Mississippi head coach Hugh Freeze celebrates winning with defensive end CJ Johnson (10) after the game between LSU and Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. (DM Photo/Tyler Jackson)
For the second week in a row Ole Miss played in a game that came down to the final play. However, this week, the end favored the Rebels. Ole Miss (4-3, 2-3 SEC) defeated No. 6 LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC) 27-24 on a last second field goal by senior kicker Andrew Ritter.
“I couldn’t be more proud of that staff and those kids,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “To go through what they went through last week, and with the injuries, and with the outside world having their opinions of things, in the back of our mind as coaches you wonder if you can really get a team ready to do something like this when you’re shorthanded and come off a loss thats extremely disappointing. So you can imagine how proud I am.”
In a game that seemed near impossible to win, the Rebels stepped up with one of their best performances of the season. The win was Ole Miss’ first against LSU since 2009.
Ole Miss jumped out to an early 17-0 lead after Ritter hit a 28 yard field goal, quarterback Barry Brunetti hit tight end Nick Parker on a three yard touchdown pass, and Jaylen Walton scored on a two yard run.
However, LSU would roar back with 14 points of their own, on touchdown runs from Kenny Hilliard and Jeremy Hill.
Ole Miss would push their lead back to ten when Walton scored his second touchdown of the night on a 26 yard run, but once again the Tigers would answer. This time, a field goal from 41 yards out and a four yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry from Zach Mettenberger.
The Rebels would get the ball back with 3:15 left in the game and eventually run it down to just six seconds left, with the game tied. Ritter would connect on the 41 yard game winner and the Rebels captured the Magnolia Bowl.
“It was really exciting,” Ritter said. “When I was out there, you’re thinking about your teammates and how close we’ve come and now its in my hands. I didn’t want to let them down and I didn’t want to let this fan base down.”
