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| Ole Miss players hold the Magnolia Bowl trophy after their 2009 win over LSU. |
In 1972, the Ole Miss Rebels were defeated by the LSU Tigers 17-16 in a controversial finish where the Tigers got some home cooking as the potential last play which resulted in an incompletion seemed to take longer the four seconds that remained on the clock as LSU was given one last chance to win the game which they did when quarterback Bert Jones threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy LeDoux that with the extra point gave the Bayou Bengals the win.
Ole Miss fans were so incensed that someone decided to put a road sign at the Louisiana-Mississippi border that said "You are now entering Louisiana. Please set your clock back four seconds".'
Thirty seven years later, the Rebels would get a matter of revenge as the time would go against LSU as the two teams prepared to face off for the 98th time.
Ole Miss came into the game with a 7-3 record but unranked as the Rebels had been seen as a disappointment for the 2009 season as they began the season ranked #8 in the AP poll and #10 coaches poll.
A part of the reason for the disappointment was quarterback Jeven Snead, who had thrown 14 interceptions in the Rebels' first 10 games as the Rebels had seeked to improve from their 2008 season in which they went 9-4 and finished in the top 15 in both polls after their 47-34 upset win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl.
Perhaps the bigger highlight of the 2008 season is when the Rebels traveled to Baton Rouge and easily dispatched the Tigers 31-13 for Ole Miss' first victory over LSU since 2002 when Eli Manning was the quarterback.
Led by head coach Houston Nutt and running back Dexter McCluster, the Rebels to knock off the Tigers in Oxford for the first time since 1998.
Meanwhile, LSU came into the game ranked #10 in the AP poll with an 8-2 record under head coach Les Miles, who was almost two years removed from leading LSU to the national championship as a win over the Rebels would boost the Tigers' chances to play in one of the BCS bowls(Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Orange)
Ole Miss would get the ball to start the game as the first play of the game was a backwards pass that went off the hands of McCluster and out of bounds, costing the Rebels eight yards to set up 2nd & 18 when McCluster took a handoff from Snead and ran 67 yards before being tackled at the LSU 31-yard-line.
The drive would stall as the Rebels picked up four yards on the next three plays as they would settle for a 45-yard field goal by Joshua Shene to give Ole Miss an early 3-0 lead.
The Tigers' first possession of the game would end in disaster as quarterback Jordan Jefferson would be intercepted by Rebels cornerback Cassius Vaughn, who would return the pick to the LSU nine-yard-line only to have an illegal block and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Vaughn push Ole Miss back to the Tigers' 34-yard-line.
The Rebels would settle for another field goal attempt, but this one was blocked by LSU defensive tackle Al Woods leading to cornerback Patrick Peterson scooping up the ball and running it back for a 53-yard touchdown to give LSU a 7-3 lead.
Ole Miss would begin its ensuing possession at their 30-yard-line as three straight running plays gained a total of 13 yards before Snead connected with wide receiver Markeith Summers for a 42-yard completion to give the Rebels a 1st down at the LSU 15-yard-line.
But once again the Rebels would settle for another field goal attempt which this time was successful as Shene would kick it through the uprights for a 25-yard field goal to cut the LSU lead to 7-6 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers would get great field position to start their next drive as Ron Brooks returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to his 47-yard-line as LSU would drive 53 yards in eight plays with the drive culminating with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Reuben Randle to increase LSU's lead to 14-6 with 11 seconds to go in the opening period.
The Rebels would lean on their running game for their next possession as McCluster and Brandon Bolden combined for eight carries for a total of 27 yards on a 12-play, 45-yard drive that ended with another Shene field goal, this one from 33 yards out to cut the Tigers' lead to 14-9 midway through the second quarter.
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| Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster would run for 148 yards on 24 carries and throw a 27-yard touchdown pass. |
LSU would get the ball back at its 21-yard-line as a 13-yard run by Keiland Willams and a 31-yard pass from Jefferson to Terrance Tolliver put the Tigers back in Ole Miss territory at the Rebels' 35-yard-line.
However, the Tigers would pick up just three yards on the next three plays as they would settle for a 50-yard field goal by Josh Jasper which increased LSU's lead to 17-9 with 6:23 remaining in the second quarter.
Miles would try to catch the Rebels off-guard on the ensuing kickoff with a surprise onside kick but ended up backfiring on the Tigers as Peterson would recover the kick out of bounds resulting in a penalty and giving Ole Miss the ball at the LSU 47-yard-line.
Snead would then complete passes of 13 and 26 yards to Shay Hodge to put Ole Miss at the LSU eight-yard-line with a 1st & goal as a one-yard run by Bolden followed by a four-yard run by Snead set up 3rd & goal when Snead handed the ball to wide receiver Jesse Grandy for the three-yard touchdown.
The Rebels would go for two to try and tie the game but Snead's pass would fall incomplete to keep the score at 17-15 in favor of LSU with 4:40 left before halftime.
The Tigers seemed poised to increase their lead as they were able to drive to the Ole Miss 39-yard-line until Rebels defensive end Emmanuel Stephens sacked Jefferson on a 3rd & 6 to stall the drive and force LSU to punt the ball back to Ole Miss, who would run out the clock in the first half as the Rebels trailed 17-15.
The third quarter would be a defensive battle as both teams traded punts until early in the fourth quarter when the Rebels would take over at the LSU 44-yard-line as a 11-yard pass from Snead to Hodge and a six-yard run by McCluster would put Ole Miss at the Tigers' 27-yard-line.
That is when Snead handed the ball off to McCluster, who ran to his right side and fired a pass for Hodge who would make the catch for the 27-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave the Rebels a 22-17 lead with 13:33 to go in the fourth quarter.
After another LSU three-and-out, the Rebels got the ball back at their 35-yard-line as Ole Miss would hold the ball for eight and a half minutes as they drove 60 yards in 14 plays until Shene would kick a 23-yard field goal to increase the Rebels' lead to 25-17 with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Following a 33-yard return by Trenton Holliday on the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers took over at their 34-yard-line needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game and send in into overtime.
Jefferson would complete four of eight passes for 56 yards on the 10-play, 66-yard drive which was capped off with a 25-yard touchdown pass from the sophomore quarterback to Randle to bring LSU to within a two-point conversion of tying the game.
Jefferson would loft a pass for Tolliver in the left corner of the end zone which fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on Vaughn to give LSU an extra chance at the two-point conversion where the Tigers tried the exact same play where Tolliver was unable to make the catch to keep the score at 25-23 in favor of Ole Miss with 1:17 to go in the game.
With two timeouts in their pocket and such little time, LSU lined up for an onside kick, where unlike earlier in the game, was successful as LaFell recovered the ball to give the Tigers a chance to drive and set up a potential game-winning field goal.
Taking over at his 42-yard-line, Jefferson would throw an incomplete pass on 1st down before connecting with LaFell for 26 yards to give LSU a 1st down at the Ole Miss 32-yard-line.
The Tigers were at the spot where Jasper had made a 50-yard field goal earlier in the game so it seemed logical that LSU would run the ball to get a few yards closer and make the kick easier.
However, on 1st down, Jefferson would throw an incomplete pass which was followed by a disastrous play on 2nd down as Stephens would drop the quarterback for a nine-yard-loss, knocking LSU out of field goal range and forcing them to call timeout with 32 seconds left.
Facing a 3rd & 19 at the Rebels' 41-yard-line, the Tigers tried to get back into field goal range but while Ridley would catch a screen pass from Jefferson, he would be tackled for a seven-yard-loss to push LSU back to the Ole Miss 48-yard-line where they would face a do-or-die 4th & 26.
Inexplicably, Miles would let 17 seconds run off the clock before calling his last timeout with nine seconds to go as the Tigers would have no choice but have Jefferson throw a Hail Mary pass.
Amazingly, the play worked as Jefferson's pass would be caught by Tolliver for a 43-yard completion to put the Tigers at the Ole Miss five-yard-line easily in field goal range with one second left.
But instead of sending in the field goal unit, Miles had Jefferson line up behind center to spike the ball at hopes of stopping the clock before it hit zero even though it takes two seconds for such a play to be excuted properly.
But Jefferson could not spike the ball in time as the Rebels escaped with the 25-23 win for their first win over LSU in front of their home fans since 1998.
LSU would rebound for the embarrassing defeat to knock off the Arkansas Razorbacks 33-30 in their regular season finale to earn a trip to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando where they would fall to the Penn State Nittany Lions 19-17 to finish the season with a 9-4 record and #17 ranking in both the final AP and coaches poll.
As for Ole Miss, they would lose to arch rival Mississippi State 41-27 in the annual "Egg Bowl" as the Rebels would be invited to play in the Cotton Bowl for the second year in a row, this time facing off with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, whom the Rebels defeated 21-7 to finish the season with a 9-4 record and #20 ranking in the final AP poll and #21 ranking in the final coaches poll.
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