LSU rally leaves Miles raving

LSU wide receiver James Wright (82) pulls in a 48-yard reception in front of Mississippi defensive back Cody Prewitt (25) during the first half of the No. 7 Tigers’ 41-35 victory over the Rebels on Saturday in Baton Rouge.

LSU wide receiver James Wright (82) pulls in a 48-yard reception in front of Mississippi defensive back Cody Prewitt (25) during the first half of the No. 7 Tigers’ 41-35 victory over the Rebels on Saturday in Baton Rouge.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

— In a joyous rant, LSU Coach Les Miles gushed over his team’s determination and urged Tigers fans to put their arms around his players and “give them a big kiss on the mouth.”

Miles’ comments came after Jeremy Hill scored his third touchdown with 15 seconds left to lift the No. 7 Tigers to a 41-35 victory over relentless but mistake-prone Mississippi on Saturday.

“I’m proud of those men,” Miles said of his team. “How easy it could of have been to say it was [Ole Miss’] night.Spectacular group of men. ... Wow! What a game!”

The game included seven turnovers, numerous momentum swings and long touchdown plays, perhaps none better than Odell Beckham Jr.’s 89-yard punt return for a score that evoked memories of Billy Cannon’s famous return against the same team, along the same sideline, for the same yardage back in 1959, on Halloween.

“That was maybe the biggest momentum changer in the game,” Miles said, adding giddily, “Is it Halloween night?”

Beckham eluded numerous tacklers, slipping one as he traversed the field, then broke away from pursuers down the right sideline while teammate Jarvis Landry waved him along with windmill motion.

“Everyone had their block, everyone had their man and everyone covered their assignments,” Beckham said. “I saw a crease and I just hit it. ... It was an amazing experience and definitely changed the momentum of the game.”

Beckham’s return tied the game at 35-35, but LSU (9-2, 5-2 SEC) still needed a pair of clutch sacks by Anthony Johnson and Lavar Edwards to drive Ole Miss (5-6, 2-5) out of routine field-goal range later in the fourth quarter. Bryson Rose then pushed a 53-yard kick wide right, setting up the winning drive.

Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace passed for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for 2 scores, but also was intercepted 3 times. His touchdown passes went to Donte Moncrief, the first for 56 yards and the second for 30. Wallace’s first score came on a 58-yard run.

“I’ve been coaching a long time, maybe not at this level, but this here is one of the most difficult locker rooms to be in this year,” first-year Coach Hugh Freeze said. “Our kids just fought for our university and our fans and they should be proud of that. We just can’t seem to get that stop when we have to have one, or that touchdown when we have to have one.”

Zach Mettenberger completed 22 of 37 passes for 282 yards and was intercepted twice. Hill finished with 77yards rushing, including a 27-yard run for his first touchdown. Spencer Ware had LSU’s other touchdown on a leap over the pile on fourth and-goal from the 1.

“I never thought at any point we were going to lose that game,” Mettenberger said. “We had control of the game. We had a couple of turnovers but we had been driving the ball well all night and the passing game was there. We just have to clean up the turnovers and we still won. Hopefully we can go into next week against Arkansas and do the same thing.”

NO. 6 FLORIDA 23, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida’s offensive struggles continued for the fourth consecutive game.

It didn’t really matter against Jacksonville State. It might next week against rival Florida State in Tallahassee.

The sixth-ranked Gators relied on a strong defensive effort to win their final home game 23-0 Saturday.

The Gators showed little offense following an 80-yard drive on their first possession. Mike Gillislee carried eight times in the 12-play drive, gaining 35 yards, including the final 7 on a run up the middle to the end zone.

But that proved to be Florida’s only drive of the day that ended with a touchdown. Four other possessions reached the Gamecocks’ 30 but eventually stalled. Caleb Sturgis made field goals from 21, 44 and 47 yards out. A 37-yard attempt late in the first half was blocked.

NO. 8 TEXAS A&M 47, SAM HOUSTON ST. 28

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Johnny Manziel needed a little more than a half to pile up five touchdowns in a record setting day.

Manziel threw for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns, and ran for 100 yards and 2 more scores as No. 8 Texas A&M beat Sam Houston State.

The redshirt freshman threw an 89-yard touchdown pass to Uzoma Nwachukwu on Texas A&M’s first offensive play of the second half. The dual-threat quarterback then attempted the extra point, but it sailed wide right, ending the Heisman Trophy hopeful’s day with the Aggies (9-2) leading 40-0.

Sam Houston State (8-3), which has already clinched a share of the Southland Conference title this year, saw a seven-game winning streak snapped with the loss. It’s the Bearkats’ last regular-season game before they return to the playoffs next week.

Sports, Pages 35 on 11/18/2012