Beckham punt return sparks LSU in fourth quarter

BATON ROUGE, La. -- It took a punt return reminiscent of Billy Cannon's and much more for No. 7 LSU to survive its 101st meeting with Ole Miss.

Jeremy Hill scored his third touchdown with 15 seconds left to lift the Tigers to a 41-35 victory over relentless but mistake-prone Mississippi yesterday.

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

Beckham's return tied the game at 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 two TDs and ran for two scores, but also was intercepted three times. His touchdowns went to Donte Moncrief, the first for 56 yards and the second for 30. Wallace's first score came on a 58-yard run.

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

The Ole Miss turnovers gave LSU multiple opportunities to seize control, but the Tigers had three drives stall inside the Mississippi 10. Two of them ended with field goals and another with Senquez Golson's interception in the end zone, a play that allowed the Rebels to cling to a 21-20 lead in the third quarter.

Mississippi then widened its lead to 28-20 on a drive set up by Golson's second interception of Mettenberger. Wallace and Ja-Mes Logan connected on a fourth-and-3 play for the second time in the game to extend a scoring drive. This one was capped by Randall Mackey's 6-yard scoring run.

LSU rallied to tie it on Hill's 1-yard touchdown run around the left side and a two-point conversion on Mettenberger's pass to Ware, but the Rebels marched right back down the field in 28 seconds to regain the lead, 35-28, on Wallace's pass to Moncrief along the left sideline.

That, however, would be the final points for a Mississippi team that is one win from bowl eligibility.