BATON ROUGE, La. — Ole Miss’ perfect season came to an end Saturday at Tiger Stadium as Jayden Daniels and LSU proved to be too much for an outmanned defense.

LSU (6-2 overall, 4-1 in the Southeastern Conference) took command in the second quarter Saturday, took the lead in the third quarter and then held on for a 45-20 win.

Ole Miss, ranked No. 7 nationally entering Saturday’s game, fell to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the SEC.

Trailing 20-17 at halftime, LSU took the lead for the first time with 8:25 left in the third quarter. Daniels connected with tight end Mason Taylor for a 2-yard touchdown pass to finally take the lead.

The Tigers never relinquished it.

“If you’re going to come in here and win against these guys, you’re going to have to do a lot of things right,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “We did early. It was 24-20 and we were going in to score and after that pick, everything just went downhill on both sides.”

The play of the game came late in the third quarter. Facing a second-and-goal at the LSU 9-yard line, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart rolled to his right and was hit as he let a pass go in the direction of wide receiver Malik Heath.

Joe Fouche intercepted the ball in the end zone. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin argued for interference on LSU cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse, but it was to no avail.

“He got hit on that,” Kiffin said. “It was a fade to Malik. It was a good matchup but the backer came free and he wasn’t able to finish the throw. Had he been able to finish the throw, it probably would’ve been (pass interference), but they didn’t call it because the ball was too far away.”

Dart said that play was “for sure” the turning point of the game.

“Those are hard,” Dart said. “You don’t expect to get hit. I just wasn’t able to get as much on it as I was expecting to.”

The Tigers then took control on their ensuing possession, driving 80 yards on 10 plays, capped by Daniels’ 11-yard touchdown run, to take a commanding 31-20 lead with 14:18 remaining.

Daniels’ 17-yard touchdown run with 8:36 left put the game away and turned Baton Rouge into a party as the sun set.

Josh Williams’ 1-yard TD run with 2:05 left was the game’s final scoring play.

Ole Miss opened the game with an impressive first drive, marching 70 yards in five plays. Dart’s 37-yard pass to Mingo got the Rebels to the LSU 1. After an illegal formation penalty, Judkins scored on the next play, rushing six yards to give Ole Miss a 7-0 lead with 13:23 left in the first quarter.

LSU answered with a 12-play, 69-yard drive on its first possession, but the Tigers stalled at the Ole Miss 6 and settled for Damian Ramos’ 23-yard field goal with 8:44 left in the opening quarter to cut the Rebels’ lead to 7-3.

Ole Miss scored another touchdown on its second possession, driving 75 yards on 10 plays, including three LSU defensive pass interference penalties, to go ahead, 14-3. The Rebels got into the end zone with a 3-yard touchdown run by Judkins.

After LSU’s Ramos missed a 42-yard field goal attempt, Ole Miss again drove into the Tigers’ red zone before settling for a 32-yard kick from Jonathan Cruz on the first play of the second quarter to extend its lead to 17-3.

LSU answered with its first touchdown on the day, driving 75 yards in five plays, capped by Daniels’ 34-yard scoring pass to Jaray Jenkins with 12:11 left in the second quarter to pull the Tigers within 17-10.

After a failed Ole Miss possession, LSU answered with a game-tying drive. The Tigers went 78 yards in seven plays, capped by Daniels’ 3-yard touchdown run with 8:20 left in the second quarter to tie the game at 17-17.

Ole Miss answered with Cruz’s 48-yard field goal with 4:08 left to regain the lead, 20-17. The drive stalled when Casey Kelly was flagged for offensive pass interference inside the LSU 10 and then ended when Dart was sacked at the Tigers’ 31.

LSU rolled up 500 yards of total offense, 252 on the ground and 248 through the air. Daniels rushed 23 times for 121 yards and three touchdowns while completing 21 of 28 passes for 248 yards and two TDs. LSU had 35 first downs.

Kiffin said it was “a lot of things” that led to the issues, including missed tackles.

“We got pushed around,” Kiffin said. “We had some injuries out there during the game. A couple of starters came out of the game, which obviously doesn’t help, but (LSU) did a really good job and we didn’t do a lot right defensively. That was not a good feeling at the end of the game, obviously.”

“This is definitely not it,” Dart said. “It’s just one game. We still have a lot riding on these games coming up and they’re very important, so we just have to be able to learn from our mistakes and respond really well next week and get back on track.”

Dart was 19-for-34 passing for 284 yards and an interception. Judkins rushed 25 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Heath had eight catches for 145 yards. Watkins had five receptions. Heath had four.

Ole Miss travels to Texas A&M next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Notes:

— With two first-quarter touchdown runs, Judkins tied former Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee for the school’s freshman touchdown record with 12. Saturday was Judkins’ fifth multiple-TD game of the season. He’s the first Rebel to rush for two or more scores in five games in a single season since Brandon Bolden in 2010. Deuce McAllister had five multiple score games in 1999 and 2000. The only other Rebels to have possibly had more are Archie Manning and Kayo Dottley. No game-by-game stats are available for them, per Ole Miss media relations.

— Ole Miss had 200 yards of offense in the first quarter.

— Ole Miss opened with tight end Casey Kelly on the field but lined up in the slot. The Rebels opened with Mingo, Heath and Jordan Watkins at wide receiver and Judkins at running back.

— Running back Zach Evans was dressed and went through warm-ups, but he did so with a noticeable sleeve/brace on his left knee. Evans did not play. Kiffin said he didn’t do anything meaningful in practice all week and wasn’t able to go after warming up.

— Safety AJ Finley left in the first quarter with an injury. He did not return and watched the second half on the Ole Miss sideline dressed in sweats.

— Linebacker Troy Brown appeared to suffer an injury to his left arm/shoulder with 2:07 left in the second quarter. Brown was dressed for the second half but Ashanti Cistrunk replaced him in the lineup.

— Defensive end Cedric Johnson had two first-half sacks but played sparingly in the second half after appearing to aggravate his injured ankle.