Here’s how the Ole Miss defense ultimately was the difference Saturday in a Top 5 win over the LSU Tigers
What an effort by Pete Golding and his Rebel defense.
It was as impressive of a win I have seen during the Lane Kiffin era as the No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels take down no. 4 LSU Saturday, 24-19. In a game where most of the hype was centered around Garrett Nussmeier and Trinidad Chambliss, the real story was on the other side of the ball.
The Ole Miss defense was absolutely lights out. Pete Golding put on a masterclass – holding the Tigers to just 256 total yards. Nussmeier threw an interception and was sacked once. The Rebel defensive linemen and linebackers made three tackles for loss and it was a joint effort to keep LSU under 200 yards passing and just 59(!) rushing yards.
Ole Miss is now 5-0 and possible moving inside the Top 10 once the polls are released Sunday. But, this defense has staying power. It’s starting to gel at the right time and now you have the bye week to prep for the homestretch.
The plan was simple for Ole Miss and Pete Golding.
Coming into Saturday, Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss knew LSU was struggling to run the football. And once Caden Durham was scratched from the starting lineup, it was plain and simple on paper for the Rebels. Then, it was taken off the paper and executed perfectly on the field.
The Ole Miss defense dropped seven and eight into coverage and dared Garrett Nussmeier to march down the field. Similar to what Matt Patricia and Ohio State did to Arch Manning and Texas in Week 1. The Rebels kept everything in front of them, rushed three for most of the day, and made tackles in space.
Kudos to the secondary, too. Sage Ryan, Wydett Williams, Antonio Kite, and Ricky Fletcher were elite Saturday. The back end was pack hunting, disrupting routes, stayed in phase, and made plays when it had to have them. Big-time shout out to Golding and the defense.
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Now it’s time to rest up on the bye week and prepare the homestretch.
The front seven was also elite Saturday.
William Echoles sacked Nussmeier once and Suntarine Perkins, Kam Franklin, TJ Dottery, Da’Shawn Womack, and Jam Brown were disruptive as hell up front – making plays at or behind the line of scrimmage. This group has grown a lot these last two weeks and is all of a sudden clicking on all cylinders at the right time.
LSU averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. That’s elite stuff, I don’t care who you are. You’re going to win a lot of games holding people to less than three yards per touch on the ground. Especially in this league, in the Southeastern Conference, you’re going to be just fine. Durham didn’t play, but LSU has talented guys in the backfield outside of him. But it didn’t matter on Saturday. Golding and his unit were ready.
Defense travels. And two of Ole Miss’ toughest tasks on the horizon are road contests at Georgia and Oklahoma. If this season is going to be a special one for Kiffin and Co., you need to try and steal one of those on the road. And guess what? If you don’t get it done, you can win out the rest of the way and still be 11-1 or 10-2. Then, you’re in the CFP and you’re possibly receiving a first round bye and hosting a playoff game in Oxford.
