LSU attempting for three in a row against Ole Miss
The no. 5 ranked Louisiana State Tigers (LSU) are going for their third win in a row this season and first win against the Mississippi Rebels (Ole Miss) in their past two meetings on Saturday 20 November.
Ole Miss’ season to date
The Rebels have had a disappointing season and it started with their opening day overtime loss to Jacksonville State, 49-48. They rebounded against Tulane, but faltered in week three to Vanderbilt.
They came back with a modest two-game winning streak over Fresno State and Kentucky, but proceeded to lose three in a row, first to Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn, all three being conference and ranked opponents.
On 6 November, they got back into the winning column with a victory over Louisiana-Lafayette but fell last weekend in their worst defensive performance of the season to Tennessee, 52-14.
The Rebels' remaining games will come against two more conference opponents, this week’s game against LSU, and finishing against state rival, Mississippi State.
"We knew this third year, with the amount of players that we lost, we knew that this would be a difficult year," Rebels head coach Houston Nutt said according to the Clarion Ledger. "What we didn't plan on was about three knee surgeries, four concussions,
a guy like (Kentrell) Lockett, your leader. We didn't plan on that, to lose a guy like that.”
LSU’s previous games
The Tigers started the season like any team in the South Eastern Conference wished, winning their first seven games. The victims of the winning streak were North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, and McNeese State.
Their streak was snapped by still undefeated and currently no. 2 ranked Auburn, 24-17.
The Tigers came out on top against a tough conference opponent in Alabama, 24-21 and beat up on in-state foe Louisiana-Monroe 51-0.
The Tigers will need to win out their remaining schedule, which includes the date with Ole Miss and finishing against Arkansas and will need Auburn to lose their remaining two games to have an opportunity at the South Eastern Conference championship game.
LSU keys to victory
The Tigers should carry the momentum they gathered with their big win against Alabama and last week’s blow-out against Louisiana-Monroe, and not let Ole Miss dictate the play.
The one glaring statistic that jumps out is the inability to have a passing game. They are using two quarterbacks, and have for most of the season, but between Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee, they have only combined for 1374 yards and five touchdowns.
Their rushing game is a one-man show with running back Stevan Ridley leading the team with nine touchdowns and 878 yards on 190 touches. This is the definition of a one dimensional offence, and this will need to change before it continues to become more predictable.
Rebels’ keys to victory
The victory comes on whether or not quarterback Jeremiah Masoli can be accurate with his passes to add to his already dominant rushing game, which is ranked at 14th averaging 219 yards per game.
Masoli has thrown for 12 touchdowns and 1601 yards, but is also averaging 4.7 yards every time he tucks the ball and runs. His number one weapon is running back Brandon Bolden who has rushed for 11 touchdowns and 840 yards.
Prediction
The Rebels have more of a well-rounded offensive attack, but the LSU defence is allowing an average of 14.6 points per game, and it is defence that wins championships.
LSU 35 – Ole Miss 17
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