LSU FALL 32-24 IN EPIC @ OLE MISS
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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
It was one of the most emotional, vitriolic, and pain soaked rivalry matchups in college football history, and yet for all the off field insanity, the game itself lived up to the billing as an instant classic of the long running series between LSU and Ole Miss: but this time, the Joker didn't have the last laugh:
Despite a horrendous 1st half where everything went wrong (down 17-0 and then 24-7 at halftime), before a Jakheem Jackson interception launched a spirited 2nd half comeback, where LSU was the better 2nd half team, and Sam Leavitt was arguably the better 2nd half quarterback, Lane Kiffin's Tigers tasted their first defeat of the 2026 season vs his former team in the most bitter of ways, losing thanks to an appalling performance across the opening 2 quarters, a deflection off a helmet on the final play, and the familiar QB foe (Kiffin discovered and developed) coming back to haunt LSU once again:
Allowing Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to throw 33 completions for 363 yards & 2 TDs (21 completions for 248 yards, including 8 3rd down conversions through the air in the 1st half alone), suffering endless explosive aerial plays, LSU's defense couldn't establish their usual dominance.
Subsequently, Kiffin/Weis's disjointed offense was left chasing Chambliss & the Rebels for almost the entire night.
Corey Raymond and Jake Olsen's secondary was exposed brutally through the air, while Sterling Lucas' D-line and Blake Baker's linebackers bit on fakes, couldn't get set correctly, and were often worked ruthlessly by Chambliss' arm, exploiting the vacated spaces left behind blitzing Tiger linebackers, Chambliss found one receiver after another in space over the middle, downfield or underneath (4 different Ole Miss receivers producing 5+ catches on the night).
In total, Blake Baker's defense gave up 426 total yards, 365 through the air and worst of all, were lit up on 3rd down when things almost got out of hand early; Offensively, things weren't much better:
LSU QB Sam Leavitt was mostly garbage for the entirety of the 1st half, bailing out of plays before they'd developed, missing wide open receivers, all due to his lack of faith in his arm, and maximum belief in his legs...to an almost sickening degree.
Leavitt's scrambling, backyard maximalism would pay dividends during the 2nd half comeback, although he was mostly a lost shell of himself throughout a poor 1st half for LSU's offense.
Then the 2nd half began...
While opening with a crucial wasted 3 and out, Jakheem Jackson's interception on Ole Miss' initial 2nd half drive was a game turning play, ushering in 3 straight scoring trips: yet another close range rushing touchdown by Sam Leavitt (delivering outrageous backyard QB playmaking), then a beautiful back shoulder touchdown throw by Leavitt for Winnie Watkins, before kicker Scott Starzyk tied the game at 24-24 with minutes to play in an edge of your seat 4th quarter.
In between the momentum swings and poor 1st half and 2nd half comeback, a revitalized Sam Leavitt, and LSU rushing for a strong 172 yards, 43 times for 4 yards per carry, Kiffin's Tigers suffered two crucial injuries to a pair of starters: DB Dashawn Spears during the 2nd quarter, and Trey'Dez Green later on....two absences that were big misses in the final minutes on Saturday, and will likely prove critical down the road.
Meanwhile, clawing their way back into the brooding intensity of the steamy, hate and cocaine-fueled Southern night, LSU now possessed all the momentum, while Chambliss and Ole Miss kept committing bonehead errors, shutout for almost the entire 2nd half....until 1 last drive.
With the game tied 24-24, only minutes left, Ole Miss' star running back Kawan Lacy out injured, and Chambliss appearing out of sorts, the Rebels QB suddenly sprang to life, turning the screw on Blake Baker's defense during a game winning QB keeper where Trinidad Chambliss faked out LSU's linebackers, ABC commentator Chris Fowler, and the TV cameras.
After, Ole Miss was handed 2 points when they lined up for a 2 point conversion attempt and LSU's defensive line committed consecutive catastrophic neutral zone / offsides penalties, effectively gifting Pete Golding's Ole Miss with an 8 point lead and only a few minutes on the clock to answer.
Starting with Sam Leavitt's Houdini-esque slaloming run on 4th and 4 to keep LSU hopes alive, the Tigers drove down inside the red zone as time ticked away, hearts were in mouths, and the entire rivalry, all of the offseason narratives, every crazy action & retaliation by both schools, all of it hung in the balance...
On one final play, Leavitt reared back and tossed a dart for Jackson Harris at the back of the end zone, only for Leavitt's pass to get deflected by Ole Miss D-lineman Cam Franklin's helmet and arm, flipping the ball into the air right into the chest of an Ole Miss defender...ending the game right then and there...
LSU lost an emotionally, physically draining grudge match for the ages, 32-24, thanks to missed opportunities, wasted drives, an early 17 point lead gifted to the most gifted QB in the country, all in feverish enemy territory, and, of course, the Trinidad Chambliss factor.
Ole Miss' team fed off their hatred of Lane Kiffin and LSU, and just barely outlasted a gutty comeback from the Tigers...
It will be a hard loss for LSU to shake off, although with Texas A&M coming to town fresh from their own defeat, Kiffin and Co will need to get back to the grind quickly.
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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2026 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
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