Ole Miss football grades vs. LSU: Making sense of a Lane Kiffin signature win

OXFORD — Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin's quest for a signature win against SEC opposition found its summit against LSU on Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Thanks to a last-minute Tre Harris touchdown, the Rebels left with 55-49 victory over their rivals to the southwest.

Here's how we graded Ole Miss (4-1, 1-1 SEC) in its win to the Tigers (3-2, 2-1).

Offense: A+

Ole Miss has been talking for weeks about hoping to return to its identity on offense.

The Rebels achieved that Saturday. They were explosive in the running game, with Quinshon Judkins looking again like the player who led the SEC in rushing yards as a true freshman last year. Ulysses Bentley IV was outstanding on the ground, too.

And Ole Miss excelled in the passing game. Jaxson Dart was poised and in command. You couldn't have asked for much more on this side of the ball.

Defense: D+

There's no use in sugar-coating it. This was an ugly effort from Pete Golding's Ole Miss defense.

The Rebels had no answer for Jayden Daniels or LSU's weapons on the outside. They were beaten at the point of attack by the Tigers' offensive line, too. They did, however, come up with a huge stop to get the ball back to the Ole Miss offense late, and keep LSU off the board at the game's final moment.

FULL UPDATES: Ole Miss vs. LSU live score, updates, highlights from Week 5 Rebels game

Special Teams: C+

The Rebels were very close to a special teams disaster, when they made contact with the LSU punter after a rare third-down stop early in the fourth quarter. Crucially, they were called for running into the kicker, not roughing the kicker, which would have resulted in an LSU first down.

Outside of that, there was nothing to complain about for the Rebels on special teams. Caden Davis cashed in when called upon, and Ole Miss made no other significant mistakes.

Coaching: A

Credit Kiffin for finding a way to get the Rebels back to their best on offense. And credit the Ole Miss defensive staff for finding the late stops it absolutely had to have after getting torched for most of the evening.

Overall: A

Kiffin has his big win. There were imperfections, yes. But those imperfections can be overlooked when the scoreboard ends with the Rebels on top.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss grades vs. LSU: Making sense of a Lane Kiffin signature win