BATON ROUGE – In the biggest game of the season, LSU football couldn't get out of its own way. Until it did at the end.

Thanks to their defense, No. 10 Tigers hung with No. 8 Ole Miss all night long, which allowed them the opportunity to tie the game up late on a Garrett Nussmeier to Aaron Anderson touchdown pass.

Ole Miss was forced to kick a 57-yard field goal in the first overtime possession from Caden Davis. LSU went for the win on the first play of their overtime possession, and Nussmeier connected with Kyren Lacy for the game-winning score that lifted LSU over Ole Miss, 29-26.

LSU (5-1, 2-0 SEC) trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but limited Lane Kiffin's high-powered Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2) offense to three field goals in the second half and overtime.

NUSSMEIER, DART SIMILARITIES LSU football's Garrett Nussmeier vs. Ole MIss' Jaxson Dart: Tale of the tape

GREG BROOKS LAWSUIT Former LSU football LB Greg Brooks accuses school, Brian Kelly, hospital of negligence

Offense: C-

In its biggest game to this point in the season, LSU's offense played its most inconsistent game. But it made enough right plays at the end to come out with the victory.

Defense: A-

LSU's defense was up to task against Ole Miss' potent offense. Of all matchups throughout this game, the Tigers' defense going up against the Rebels' offense was the toughest matchup, and they played admirably.

Special teams: B-

Peyton Todd had a good night punting the ball, averaging 43.7 yards per attempt. Damian Ramos missed a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter but made two before that.

Coaching: C

Coaches couldn't find an answer to squash LSU's struggles, but give a nod to Blake Baker for the defensive gameplan, which was more than enough to put the Tigers in position to win.

Overall: C+

When Ole Miss has a game like it had, it's imperative you take advantage. It wasn't pretty, but LSU found a way to snatch a monster win in the biggest game to this point of the year.

MAGNOLIA BOWL Why is LSU-Ole Miss called the Magnolia Bowl? Series record, history in SEC rivalry

LSU INJURY REPORT LSU football injury report vs Ole Miss: Will Caden Durham, CJ Daniels, Zy Alexander play?

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Grading LSU football's win to Ole Miss in SEC showdown