Welcome everyone to the latest game preview for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns! This week, we look at the Cajuns matchup in Oxford against the Ole Miss Rebels.
Last Week: Last week was pretty successful for the Cajuns after a 19-14 win over South Alabama with freshman Levi Lewis taking snaps.
Ole Miss had to rally back in the final moments against Kentucky and came away with a 37-34 win thanks to Jordan Ta’amu connecting with D.K. Metcalf in the endzone with five seconds left in the ballgame.
Last Meeting: The last time these two shared the same field, the Rebels dominated the Cajuns with a 56-15 victory in the Grove. Ole Miss also holds the overall series lead 4-0.
Storylines to Watch:
Throwing Lewis to Lions? If there’s one thing I don’t like about the Cajuns this season is the commitment to stick with the quarterback that is winning. While it was good to see head coach Mark Hudspeth trot out the freshman against South Alabama to see what he can do, but having him be your starter in a game against Ole Miss.
For what it’s worth, let’s look across the basin and go back to LSU’s road game against Auburn in 2014. Les Miles decided to put in an inexperienced Brandon Harris as the starter in Jordan-Hare Stadium and the end result was less than ideal. While the atmosphere in Oxford at 11 am is very different than what you had in Auburn a few years ago, you can’t throw in a freshman with only one start under his belt against a Rebels defense that can attack the offensive line.
Don’t Overlook Ta’amu: At first glance, the Rebels seem to be hampered when it comes to the position of quarterback minus Shea Patterson. However, Jordan Ta’amu has shown that he can be a solid starter for some teams, even against SEC teams like LSU.
Just last weekend against Kentucky, he had 382 yards passing and four touchdowns in the win. The secondary needs to have the game of their lives if they want to keep it competitive.
Defense Needs to Step Up: Sticking with the Cajuns defense, it’ll be an uphill climb to try and keep it close against an SEC team. However, the defense can make that climb a little bit easier if they can duplicate what they’ve done in the last few games outside of Arkansas State.
We’ve seen a complete overhaul of the defense with defensive analyst James Willis and a marked improvement in terms of points allowed. If the defense can keep that going, it’ll be a little more interesting ballgame.
Louisiana Will Win If:
The Cajuns will come away with a huge upset if Hud lets Lewis do what he does best. With what he did last weekend in Mobile was a great glimpse into the possible future for the Cajuns and will need to duplicate that performance in all four quarters.
As mentioned earlier, the Cajuns defense will need to help bridge the gap and give this offense a chance to put up some points.
Ole Miss Will Win If:
The Rebels can come away with a win if Ta’amu can duplicate his performance from last week. Ole Miss has been utilizing the quarterback extremely well over the last few years and with a secondary that has been improving as the season has progressed, it could be a little bit of a challenge for him.
-Clint Domingue