Ole Miss vs. LSU: Score and Twitter Reaction

LSU running back Leonard Fournette announced his return with thunder on Saturday night from Tiger Stadium as he rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-21 win over the No. 23 Ole Miss Rebels.

After missing the past three games with an injury, Fournette set a school record for yards in a single game and accounted for more than 55 percent of LSU's offense. 

Quarterback Danny Etling added 204 yards through the air as the Tigers have now won three straight games under interim head coach Ed Orgeron.

Ole Miss punched first when quarterback Chad Kelly hit Van Jefferson for a 15-yard touchdown. On a drive that started on its own 23-yard line, Ole Miss' lead was created by a 50-yard completion from Kelly to Damore'ea Stringfellow.  

For Kelly, it kept up an impressive streak, via Ole Miss Football:

After a second consecutive LSU punt, Ole Miss' offense got the ball back and moved it at will once again. 

Ross Dellenger of the Advocate broke down just how good of a start the Rebels had:

Ole Miss, though, could only muster a 46-yard field goal from Gary Wunderlich to take a 10-0 lead. Regardless, a double-digit lead has been commonplace for them, via Antonio Morales of the Clarion-Ledger:

On LSU's third drive, though, Fournette broke loose, exploding for a 59-yard score with 3:26 left in the first to cut the Tigers' deficit to three.

After his lengthy absence, he looked just fine as the SEC Network showed:

He also showed earlier on the drive that he was back to his old ways of trucking over would-be tacklers:

It had Scout.com's Billy Embody asking some lofty questions:

LSU looked as though it lost some momentum after a D.J. Clark fumble. But on the following play, Kelly was picked off by Donte Jackson at the Tigers 3-yard line.

Clark made up for the fumble when he capped off an LSU 97-yard drive with a 40-yard touchdown catch from Etling. It was a momentous reception for Clark, via Ed Daniels of WGNO:

Ole Miss would get another field goal from Wunderlich, which brought the Rebels within one with 7:11 left in the half, but that was before Fournette got his hands on the ball again. 

On the second play of LSU's ensuing drive, Fournette rumbled for 76 yards, and the score to put the Tigers up 21-13 with 6:11 left in the half. 

WWL Radio couldn't comprehend Fournette's stat line so early in the game:

Even former NFL receiver Chad Johnson was floored:

Ole Hotty Toddy wasn't happy with Ole Miss' defense:

The Rebels came up big right at the first half's death, though, forcing and recovering an Etling fumble on the LSU 9-yard line.

With 11 seconds left in the half, Akeem Judd's two-yard rush and a Kelly two-point conversion tied the game at 21 heading into the locker rooms. 

Once again, though, Fournette would have something to say about Ole Miss' momentum, breaking through the Rebels defense and streaking to another long touchdown less than two minutes into the half.

This time, it was for 78 yards, upping his Saturday night total to 249 yards on just seven carries.

Mark Long of the Associated Press summed it up best:

New Orleans Saints running back, Alabama alumnus and Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram even gave props to Fournette:

Two carries later saw him break a school record, via LSU Football:

After a third-quarter field goal, LSU's lead expanded to 17 with 7:26 left in the game when backup running back Derrius Guice punched it in from six yards out to ice the Rebels. 

The win puts destiny in LSU's hands. With remaining games against Alabama, Texas A&M and Florida, the Tigers have a shot of playing for an SEC title, although it will be an extremely difficult one. 

Regardless of how its season plays out, LSU has turned things around under interim coach Ed Orgeron with three straight wins now.

For Ole Miss, a loss destroys any chance it has of competing in the SEC. Now with a losing record at 3-4, it's safe to assume that the Rebels will be crashing out of the Top 25 rankings as well. 

Post-Game Reaction

Orgeron didn't mince his words when speaking about his running back Fournette, via Brandon Saho of WBRZ:

But there was evidence that he would be ready for a huge performance, via Dellenger:

With the impressive win in his back pocket, Orgeron even took some time to joke about a looming matchup with No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 5, via Jim Kleinpeter of NOLA.com:

This was a team that was written off after beginning the season 2-2 and firing head coach Les Miles. 

But with the way Orgeron has steered the team to three-straight wins, he's made a solid case for himself on removing that interim tag next season. 

For Fournette, the more LSU wins, the more likely his name will crop up in the Heisman Trophy conversation as Saturday was one of the more electrifying performances that has been seen in college football.