OXFORD - Houston Nutt's farewell to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was nothing close to a storybook ending.

On Senior Night, his Rebels watched top-ranked LSU jump out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter on the way to a 52-3 win Saturday night.

The struggling Rebels (2-9, 0-7 SEC) have lost 13 straight in the conference. Nutt has one more chance to go out a winner, Saturday in the Egg Bowl.

"It's unfortunate to have a coach have to end their homestand in a fashion like today," LSU coach Les Miles said.

The Rebels deflated early as LSU cornerback Ron Brooks picked off starter Zack Stoudt and took it 46 yards for a touchdown 28 seconds into the game.

By the time Kevin Minter recovered Barry Brunetti's fumble for a 28-0 lead in the early going of the second quarter, the stands began to clear.

Minter said he didn't feel Ole Miss let up despite the early deficit.

"Not necessarily, they kept trying," Minter said. "I can't necessarily say they let their foot off the gas. They kept fighting. I felt like they played their hearts out."

Leading by 49, Miles elected to kneel four straight times form the 1 with 5:10 left.

He stopped short of calling the win easy.

"To be honest with you, I felt like our football team was going to really execute well tonight," Miles said. "I felt like our guys came in with an edge and a want for victory. I never give thought to how easy or how hard. This to me was more of an example of how we came and how we prepared."

Michael Ford's 19 yard run opened the third quarter for the 11-0 Tigers and padded the lead to 42-3.

Ford, too, wouldn't discredit Ole Miss, but credited his own team.

"Our will is we want to take everybody's will away from the first snap," he said. "I think they came out and played very hard. They gave it their all. I wouldn't say they just gave up and quit. They came out to play."