OXFORD, Miss. -- Lane Kiffin's new team at LSU couldn't deny Trinidad Chambliss - the quarterback Kiffin helped transform into a star after recruiting him from a Division II program to Ole Miss last year.
Chambliss passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a tiebreaking score in the fourth quarter, and No. 8 Ole Miss delighted a crowd that was already revved up about Kiffin's return, beating the seventh-ranked Tigers 32-24 on Saturday night.
LSU stormed back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to tie the game before Chambliss engineered a 75-yard touchdown drive without the services of top running back Kewan Lacy, who left the game with an injured left shoulder.
Chambliss faked a handoff and ran 14 yards against the grain, outracing LSU safety Ty Benefield to the pylon, and Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC) added a 2-point conversion to take an eight-point lead with 6:14 to go.
Ole Miss drew LSU offside twice while lining up for the conversion before converting it from a half-yard out on a direct snap to JT Lindsey.
LSU answered by driving 69 yards to the Ole Miss 6 before Sam Leavitt missed open tight end Zach Grace along the goal line with a third-down pass, and then had his fourth-down pass deflect off the helmet of defensive end Kam Franklin. Jaylon Braxton intercepted the ball in the end zone to seal it as Kiffin virtually collapsed to his knees.
Leavitt passed for 153 yards and a touchdown and ran for 63 yards and a score for LSU (2-1, 0-1).
The Tigers' comeback bid began in earnest with pressure by Benefield, whose blitz forced Chambliss into a rushed throw that was intercepted by Ja'Keem Jackson and returned 10 yards to the Rebels 33.
Leavitt took it from there, gaining 10 yards on a scramble up the middle that ended with the QB being flipped upside down by multiple tacklers before crashing down hard on the 4-yard line. Leavitt responded to the big hit with a tackle-slipping scoring run on the next play to make it 24-14.
After Lucas Carneiro missed a 53-yard field goal attempt wide right, LSU pulled within 24-21 on Leavitt's 26-yard pass to Ole Miss transfer Winston Watkins Jr., who made a leaping, twisting catch near the right corner of the end zone and touched one foot down.
LSU was driving to potentially take the lead when star tight end Trey'Dez Green injured his right knee on a first-down catch in Ole Miss territory. The Tigers wound up tying it with a field goal before Ole Miss drove for the decisive score.
Ole Miss has defeated LSU in consecutive seasons, with Chambliss starring in both games -- the first with Kiffin as his coach.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who was instrumental in an LSU athletic department shake-up last fall that precipitated Kiffin's hiring, smiled widely as he posed for a picture with Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill on the field during pregame warmups.
But they couldn't have been happy about how the game began.
Chambliss sparked Ole Miss to a 17-0 lead, highlighted by Lacy's 5-yard power run through the middle of the line and Chambliss' 21-yard pass to Traylon Ray.
Ray, who finished with seven catches for 115 yards, was instrumental on the first touchdown drive, outleaping two defenders for a 36-yard catch along the right sideline.
LSU trimmed the Rebels' lead to 17-7 on Dilin Jones' 2-yard run with 1:57 left in the half - enough time for Chambliss to direct another scoring drive.
After eluding the LSU pass rush, Chambliss rifled a 20 yard pass to Deuce Alexander in the middle of the end zone to make it 24-7 just 7 seconds before halftime, and Ole Miss fans stood and roared in approval as the Rebels trotted to the locker room.