LSU vs. Ole Miss: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

Behind quarterback Chad Kelly, the No. 22 Ole Miss Rebels defeated the No. 15 LSU Tigers 38-17 on Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi. The junior quarterback recorded 361 total yards and four touchdowns as the Rebels (8-3, 5-2 SEC) bounced back in convincing fashion after a loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The free fall continues for LSU. Just three weeks ago, it was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings before consecutive losses to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas and Ole Miss. 

The Advocate's Scott Rabalais had some questions for the committee:

LSU running back Leonard Fournette had been slowed down in his last two games, recording a combined 122 yards on the ground, including a 31-yard night against Alabama. Before Week 10, the Heisman Trophy candidate had not recorded fewer than 150 yards in a single game. 

He fared better Saturday than he had in the two weeks before, rushing for 110 yards.

Ole Miss went for the jugular to start, setting the tone. On the first play from scrimmage, Kelly hit Quincy Adeboyejo for 51 yards, though the Rebels could come up with only a field goal on the drive. 

The Tigers offense had a slow start, and a sloppy one at that, committing four penalties on its first drive. Fournette didn't do much on the ground early, but he found a way to make a big play with a one-handed catch on a screen pass that went for 46 yards. 

Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel needed a reminder of Fournette's prowess:

Fournette's catch put LSU in field goal range, but kicker Trent Domingue missed his first field goal of the season from 27 yards out. He was 10-of-10 entering Saturday. 

Photographer Brianna Paciorka wasn't happy with the sequence of events as she watched the CBS broadcast put on a classic jinx:

Ole Miss took advantage of LSU's miscues, punching in the first touchdown of the day on a two-yard run from Jaylen Walton that helped the Rebels go up 10-0. 

Rabalais' description of LSU was grim, to say the least:

After forcing another LSU punt, Ole Miss went up by 17 thanks to a five-yard rush from Kelly. The SEC on CBS showed Kelly's touchdown:

With LSU head coach Les Miles on the hot seat, Mandel questioned how long he'd stick around on the Tigers sideline:

LSU's offense couldn't get anything going. With Ole Miss keying in on Fournette, quarterback Brandon Harris wasn't cutting it in the passing game. An interception with less than four minutes left in the first half gave Ole Miss the ball on the LSU 11-yard line.

Country music superstar Charlie Daniels kept it short and simple while describing Ole Miss' performance through the game's first 25-plus minutes:

On the first play of the drive, Kelly hit wide receiver Laquon Treadwell to help put the Rebels up 24-0. One of the top wide receiver prospects for the 2016 NFL draft, Treadwell showed off his physicality and strength while muscling his way into the end zone, as the SEC on CBS showed:

But LSU, out of nowhere, finally got on the board in big fashion when Harris hit Tyron Johnson for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

Ole Miss fans such as AL.com's Alex McDaniel began to get uneasy, even though the team was still up 24-7 at halftime:

Rebels fans grew more uneasy when the team fumbled the kick return after a Domingue field goal and gave the ball back to LSU to start the third quarter.

Fournette settled into a groove, gaining as many yards in the first four minutes of the second half than he did in the entire first half.

Helping the Tigers drive down to the Rebels' goal line after the fumble, Fournette took a handoff on 3rd-and-goal but fumbled it into the end zone. Offensive lineman William Clapp recovered the fumble, though, to help pull LSU within a score at 24-17.

The SEC on CBS showed the touchdown:

ESPN's Dick Vitale couldn't believe what he was watching:

Once Ole Miss got the ball back in Kelly's hands, the Rebels expanded their lead. After five completions and two rushes, Kelly scrambled for 11 yards, flipping into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. 

NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. loved what he was seeing from the Rebels quarterback:

With three minutes left in the third quarter, the lead was back to 21 points after Evan Engram took a screen pass 36 yards for the touchdown. The SEC on CBS showed the replay:

It also caught a shot of Fournette after the score:

LSU's season is all but over, and the attention might start shifting solely to Miles, who went from possibly coaching for the national championship to perhaps losing his job in the span of three weeks. 

Ole Miss kept its slim chances in the SEC West alive entering the final week of the season. At 5-2, the Rebels sit a game behind Alabama, a team they've beaten this season. If Ole Miss defeats Mississippi State in its final game of the regular season and Alabama loses to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, Ole miss will play Florida for the SEC title.

Post-Game Reaction

It didn't take long for Miles to start receiving questions about his job status, according to the Advocate's Ross Dellenger:

But coaching for a program that demands success year in and year out, three-straight losses is something that LSU doesn't encounter often, as Miles addressed his team's recent form per Dellenger:

For Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze, Saturday night's win meant much more than a tally in the win column, per the Ole Miss Spirit's Ben Garret:

For him, it was the play of the defense that sealed the deal for the Rebels:

Freeze will need that defense and a little bit of luck if the Rebels want a chance to play for the SEC title. They have a stiff test to end the regular season with in-state rival Mississippi State and the always dangerous Dak Prescott. 

But they will be rooting hard for Auburn to take down Alabama. However, if Alabama does lose, it will be difficult for an SEC team to make the college football playoff. Ole Miss would have to jump 18 spots in two weeks and Florida currently sits at No. 8. They would have to leapfrog the likes of Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Michigan State for a shot at the top-four.  

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.