Ole Miss got the news it wanted on Kewan Lacy. The running back exited Saturday night's 32-24 win over LSU after a hard tackle left him favoring his left arm, but head coach Pete Golding indicated the damage was not serious once the Rebels got a look at it.

“It was negative on the X-ray,” Golding said after the game.

Golding added that Lacy could have returned to the game, but the staff elected to hold him out with the outcome still in the balance. The broadcast noted Lacy appeared to be in a significant amount of pain immediately after the hit, making the clean X-ray a considerable relief for a team that leans on him heavily.

Lacy had been carrying the load before the injury, handling the ground work as Ole Miss built a 24-7 halftime lead at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He opened the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run that capped a 78-yard drive, setting the tone in Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford.

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Losing him for any stretch would be a significant blow. Lacy was the Rebels' workhorse last season, including a 143-yard performance on 27 carries in the Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State that clinched the program's first 11-win regular season. He also complemented Trinidad Chambliss throughout the College Football Playoff run that followed Kiffin's departure.

Ole Miss survived without him down the stretch. Chambliss threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, then added a 14-yard scramble for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter that the Rebels converted into an eight-point lead with a two-point try. The defense finished it off when Kam Franklin tipped Sam Leavitt's fourth-and-goal pass from the 6 and Jaylon Braxton intercepted it in the end zone with 1:03 left.

The win moves Ole Miss to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in SEC play in Golding's first full season as head coach. Having Lacy available matters immediately, as the Rebels travel to face a Florida team that just won at Auburn behind 162 rushing yards from Jadan Baugh.

Golding did not offer a timeline for Lacy's status heading into that matchup, though the X-ray result suggests the concern is limited.