Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning (10), above, is pressured by the LSU defense during the Rebels’ 17-14 loss to the Tigers Saturday in Oxford. Below, LSU wide receiver Skyler Green (5) evades Ole Miss linebacker Rob Robertson on a punt return in the second half.(Jon Giffin The Vicksburg Post)

(11/24/03)OXFORD With a short practice week ahead, the 17th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels put the 17-14 loss to No. 3 LSU behind them Sunday and started preparing for Thursday’s Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.

“We’ve got to put it behind us quickly,” Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe said. “We’ve had to deal with this before, coming off a loss and getting ourselves ready, so hopefully we can do that.”

The Rebels’ defense played its best game of the season, shutting down LSU’s well-balanced attack for much of the game.

One question Ole Miss must answer is how the Southeastern Conference’s top offense managed to produce only one touchdown. Entering Saturday averaging 37 points per game, quarterback Eli Manning and the offense struggled mightily through the first three quarters before finally pulling things together in the final period. Ole Miss looked out of sync and confused on offense, totaling only 98 yards prior to the fourth quarter. The Rebels finished with 227 yards.

“They were a good defense and we just couldn’t get things going with our receivers,” Manning said. “I couldn’t hit guys, missed some guys and had some balls a little off here and there. We just couldn’t make the plays we needed to.”

The running game also suffered all night long. Heading into the fourth quarter, Ole Miss had carried 11 times for 3 yards and finished with 56 yards on 21 attempts.

“We got hard-headed about running the ball,” Ole Miss running back Vashon Pearson said. “We kept running until it started clicking. That’s what you have to do.”

The good news for the Rebels is they play against a unit that’s much worse than the Tigers’ top-ranked defense. LSU has allowed 9.4 points per game. Mississippi State ranks last in the SEC, giving up an average of 40 a contest.

With Thursday’s game in Starkville already on the horizon, the Rebels won’t have time to dwell on their mistakes.

“We’ll move right into Mississippi State preparation (Sunday) for a short practice,” Cutcliffe said after the game. “It’s just a short week. We just kind of sandwich everything we do into that short period. We’ve got a system that we think will work.”

One motivation for the team is that Ole Miss still has a chance to win the SEC Western Division crown.

It would give the Rebels a shot a their first SEC title in 40 years. Ole Miss is the only team in the West that has not been to the title game since it was created in 1992.

If Ole Miss defeats Mississippi State on Thursday and LSU loses to Arkansas on Friday, the Rebels will find themselves playing in Atlanta for the SEC Championship.

“There’s hope, there’s still hope,” Cutcliffe said. “All we can do is just take care of our part of it.”

Manning will also be playing in his final regular season game against the in-state rival Bulldogs.

“It’s our last game and we’ve still got a shot at representing the West,” Manning said. “We have to go out and do our best. The Mississippi State game is always a big game so we’ll just have to focus, play hard and smart football.”