Tigers sack Rebels, 17-14

Published 12:00 am Monday, November 24, 2003

(11/23/03)OXFORD Forty years seemed like an eternity.

As the clock ticked down its final seconds, dreams of Ole Miss’ first Southeastern Conference championship since 1963 were soon drowned out by the sweltering cheers of LSU fans.

The Tigers’ dominant defense pestered Eli Manning and the No. 15 Rebels from beginning to end as No. 3 LSU (10-1, 6-1 SEC) kept its national championship hopes alive with a 17-14 win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in front of a record crowd of 62,552.

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“Our defense played like gangbusters,” LSU coach Nick Saban said. “We fought through the turnovers and the bad field position. We could have melted down, but they showed a lot of character.”

Ole Miss (8-3, 6-1) had one final chance for Manning to make the comeback of his career in his final home game. Starting at his own 32-yard line with 2 minutes, 16 seconds left to play, Manning couldn’t connect on the first three downs to set up a crucial fourth-and-10.

In a bizarre ending, Manning dropped back to pass and tripped as his foot was stepped on by left guard Doug Buckles. Once the Tigers got possession, they ran the clock to 9 seconds and Ole Miss misfired on a desperation pass.

“You hate to lose a game on that play,” Manning said. “It’s one thing if you got there and miss a guy or they stop you. But on a play where somebody steps on your foot and you fall down, you hate for that to have to be the way you lose the game on your last shot.”

Another bizarre aspect came with Ole Miss All-American kicker Jonathan Nichols. Entering the game 23-of-24 on field goals, Nichols missed from 47 and 36 yards the second with a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. But Manning and others were quick to take the blame away from Nichols.

“We had chances,” Manning said. “We had plays we could have made. We had our opportunities, but we just didn’t make them.”

LSU’s defense held Ole Miss in check until the fourth quarter. Through the first three quarters, the Rebels gained only 98 yards of total offense. The running game had picked up a measley 3 yards on 11 carries, putting all the pressure on Manning.

“They’re a great defesne and we had a gameplan to get to the fourth quarter with an opportunity to win,” Ole Miss offensive coordinator John Latina said. “That’s what we did against Auburn and we got it done. We didn’t get it done today offensively.”

Hanging around down by 10, the Rebels’ offense awoke late in the fourth. Manning threw a perfect deep route to Bill Flowers for a 43-yard gain that set up the Rebels at the LSU 20. Four plays later, Manning found Brandon Jacobs on a delayed route up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown that brought the score to 17-14.

After holding the Tigers to a three-and-out, the Rebels got the ball again with 8:34 remaining. Flowers provided another big-play catch to spark Ole Miss, this time for 31 yards. But Nichols was brought on for the game-tying field goal that sailed wide right. The Tigers’ defense held strong the rest of the way.

“They’re the best defense that we’ve seen,” Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe said. “I’d certainly say that they’re as good as anybody in the country from my standpoint.”

Both defenses played well through much of the first half as neither offense seemed to want to score.

On LSU’s first play of the game, Matt Mauck threw the first of his three interceptions from his own 7-yard line. Travis Johnson returned the pick 6 yards for the touchdown to give the Rebels the early lead.

“We knew Clayton is a big receiver and he was going to get the ball a lot today,” Johnson said. “It was the first play of the game, and I knew it was going to be a pass play so I just stuck on him the whole time and made a big play.”

The Tigers answered back with a 45-yard field goal on a drive that was helped along by three third-down conversions.

Mauck then threw his second interception to defensive lineman Marcus Coleman, who jumped a pass route. With its back against the wall from its own 35, the Tigers’ defense again held the Rebels in check, forcing a field goal. Nichols missed the 47-yarder to keep the score at 7-3.

LSU was the first to put together a solid offensive drive. Justin Vincent busted off a 44-yard scamper to set up the Tigers at the 16-yard line. Mauck threw a screen pass to Michael Clayton, and he used his blocks to score a 10-yard TD with 2:42 remaining in the half for a 10-7 LSU lead.

“You just have to keep playing,” said Mauck, who finished 16-of-29 for 189 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. “The more games you play, the more comfortable and confident you become. When you have your team behind you it makes it easier.”

A breakdown in Ole Miss’ coverage led to LSU’s second touchdown. In a three-deep coverage, Ole Miss was prepared for the pass, but one of the corner backs bit on a short route to leave Devery Henderson streaking up the field wide open. Mauck found him for a 53-yard touchdown that gave the Tigers a 17-7 advantage.

Ole Miss can still cling to hope of winning the Western Division if LSU loses to Arkansas on Friday. The Rebels, meanwhile, have Thursday’s Egg Bowl to prepare for.

“It’s going to be an emotional game against Mississippi State,” Cutcliffe said. “We’ll just have to find it in ourselves somehow, someway to play with emotion and play the best game we can possibly play.”