BATON ROUGE, La. — In the moments following LSU’s wild 43-36 victory over Ole Miss last week, there was some hand-wringing in the Rebels’ locker room about missed opportunities and griping about questionable calls.

There was also some consolation, on a smaller scale, that none of it ultimately played a factor in the outcome.

On a day when its normally staunch defense was shredded like wet tissue paper, LSU’s offense had one of its best days of the season. The Tigers amassed 470 yards and reached its highest point total against a Southeastern Conference opponent since scoring 48 in a triple-overtime loss to Arkansas in 2007.

It was sweet redemption for a unit that has taken plenty of flak despite the team’s 10-1 record (6-1 in SEC play) and status as a contender for a slot in a BCS bowl heading into this Saturday’s game at No. 12 Arkansas (9-2, 5-2).

“The whole year our defense has been helping us out. It was about time for the offense to come in here and help the defense out,” said tight end Deangelo Peterson, who caught three passes for 76 yards. “We knew that Ole Miss could come in here and run the same plays Auburn did. We had to help our defense as much as we could, and I think we did that.”

LSU only punted twice and turned it over once in 14 offensive possessions. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson completed 13 of 17 passes for 254 yards and a score, and was also extremely effective in the option game. He finished with 45 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and ran in a two-point conversion.

Even Jefferson’s TD pass was, essentially, an option pitch. He got strung out toward the sideline and flipped it to Michael Ford, who was a step ahead of him. Ford took what was officially ruled a pass 27 yards to the end zone to put LSU ahead 35-30 with 7:30 left in the game.

“There was a point in time when I was 8-for-8 and I just felt like I couldn’t be stopped. I just had that hot hand,” Jefferson said. “With (offensive coordinator Gary Crowton) being aggressive and opening the playbook, that just kept me comfortable and very consistent throughout the game.”

The Tigers also didn’t panic late in the game, when Ole Miss had an answer for nearly everything the Tigers threw at it.

Ole Miss scored to take the lead three times in the final 20 minutes, the last a 65-yard touchdown pass from Jeremiah Masoli to Markeith Summers with 4:57 remaining.

Summers dove into the end zone, drawing a 15-yard celebration penalty that led to LSU getting the ball near midfield following a long return by Patrick Peterson on the ensuing kickoff. Whether LSU had the ball at the 50 or the 5, however, there seemed little doubt its red-hot offense would find a way to score.

LSU rolled down the field, taking nine plays — all rushes — to cover the 51 yards to the end zone. Only once did the Tigers face a third down. Stevan Ridley rushed for seven yards to the Ole Miss 7 to convert a third-and-one, then ran it in for the touchdown on the next play to put LSU ahead 41-36 with 44 seconds left.

Jefferson added the two-point conversion run for a seven-point lead, and the Tigers breathed a sigh of relief as their hopes for a BCS bowl bid survived a major scare.

“We were very confident,” Jefferson said. “Our main thing was to wind some time down on the clock because we knew we were going to get the first down. We just had some backs come in and run the ball like we needed to. Coach Crowton gave us some great plays to run in that drive, and we were just trying to make sure we were staying away from a repeat of last year.”