It’s a battle of a strong secondary up against a pretty respectable wide receiver corps. The fifth-ranked LSU Tigers will have a test when they take on a Rebels offense led by Jordan Ta’amu.
On with the preview!
Last Time Out:
After a thriller against Auburn on the plains, LSU was able to come away with a 38-21 win over Louisiana Tech despite coming out sluggish once again to start the second half.
Ole Miss was able to bounce back from a loss to Alabama two weeks ago, and come away with a 38-17 win over Kent State.
Last Meeting:
The last time these two faced off, LSU was dominated the ballgame in Oxford with a 40-24 victory that saw Jordan Ta’amu get his first bit of playing time after Shea Patterson went down with an injury. LSU holds a 61-41-4 lead in the overall series and have won three of the last four ballgames.
Storylines to Watch
DBU vs NWO
This is going to be a fun ballgame with how high-powered the wide receivers have been through four games. The “Nasty Wideouts” might be the best group that the Tigers secondary has faced all season long and will present a challenge to a defense that has allowed 244 yards per game through the air.
Second Half Adjustments
One of the big headaches for the Tigers this season has been the fact that they’ve come out relatively flat to start the second half and it kind of sticks around throughout the fourth quarter. While the Rebels defense has been the worst in the SEC, if LSU can’t come out of the blocks firing on all cylinders like head coach Ed Orgeron wants them to perform that could cause some problems because that gives the Rebels offense extra chances to make it a much more competitive ballgame.
Late Night Magic
From the 8:15 kickoff to the 1958 National Championship team being celebrated, there’s a lot of good vibes that will be inside Death Valley. It won’t be a “Bring Back the Magic” game, but you can imagine that the late night kickoff could lead to some great memories on and off the field.
LSU Will Win If:
The Tigers can remain unbeaten if they can dominate the turnover battle. They’ve been as close to perfect as you can be in terms of giveaways and have one of the best turnover margins in the entire country.
Also, if the Tigers start off the second half right and it could be an extremely lopsided ballgame.
Ole Miss Will Win If:
The nasty wideouts will have to show out on Saturday if they want to come away with a pretty big upset. They’ll also need a healthy quarterback in Ta’amu. He’s still a little banged up from the Alabama game and if he’s pressured by the vaunted front seven that LSU has, it’s going to be a long night for the Rebels, especially if he is taken out of the ballgame like Patterson was last season.
-Clint Domingue