The entire offseason, all everyone could talk about was how crazy it was going to be when Lane Kiffin and the Tigers made the trip to Oxford to take on Ole Miss. The game delivered on every expectation as Ole Miss jumped out to a massive lead before the Tigers came roaring back. The game came down to the final drive for each offense.
Ole Miss converted on their chance and added a 2-point conversion to make life even tougher on the Tigers, while LSU was stopped on 4th and goal. When the Tigers get back to Baton Rouge and turn on the tape, the team is going to kick itself for the mistakes it made in this game.
LSU's costly mistakes and sluggish start put Lane Kiffin in too deep of a hole to overcome in his emotional return to Oxford
When you look at how LSU started this game, it's a miracle that the Tigers even had a chance to win this game. LSU missed tackles, blew coverages, missed blocks, missed throws, and took countless penalties in the first half. Anytime you give a team a 24-7 halftime lead, it's going to be tough to win the game, regardless of how talented you are.
The crowd noise played a massive role in this game, and LSU couldn't ever get on the same page in the first half. Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr are creative at the line of scrimmage, but it's also hard to use that tempo when the players can't get on the same page.
While the offense struggled, Blake Baker's defense had all the same issues in the first half that have plagued the unit for years. Trinidad Chambliss was able to extend plays with his legs, and it cost the Tigers, as we've seen quarterbacks like Jalen Milroe do for years. When the unit adjusted in the second half, the Tigers held Ole Miss to just 8 points, but it was too little too late.
Sam Leavitt had great moments in this game, but he also showed the flaws that made him an odd fit in Lane Kiffin's offense. Leavitt's mechanics aren't at the level they need to be, and several times in this game his footwork cost him potential touchdowns. The biggest case came on 3rd down in the 4th quarter when he missed Zach Grace wide open in the endzone.
The biggest mistake of the game came in the 4th quarter when Pete Golding decided to leave his offense on the field after scoring the go-ahead touchdown. Ole Miss was clearly trying to jump LSU offsides, and Malik Blocton fell for the hard count. As if half the distance wasn't enough, Ole Miss got LSU to jump offsides again, allowing them to punch in the 2-point conversion in from less than a yard out.
Ole Miss leading by 8 made the strategy even tougher on the LSU offense, as Lane Kiffin had to try to kill the clock, but also needed to save enough time in case the Tigers couldn't convert on the 2-point attempt. If the Tigers were only trailing by 7, they almost certainly would have approached the final drive differently, but they weren't given that opportunity/
When LSU got the ball down inside the 5, a false start by Zach Grace backed the Tigers up to the 10-yard line. It was even harder for the Tigers to score from there, and Zach Grace and Sam Leavitt failing to connect when the backup tight end was uncovered gave LSU just one chance to try, and win the game on 4th and goal from the 6.
Before the fourth-down play, LSU had to burn its final timeout because the play wasn't getting in on time, making it a true do-or-die situation. There was confusion at the line of scrimmage, and having that timeout available would have been helpful, as Ole Miss ultimately deflected the pass at the line, leading to the game-sealing interception.
There was plenty of good and bad shown by the Tigers in this game, but the issues were clear. Regardless of how talented this team is, you can't afford to make the mistakes that the Tigers did against a team of Ole Miss' caliber and expect to win the game.
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