Ten SEC teams landed in the Week 3 AP Top 25, and Ole Miss climbed to No. 4 after beating Lane Kiffin’s LSU.
The New York Post reported that Ole Miss erased a 24-7 halftime deficit and beat LSU 32-24 in Oxford on Saturday night. Jaylon Braxton sealed the comeback with a fourth-down interception in the end zone during the final minute.
The Fox News OutKick report placed Ole Miss at No. 4 and LSU at No. 10 in the Week 3 AP Top 25. Five SEC teams reached the Top 10, while 10 made the full 25-team ranking.
Breitbart’s game account credited Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss with 363 passing yards, two touchdown passes and the go-ahead rushing score. The loss was LSU’s first in SEC play this season.
Kiffin was making his first trip back to Ole Miss since leaving for LSU in December. “I’m glad it’s over. This was an emotional game for a lot of reasons,” he said afterward.
LSU led 24-7 at halftime, but Ole Miss answered after the break. Chambliss later directed a 74-yard fourth-quarter drive before scoring the touchdown that put the Rebels ahead.
The quarterback made clear that this matchup carried extra weight. “This one meant a lot more than other games... I wanted this one bad and our team did, too,” Chambliss said.
The win gave Ole Miss consecutive victories over LSU. More immediately, it pushed the Rebels into the national Top 5 and dropped Kiffin’s Tigers to the final spot in the Top 10.
That swing shows how quickly early-season rankings can change. Ole Miss entered the game ranked eighth, while LSU stood seventh. One comeback reordered both teams and strengthened the SEC’s hold on the poll.
The conference’s depth extended well beyond Ole Miss and LSU. Ten SEC teams appeared in the Week 3 poll, compared with seven from the Big Ten heading into Week 4.
Mississippi State supplied another example. The Bulldogs went from unranked to No. 24 after winning on the road against South Carolina.
Texas A&M moved in the other direction. The Aggies fell to No. 23 after losing at home to Kentucky, another reminder that conference games can punish ranked teams quickly.
Texas had already beaten Ohio State in Week 2, a result OutKick described as the young season’s most impressive win. Yet the latest poll shows that the SEC’s strength rests on more than one marquee result.
The AP poll is only an early snapshot, not a final judgment. But placing 10 teams in a 25-team field means the SEC accounts for two of every five ranked programs.
Ole Miss earned the week’s biggest rise by finishing the comeback when it mattered. LSU had the lead, the higher pregame ranking and Kiffin’s much-watched return. The Rebels still walked away with the win.
In college football, reputation buys attention. Results still settle the argument.
