Tigers Defense, Randall, Plod Past Ole Miss, 14-13
11/23/02

BATON ROUGE -- On Senior Night in Tiger Stadium, a young and beat up LSU football team used a tremendous defensive effort and a gutsy offensive performance to bring itself within one game of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division title, beating Ole Miss, 14-13, in front of 91,613 on Saturday evening.

LSU (8-3, 5-2 SEC) trailed until the 6:34 mark of the fourth quarter when backup quarterback Marcus Randall connected with wide receiver Michael Clayton for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game at 13-13. Placekicker John Corbello's extra point proved the game winner.

Ole Miss lost its fifth straight game and fell to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the SEC.

Stymied for most of the first half by the Ole Miss defense, the LSU offense finally showed signs of life with 56 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Randall completed 6-of-7 passes for 76 yards on a touchdown drive, culminated by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson. The score cut Ole Miss' lead to 10-7 at the break.

It was not without a cost, however, as Henderson suffered a broken arm on the play and did not return

LSU was its own worst enemy offensively, as the Tigers fumbled the ball five times and lost three. Add in an interception and four turnovers led to six Ole Miss points.

The Tigers finished with 324 yards of total offense, including 136 rushing and 188 passing. Randall was 13-of-20 for 179 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He added nine rushes for 31 yards. Starter Rick Clausen played only the first quarter and was 2-of-6 for nine yards and an interception.

On the ground attack, LSU was led by Domanick Davis, who ran 17 times for 87 yards. LaBrandon Toefield fumbled twice on 17 carries for 35 yards.

Clayton led LSU with six catches for 77 yards, while senior Jerel Myers added four for 40 yards.

For the Rebels, quarterback Eli Manning was able to pick at the LSU secondary during the first half, but never got settled in the second. In the second half, Manning was only 8-of-21 for 81 yards and two interceptions. The New Orleans native finished 19-of-38 for 218 yards and a touchdown.

The LSU defense held Ole Miss to 61 net rushing yards including only 24 in the second half, as the Tigers racked up a pair of critical sacks by Norman LeJeune. Ole Miss finished the game with 279 yards of total offense.

LSU lost the toss and was given the ball to start the game. The Tigers earned a first down on the ground before Clausen fumbled a snap to push the Tigers back to their 18-yard line. Three plays later, LSU was forced to punt the ball away.

Ole Miss drove into Tigers' territory on a 26-yard reception by Jason Armstead to the 40. However, two plays later, Rebel running back Tremaine Turner fumbled the ball at the LSU 25.

LSU gave the ball right back to Ole Miss on third down of the ensuing possession, as Clausen was intercepted by Von Hutchins at the 40.

Manning and Ole Miss were able to gain two first downs -- one on a personal foul -- to the LSU 23, but the drive stalled and the Rebels settled for a 36-yard field goal from Jonathan Nichols with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter.

Another fumble by Clausen after two rushing first downs gave the Tigers a third-and-16 predicament, leading to another Jones punt to the Ole Miss 8-yard line. Ole Miss was able to get out of the shadow of its endzone and to their 41, but elected not to go for a fourth-and-inches and punted to the LSU 21.

Faced with a fourth-and-1 from its 30 as the first quarter came to an end, the Tigers returned the favor as Jones hit a 54-yarder to the Ole Miss 16 on the first play of the second quarter.

A fourth-straight drive ended in a punt, this time a 46-yarder that was returned 7 yards by Davis to the LSU 41 with 13:38 on the second-quarter clock.

Randall, who started four-straight games after Matt Mauck broke his foot in the Florida game, entered as LSU's quarterback after Clausen struggled to a 2-of-6 passing performance with an interception in the first quarter. LSU managed one first down rushing before Randall completed a 24-yard pass to Reggie Robinson to the Ole Miss 23 on third-and-8 from the 47. After two rushes by Toefield gave the Tigers a first-and-goal at the 6, he fumbled at the 8 to give Ole Miss the ball at the 14.

Toefield, who returned last weekend from a broken radius in the UL-Lafayette game, was hit by Ryan Hamilton as he ran around the right side, spitting the ball out of Toefield's grip and back to Ole Miss' Josh Cooper.

Ole Miss picked up two tough third down and short conversions to take the ball into Tigers' territory with five minutes remaining in the half. Three incomplete passes by Manning including a dropped interception attempt by LSU safety Jack Hunt led to another Ole Miss punt to the LSU 7-yard line.

A three-and-out by the Tigers forced Jones to punt for the fourth time in the half, but this time it was returned into Tigers territory with 2:30 to play in the half. Manning connected with Rick Razzano out of the back field for 16 yards to the LSU 27 before Ole Miss was faced with a third-and-3 from the LSU 20 with 1:06 on the clock.

Manning then threw the ball to Mike Espy, who was flanked to the right, ran to the first down marker and broke inside of Demetrius Hookfin. Espy broke Hookfin's tackle and fought through the arms of Bradie James to score a 20-yard touchdown with 1:02 left in the half.

LSU began its final drive of the half with only 56 seconds to play on its 24-yard line. Randall sparked the Tigers by completing 6-of-7 passes to four different Tigers for 76 yards, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Henderson in the right corner of the endzone with 2.3 seconds to play. The point after was successful by John Corbello and LSU trailed 10-7 at the half.

Ole Miss was again able to drive into LSU territory to start the half, but the Rebels were forced to punt. On the first offensive play of the half for LSU, Davis took the handoff and looked to be one move away from breaking off an 89-yard run. However, Davis fumbled the ball and Ole Miss recovered at the LSU 24.

As LSU came with defensive pressure on Manning, Ole Miss was only able to move ahead three yards before Nichols tacked on a 39-yard field goal. Ole Miss led, 13-7, with 9:08 to play in the third quarter.

After a 25-yard kickoff return by Davis, Randall connected with Clayton for 15 yards to the 40 before rushing to the Ole Miss 45 on an 8-yard run for a first down. Toefield added another first down to the Ole Miss 34. Three passes fell incomplete, leading to a fake of a 51-yard field goal attempt. Holder Blain Bech rolled out to the right and tossed the ball just outside the reach of fullback Solomon Lee to give the ball back to Ole Miss.

A 13-yard sack by Norman LeJeune forced Ole Miss to punt from its 23. Although the Tigers benefited from a personal foul on Ole Miss to start the drive on its 36, a holding penalty on a first-down run by Randall left the Tigers in punting formation for the first time in the half.

LSU forced Ole Miss to punt once again, however, Toefield fumbled on the first play from scrimmage once again to give Ole Miss the ball on the LSU 30. With the Rebels knocking on the door of the endzone at the LSU 8, Manning's pass to Turner out of the backfield bounced off his back and into the hands of Hookfin at the 3. Hookfin returned the ball to the LSU 48.

The Tigers failed to capitalize on the momentum, going three-and-out as Randall overthrew a wide open Davis sprinting alone along the right sideline at the Ole Miss 8.

Another defensive stop without a yard gained handed LSU the ball back at its 26 with just more than 10 minutes left to play.

Finally, the Tigers' offense was able to convert the hard work of the defense with points on the board, as Randall led LSU to a 10-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that ended in a 27-yard touchdown reception by Clayton with 6:34 to play.

With the crowd electrified, LSU's defense showed why it has been ranked in the Top 5 in the nation throughout the 2002 season. LeJeune sacked Manning on first down before LSU's secondary stopped two passes, leading to a Rebel punt.

LSU was unable to move the ball despite great field position at the Ole Miss 40 and Jones had to punt for the seventh time in the game.

Ole Miss drove to its 48 before Manning was intercepted for the second time by Corey Webster. Webster came down with an under thrown pass intended for Chris Collins.

A conservative running game after a Davis first down gave Ole Miss one final possession with 8.3 seconds remaining from its 21. A hook and ladder play failed to end the game.