An Ole Miss defense decimated by injuries pulled off a mini-miracle Saturday night: It stopped one of the SEC’s more potent offenses.
The Rebels played without five starters against No. 6 LSU, including two on the defensive line, but still limited Zach Mettenberger and Co. to 24 points in an 27-24 win.
The main storyline heading into Saturday night’s game was how a defense without Robert Nkemdiche, Mike Hilton, C.J. Johnson, Serderius Bryant and Senquez Golson could stop LSU’s dynamic offense. In recent years under coach Les Miles, LSU was known for a staunch defense, but it emerged this year as an extremely talented and balanced offensive team.
LSU walked into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday night averaging 41.4 points per game and 465.7 yards per game. The Tigers scored 35 against Auburn, 41 against Georgia and 59 against Mississippi State.
But all night Mettenberger, who entered Saturday with the best quarterback rating in the SEC, was off. Ole Miss, meanwhile, used a little-known group to pressure the senior quarterback into bad decisions. Players like Cameron Whigham, who stepped up in place of Nkemdiche, came up huge multiple times for the Rebels.
“We had a bunch of injuries on defense, and on offense, but on defense we had some guys step up and do exactly what they needed to,” senior safety Cody Prewitt said. “I’m really proud of them, and they are going to keep growing and get even better.”
Mettenberger, who had thrown only two interceptions all season, threw three and was sacked twice in the first half, which allowed Ole Miss to build a 10-0 lead heading into halftime. Prewitt, Chief Brown and Charles Sawyer each had an interception.
In the second half, Ole Miss did enough to slow LSU, though at times it wasn’t easy. Nursing an already-thin defense, the Rebels saw Whigham, Sawyer and linebacker Keith Lewis go down with injuries at some point.
With Lewis out, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze looked to linebackers coach Tom Allen and asked who was next in line to play the position. Allen turned to him and said there was no one left. Denzel Nkemdiche eventually volunteered to play the stinger position.
Later, another banged up Ole Miss starter came up huge for the Rebels. LSU started its drive on Ole Miss’ 13-yard line after Korvic Neat muffed a punt. The Rebels, holding a 24-14 lead, forced LSU into a third-and-4 situation at their 7-yard line. Defensive tackle Isaac Gross blew through the offensive line and sacked Mettenberger for a loss of 16 yards. The drive resulted in an LSU field goal.
“I don’t think (there’s) any doubt it was big time,” Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said. “It was the difference in the game from a defensive standpoint.”
Preventing LSU from scoring a touchdown was the difference in a three-point win. In a game that most expected had to be a shootout if Ole Miss was to win, it was the defense that won the game.
