For the sixth straight season, the winner of the Magnolia Bowl was the home team. The Ole Miss Rebels defeated the LSU Tigers by a score of 24-19 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in a rough afternoon for Brian Kelly's team this past Saturday. The offense sputtered yet again, leaving the Tigers with a lot of work to do over the bye week before hosting South Carolina in two weeks. Heading into the bye week, here are our grades for LSU's Week 5 performance against the Rebels.
Offense: D
A lack of a running game burned the Tigers against Ole Miss. LSU once again couldn't get anything going on the ground, managing just 59 rushing yards and a measly 2.8 yards per carry on the day. With Caden Durham unavailable, Harlem Berry totaled just 22 rushing yards on a team-high seven carries and Ju'Juan Johnson managed just 18 yards on six carries. In the passing game, Garrett Nussmeier couldn't get anything going down the field, which allowed the Ole Miss defense to easily keep everything in front of them. Nussmeier was held to under 200 passing yards and threw his third interception of the season. The offensive line had a long day, as Ole Miss routinely put pressure on Nussmeier with just three or four pass-rushes. It was an ugly watch for LSU fans.
Defense: B
LSU's elite defensive play against Clemson and Florida willed the Tigers to victory despite lackluster offensive efforts. Unfortunately, the defense couldn't bail out the defense against Ole Miss. LSU's lack of offensive success put the defense in tough spots all game long. The Tiger defense was on the field for 50 plays in the first half, and couldn't come up with timely stops. Ole Miss went a strong 8-for-16 on 3rd down and 2-for-2 on 4th down. The defense wasn't dominant, but they kept the Tigers in it by allowing just seven points in the second half.
Blake Baker's defense didn't have an answer for Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, who accounted for 385 total yards and led the Rebels to 484 total yards of offense. Chambliss threw for 314 yards and a touchdown through the air while also adding 71 yards on 14 rushes. Rebel RB Kewan Lacy ran for 87 yards on 23 carries, and Ole Miss as a team racked up 170 rushing yards. The Tigers were able to cause a turnover, picking off Chambliss to give him his first interception of the season. It wasn't the greatest defensive performance, but the defense is the least of the concerns for LSU right now.
Special Teams: B
LSU got a pair of decent kick returns, with Barion Brown returning a kick 20 yards and Kyle Parker taking one for 19 yards. The Tigers did a good job of limiting Ole Miss' returns, as the Rebels longest kick return was just nine yards. Damian Ramos went 2-for-2 on field goal attempts with a long of 48 yards. No game-breaking plays were made in special teams, which gives the unit a solid B grade for this one.
Coaching: F
Simply put, Brian Kelly and his staff failed on Saturday afternoon. The LSU coaching staff was substantially out-prepared and out-coached in just about every facet of the game, leaving Tiger fans frustrated with the team's performance. On the offensive side, play calling was a cause of frustration once again, and Joe Sloan's predictable approach didn't produce strong results. LSU didn't make any effective adjustments throughout the game, and Lane Kiffin wasted no time in trolling Brian Kelly and LSU after the game to put salt in the wound. It was an all-around example of poor coaching for LSU, and leaves the staff with plenty of work to do over the bye week.