Instant Hotty Toddy Classic: No. 20 Ole Miss Stuns No. 13 LSU 55-49 In Unforgettable Thriller

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was roundly criticized last week going into Alabama for never having won a signature, big game. And he lost that one ... again.

Well, he has it now, and then some.

Kiffin's No. 20 Rebels upset No. 13 and always-hated rival LSU, 55-49, in a thriller at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Saturday night in Oxford, Mississippi, which will be holding Hotty Toddy hollers and toasts through Sunday morning and beyond.

Ole Miss safety Isheem Young tackles LSU back Logan Diggs Saturday in the Rebels' win over the Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Kevin Langley/Getty Images)

LSU (3-2, 2-1 SEC) was not a top 10 victory for Kiffin, but it was supposed to be a top 10 team this season and opened the year at No. 5. And it was LSU, which Ole Miss fans have loved to hate nearly as much as Mississippi State.

"This isn't about me," Kiffin said on ESPN during a wild scene of screams and mayhem from Ole Miss fans moments after the game. "I'm happy for our fans and the players. Electric atmosphere. Our players played their butts off, and they got a stop when they needed to - finally."

Ole Miss (4-1, 1-1 SEC) gave up 637 total yards to LSU, but it gained 706 - the most against the Tigers ever anywhere and most by the Rebels in an SEC game in their history. Ole Miss' 55 points were also the most it ever scored against a team ranked in the Associated Press poll.

Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Team Had To Get Over Loss Before LSU

The Rebels' last 88 yards came on an electric, eight-play drive in 1:57 that was a two-minute drill for the ages. Trailing 49-47, the drive actually began with simple runs up the middle as LSU's defense lined up deep, expecting pass. After a few of those runs, quarterback Jaxson Dart started passing. And LSU couldn't cover those either. He hit wide receiver Tre Harris on a 13-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left. Ole Miss converted a two-point conversion run for the 55-49 final.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels had one more shot and drove his team 49 yards in six plays to the Ole Miss 16-yard line with 12 seconds to go. LSU self-destructed, though, with two critical false start penalties that pushed it back to the 26, and Daniels missed on his last two passes.

And it was over. Ole Miss students and fans stormed the field as the place went nuts.

"That's a hard game to come back from," Kiffin said of the 24-10 loss to Alabama last week. "But they played their butts off, and we scored more than they did."

Rebels Offense Lit Up Tigers' Defense

It was an offensive showcase that totaled 1,343 yards and 104 points. Dart completed 26 of 39 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns against a secondary once known as DBU. The headline of the Baton Rouge Advocate sports front over a feature on "DBU" screamed "DBU Accreditation."

Well, Accreditation Denied.

Harris caught eight passes for 153 yards and the winning TD. Jordan Watkins caught another five passes for 103 yards. Dart also rushed seven times for 50 yards. Quinshon Judkins rushed 33 times for 177 yards.

LSU defensive coordinator Matt House has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Michigan State opening, but maybe not now.

Daniels completed 27 of 36 passes for 414 yards and four touchdowns for LSU, while rushing for another 99 on 15 carries. Logan Diggs gained 101 on 19 carries. Two LSU receivers eclipsed 100 yards - Brian Thomas Jr. with eight catches for 124 and Malik Nabers with 8 for 102.

LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Ole Miss cornerback Deantre Prince in the first half Saturday at Ole Miss. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)

LSU And Ole Miss Played A Basketball-Type Game

The fireworks resembled the classic LSU-Ole Miss basketball game of 1989 next door to Vaught-Hemingway at the Tad Smith Coliseum. LSU's Chris Jackson scored 55 as Ole Miss' Gerald Glass put up 53 in a 113-112 overtime classic the Rebels won in overtime.

The game featured double-digit runs by each team, as in basketball. Ole Miss took 14-0 and 21-7 leads in the first quarter and again went up by 28-14 in the second quarter. But LSU closed to within 31-28 at the half.

The Tigers took their first lead at 35-31 in the third quarter and still led 42-34 after three. LSU's last leads were at 49-40 and 49-47 before Ole Miss' final drive.

As each team called timeouts in the final moments, the announcers said they resembled basketball coaches doing the same to see what defense the other team was setting up.

It was that kind of game.

In the end, though, defense and persistence won the night for Ole Miss.

Rebels Overcame Gift TD For LSU

LSU went up 49-40 with 8:34 to go on a disputed 34-yard touchdown catch by Brian Thomas Jr. Replays clearly showed he did not have control of the football in the end zone. Officials did not take away the touchdown, though, after reviewing the play. ESPN's announcers each said it was not a touchdown.

Ole Miss would not be denied, though, and cut LSU's lead to 49-47 with 5:06 to go on a 65-yard drive in 10 plays. Then the Rebels' struggling defense made a stop when it counted, forcing LSU to punt after five plays.

The Rebels started the game-winning drive at their 12-yard line after drawing a holding penalty on the punt.