LSU running back Derrius Guice helped make coach Ed Orgeron's return to Ole Miss a memorable one with 276 yards rushing in the No. 24 Tigers' 40-24 victory Saturday night in Oxford, Miss.

Guice compiled his yards on 22 carries for an average of 12.5 yards per attempt. He holds the school record with 285 yards, achieved last year against Texas A&M, and he became the first running back in SEC history to rush for more than 250 yards in at least three games.

"I'm just doing what the coaches tell me to do," Guice said. "I don't care about my personal stats. This is Coach O's (Orgeron) first year as our head coach. We're playing for him. It's never about me."

Orgeron was the Rebels' coach from 2005 to 2007, going 10-25 in those three seasons.

"Tremendous job by our team," Orgeron said of the win. "The most important thing is that's three SEC victories in a row."

LSU (6-2, 3-1 SEC) has not lost since it was up on homecoming by Troy on Sept. 30. The Tigers have a week off before playing at No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 4.

Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3 SEC) has lost four of its last five games. The Rebels host Arkansas next week.

"I told our guys after the game to stay together," Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said. "We had guys playing hurt and they fought so hard for each other. LSU hurt us too much on the ground and we didn't make enough plays on offense."

LSU running back Darrel Williams also rushed for 103 yards on 22 carries.

The game lacked punch early with each of the kickers making three field goals by early in the third quarter. LSU led 16-9 at that time before the teams traded touchdown drives.

Guice's 33-yard scamper helped set up a 5-yard touchdown run by LSU quarterback Danny Etling, giving LSU a 23-9 lead with 6:04 left in the third quarter.

"What makes (Guice) so good is he does not go down on first contact and he can make you miss," said Ole Miss defensive end Breeland Speaks, who led the Rebels with 13 tackles. "That guy is slippery. He'll find a way to get extra yardage all the time."

The Rebels answered with a seven-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with Jordan Wilkins' 28-yard touchdown run with 4:11 left in the third quarter. Shea Patterson completed 3 of 6 passes in the drive for 28 yards.

Patterson went to the locker room during the first half because of a left knee injury but returned to start the second half. He completed only 10 of 23 passes for 116 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He led the SEC and was third nationally with 357.2 passing yards per game.

Patterson was replaced by junior college transfer Jordan Ta'amu in the first half after the injury. Ta'amu had not thrown a pass at the Division I level.

"We were in man coverage 80 percent of the game," Orgeron said of his defense. "Our secondary did one heck of a job. I'm proud of those guys."

Guice's 31 yards rushing on two carries in LSU's next drive set up Etling's 11-yard touchdown pass to J.D. Moore with 2:31 left in the third quarter, increasing the lead to 30-16.

Etling, who completed 9 of 13 passes for 200 yards, fooled the Ole Miss defense with a play-action pass that resulted in a 60-yard touchdown connection with Foster Moreau with 10:24 remaining.

NOTES: LSU's defense has limited opponents to seven touchdowns in the first half of the last 13 games going back to the start of the 2016 Alabama game. ... LSU QB Danny Etling needs 376 yards to enter LSU's top 10 career passing yards list. ... LSU RB Derrius Guice has 2,534 career rushing yards, seventh best on the Tigers' list. ... Ole Miss senior DE Marquis Haynes had a career-high three sacks against Vanderbilt last week. He set a modern-era (since 1983) career sacks record of 29, passing Greg Hardy's mark of 26.5. ... Ole Miss is 2-8 in its last 10 against ranked teams. The Rebels were 0-2 this season after going 2-5 in 2016 with wins over No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 12 Georgia.