Ole Miss survives LSU's late comeback attempt to win

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... LSU ran out of time at the Ole Miss 6-yard line as time expired and the Tigers failed to get their field-goal unit onto the field. Gameball goes to... Dexter McCluster. The Ole Miss back ran for 148 yards and also threw a 27-yard touchdown for the Rebels. Stat of the game... 1989-90. Ole Miss has registered eight wins for the second consecutive season for the first time in 19 years. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	19	22
Total Yards	290	426
Passing	250	233
Rushing	40	193
Penalties	5-25	9-60
3rd Down Conversions	5-13	6-14
4th Down Conversions	1-1	0-0
Turnovers	1	0
Possession	26:24	33:36

Air/Ground Leaders
LSU Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Jefferson 19/37 250 2 1	Mississippi Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Snead 14/21 206 0 0 McCluster 1/1 27 1 0
LSU Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Williams 11 40 0 13 Shepard 6 20 0 14	Mississippi Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG McCluster 24 148 0 57 Bolden 14 40 0 7
LSU Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Toliver 5 107 0 43 LaFell 5 75 0 26	Mississippi Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Hodge 7 117 1 27 Summers 3 90 0 42

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				LSU	MISS
	FG	12:47	Joshua Shene 45 Yd	0	3
	TD	07:52	Patrick Peterson 53 Yd Return Of Blocked Field Goal (Josh Jasper Kick)	7	3
	FG	03:37	Joshua Shene 25 Yd	7	6
	TD	00:11	Rueben Randle 17 Yd Pass From Jordan Jefferson (Josh Jasper Kick)	14	6
SECOND QUARTER				LSU	MISS
	FG	08:51	Joshua Shene 33 Yd	14	9
	FG	06:23	Josh Jasper 50 Yd	17	9
	TD	04:40	Jesse Grandy 3 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)	17	15
FOURTH QUARTER				LSU	MISS
	TD	13:33	Shay Hodge 27 Yd Pass From Dexter McCluster (Joshua Shene Kick)	17	22
	FG	03:42	Joshua Shene 23 Yd	17	25
	TD	01:17	Rueben Randle 25 Yd Pass From Jordan Jefferson (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)	23	25

OXFORD, Miss. -- So many unusual things happened in the final 3 minutes of Mississippi's victory Saturday against LSU (No. 8 BCS, No. 10 AP), it got confusing.

Even for the participants.

"I don't know what all happened down there at the end," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said. "I just know the scoreboard read 25-23 Ole Miss Rebels."

Fast Facts

• Ole Miss has won two straight in the series after losing the previous six.

• Jevan Snead passed for 206 yards and had more than 2,000 for the year.

• Both schools are 8-3, 4-3 in the conference.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Nutt's confusion was nothing compared to what was happening on the LSU sideline as precious seconds ticked off the clock with less than a minute left and the game on the line.

The Tigers were divided over what plays to call, lost 17 seconds when the team tried for a timeout and didn't get it, and there was admittedly no backup plan when LSU went for the end zone on the last play of the game and came up short at the Ole Miss 6 with 1 second left.

"I can only tell you that the management at the back end of the game was the issue," LSU coach Les Miles said, later adding: "It's my fault that we didn't finish first in that game."

When reporters asked Miles which coach decided to try to spike the ball before the clock restarted rather than going for a field goal, he said he wasn't yet sure and would have to find out. Jordan Jefferson and the Tigers never got lined up anyway and Ole Miss earned its second straight win over the Tigers and the first at home since 1998.

Nutt has beaten LSU four straight times with Ole Miss and Arkansas and has never experienced anything like it.

"You were holding your breath every play," he said.

It was the first time Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) beat LSU (8-3, 4-3) in consecutive seasons since 1997-99. The win also gives the Rebels the inside track to second place in the SEC West, which could lead to a better bowl spot when invitations are handed out.

Until the final quarter it was a game only a defensive coordinator could love. But things got interesting fast.

First Dexter McCluster, who ran for 148 yards, completed the first pass of his career with a 27-yard scoring strike to a wide-open Shay Hodge, giving Ole Miss a 22-17 lead 29 seconds into the final quarter.

On their next drive, the Rebels appeared to put it away with a 15-play, 8:26 drive that ended with a short field goal to make the lead eight points.

Jefferson answered with a 10-play, 66-yard drive that ended with his second touchdown pass to Rueben Randle, a 25-yarder that left LSU with a 2-point conversion to tie it.

Ole Miss' Cassius Vaughn was called for pass interference on a fade to the left corner of the end zone, putting the ball at the 1. Jefferson made the same pass on LSU's second attempt, but was hurried by Kendrick Lewis. The ball and Vaughn arrived at the same time and Terrance Toliver couldn't make the catch.

But Brandon LaFell recovered the onside kick with 1:16 left at the LSU 42, giving the Tigers one last chance. LaFell gave his team another big boost when two plays later he took Jefferson's pass, broke two tackles and ran 20 yards after the catch to move LSU into field goal range at the Ole Miss 32.

Here's where it got sketchy for LSU. Kentrell Lockett forced Jefferson to throw his first pass away, then the quarterback was sacked by Emmanuel Stephens, a play that pushed the Tigers all the way back to the Ole Miss 41.

"We talked about runs," Miles said. "I felt like the quarterback could manage the situation. That was my mistake."

Miles said he suggested to assistant coaches that they call a run play at that point, but allowed a pass play to be signaled in. Jefferson completed a 7-yard pass to Stevan Ridley with 26 seconds left and Miles said he thought he heard timeout being called.

But the referees never got the message and 17 seconds ticked off the clock before coaches realized what was happening, leaving LSU with fourth and 26 at the Ole Miss 48 with 9 seconds left.

"The clock ran down, timeouts were being called verbally and I didn't relate that to the official apparently and that was the mistake," Miles said.

The team was going for the end zone on the last pass play, he said, and when Jefferson found Toliver in traffic at the 6 with a second left, the team was unprepared. Rather than run the field goal unit on field while there appeared to be confusion with the chain gang, Jordan tried to get the team lined up to spike the ball but never got the play off.

"I know there was a lot of confusion on the sideline," said Jefferson, who rallied the Tigers with 120 yards passing and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. "Nobody knew what to do."

Ole Miss fans rushed the field and celebrated with the Rebels while several LSU players dropped their helmets to the field in dismay.

Despite all the confusion, Vaughn said he knew exactly what was going on as the Tigers foundered making a final decision.

"You have to have a plan," Vaughn said. "I'm looking at the ref waiting for him to call the play. As soon as I hear the whistle and the clock went to zero, I threw my helmet and ran off. It felt good to beat LSU."