No. 12 Ole Miss football dominates LSU, 31-17

No. 12 Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1) stumbled out of the gates, shooting themselves in the foot early and often, but Matt Corral and the offense along with the Rebel defense put the clamps down on LSU and ran away with it, 31-17, in front of a sellout crowd for the first time in five years.

Matt Corral had a pedestrian day for his standards, completing 18-of-23 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown. He also added 24 yards and a touchdown on the ground, but it was the three-headed monster of Snoop Conner, Jerrion Ealy, and Henry Parrish that combined for 246 yards and two touchdowns.

That, along with DJ Durkin’s defense holding LSU to 77 yards rushing and just 249 yards passing, set the tone for a huge win in front of Eli Manning and family as the former Rebel was honored at halftime, seeing his number be retired alongside his father, Archie, and former Rebel defensive back, Chucky Mullins.

The Rebels put up 470 yards of total offense, but again, it was the Ole Miss defense that stole the show, holding Ty Davis-Price to just 53 yards rushing and intercepting Max Johnson early in the game to thwart a potential touchdown drive.

Lost in the shuffle of an exciting game was Dontario Drummond’s performance amidst a ton of injuries and questions. The Laurel, Miss. native caught eight passes for 93 yards and was crucial in extending drives early in the game. Outside of him, it was by committee through the air.

The Rebel defense, though, deserves their due here. Ole Miss sacked LSU five times and had seven tackles for loss. They also added in two fumble recoveries and three pass deflections in a very methodical, old school style of beat down.

Chance Campbell and Mark Robinson were once again dominant up the middle, combining for 22 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Cedric Johnson and Sam Williams were once again terrors off the edge, totaling seven tackles, two sacks, and 2.5 tackles for loss.

One thing that is continuing to be detrimental to Ole Miss’ success on both sides of the ball is penalties. The Rebels were penalized 12 times for 106 yards on Saturday. If they are going to continue their winning ways to keep pace with Alabama atop the SEC West, they are going to have to get that in check.

Next week, Ole Miss travels to 19th-ranked Auburn (5-2, 2-1), a place they have not won since 2015.