LSU Enters Bye Week Ranked Top-20 After Handing Ole Miss Its First Loss

After trailing by three points at halftime Saturday at Tiger Stadium, LSU scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second half to defeat Ole Miss, 45-20. This week, the Tigers are on a bye week before taking on Alabama Nov. 5.

LSU Tigers Tame Rebels

Junior LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a go-ahead touchdown pass in the third quarter before the junior Arizona State transfer QB ran in two consecutive touchdowns in the fourth.

https://twitter.com/LSUfootball/status/1583952146642653185?s=20&t=KOpY0CbkFK7tvtc_HK52XQ

Daniels — who completed 75% of his passes, rushed for a season-high 121 yards and recorded five combined touchdowns — won the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week.

Jayden Daniels is the @daveyobrien National Quarterback of the Week pic.twitter.com/0HCpYAu4Kh

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 25, 2022

First-year LSU head coach Brian Kelly — who was named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Tuesday — praised Daniels’ progress but acknowledged that he’ll need to elevate his game against tougher defenses moving forward.

“There’s definitely room for [Daniels] to continue to grow, he knows that,” Kelly said. “He’s going to need to do that obviously against the next opponent in Alabama and the kind of defense that they bring.”

After a rough first quarter last weekend, the LSU defense was stout as it managed to keep the Rebels out of the end zone for the rest of the game.

Freshman linebacker Harold Perkins — the No. 4 overall recruit in the ESPN class of 2022 rankings — recorded five tackles, two quarterback hurries and a sack en route to earning SEC Co-Freshman Player of the Week.

https://twitter.com/LSUfootball/status/1583926365547827201?s=20&t=KOpY0CbkFK7tvtc_HK52XQ

LSU defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo won SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. The sophomore forced his first career fumble, disrupted two pass attempts and contributed 1.5 sacks.

Mekhi Wingo
– 7 Tackles
– 1.5 Sacks
– 1 Forced Fumble
– Limited Ole Miss to a season-low 116 rushing yards pic.twitter.com/bUAQVGw5ee

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 24, 2022

Rankings Leap

Following the win, the Tigers climbed back into this week’s AP Top-25 Poll for the first time in three weeks. LSU is ranked No. 18 in the nation — three spots behind Ole Miss and one spot ahead of Kentucky.

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Saban Bowl

After facing four conference opponents in October, the Tigers will get an extra week to prepare to welcome No. 6 Alabama on Nov. 5. Kelly called LSU’s bye a “recovery week” that will allow the coaching staff to recruit while the players “reset mentally and physically.”

LSU is tied with the Crimson Tide for the SEC-West lead at 4-1. The Tigers are 6-2 overall and 4-1 at home while Alabama is 7-1 overall and 2-1 on the road.

The SEC-West rivalry dates back over a century. The Crimson Tide lead the all-time series with a 55-26-5 record.

Under head coach Nick Saban, Alabama is 12-4 against the Tigers and 6-1 at Death Valley. Saban is 2-0 in his career versus Kelly, although both wins came while Kelly coached Notre Dame. Despite the challenges of a new head coach taking over a college football program, Kelly gave credit to his players for their adaptability.

“When you take over a job and you know that there [are] challenges, you don’t know how your team is going to be able to get to that level quick enough,” Kelly said. “What’s surprising to me is how our guys have been bale to adapt to an entirely new system of doing things in such a short period of time.”