was overturned upon replay review.

Ole Miss flat out blew tonight’s game. The Rebels very easily could have had a three-score advantage in the first quarter but blew each opportunity. Tre Harris dropped what likely would have been a touchdown on their opening possession; they missed a field goal on their second possession; and on their third possession, coming off a Garrett Nussmeier interception mind you, the Rebels were stuffed on a 4th and 1 attempt.

But even though Ole Miss kept handing LSU gift after gift, the Tiger offense couldn’t get anything going. Garrett Nussmeier made two big time touchdown throws in the fourth quarter and overtime, but he was brutal for the first 95 percent of the game. Nuss ended the game 22 of 51 for 337 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. For reasons I can’t explain but the LSU offensive game plan appeared to be “4 Verts” all night long because Nuss just kept chucking the ball down field all night long. But just as the old basketball saying goes: shooters shoot, and Nussmeir’s gunslinging paid off in the end.

Trailing 23-16 with about three minutes to play, Nussmeier engineered a 13-play, 75-yard drive to tie the game and he had to convert a 4th and 6, 3rd and 10 and a 4th and 5 along the way. The last fourth down conversion, by the way, was an absolute dart to Aaron Anderson for the OT-forcing score.

The LSU offense made the plays when they had to have them late, but it was tough sledding for the first three quarters. The Tigers ended the game with 84 total yards rushing, as neither Caden Durham nor Josh Williams were able to crack 40 yards on the ground. Nuss had a 14-yard scramble though!

Kyren Lacy not only caught the game winner, but he led LSU with 111 receiving yards. He also returned to the game after coming down awkwardly and quite frankly I thought he tore his ACL on the play. It looked awful in the moment, but whatever it was, thankfully, wasn’t severe and Lacy came back on the same drive.

Mason Taylor was shut out for the first three quarters but erupted in the fourth. Taylor caught five passes in the final frame, none bigger than a 14-yard reception on 4th and 6 to keep LSU’s game-tying drive alive.

To echo an point from earlier, while the LSU offense took forever to get going, Blake Baker had the defense ready to go from the jump. This group has been steadily improving week after week and tonight was Blake Baker’s finest job to date.

The name of Blake Baker’s plan tonight can be summed up in one word: havoc. Not only did Whit Weeks have 18 tackles, but he had a pair of TFLs, a sack, and even forced a fumble for good measure. Major Burns had 2.5 TFLs and a sack, while Bradyn Swinson had a pair of sacks and two TFLs. Those much maligned LSU corners are starting to prove us wrong, too. Zy Alexander had his best game as a Tiger; Ashton Stamps had three PBUs; PJ Woodland made some big plays, too. Brian Kelly went out and spent a ton on revamping his defensive staff and tonight it was money well spent.

Nights like these is why college football is the best. You beat an arch rival, and essentially killed whatever hope they had of making the playoff along the way, and all of your goals for the season are still right there in front of you. Whatever fine LSU is going to pay for the crowd rushing the field is going to be worth every single cent.