Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford gives Saturday’s Magnolia Bowl a built-in edge, but the football part is where this one gets decided. No.
7 LSU comes in to face No. 8 Ole Miss in a game that has already drawn plenty of attention, with College GameDay on campus and the noise around Kiffin’s controversial exit last November hanging over the matchup.
Once the ball is kicked, though, the spotlight shifts to a handful of matchups that could swing the day.
The cleanest place to start is on the outside, where Ole Miss receiver Deuce Alexander has been the Rebels’ most dangerous weapon. Through two games, he has 13 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns, while the next-closest Rebel receiver, Horatio Fields, has 9 receptions for 113 yards and a score. Alexander’s early production has come with one caveat: in Week 1 against Louisville, the Cardinals’ top cornerback did not play, and Alexander also missed part of the second half with cramps.
LSU is unlikely to offer the same kind of opening. Tigers cornerback DJ Pickett is the likeliest defender to draw Alexander, and he’s already made his mark as the only LSU defensive back to record an interception this season.
Pickett also brings a size edge at 6-foot-5 against Alexander’s 6-foot-0 frame, while matching him in speed. If Ole Miss is going to keep pace, Alexander may need to take another step in what already looks like a breakout season.
On the other sideline, LSU has its own receiver who could tilt the game. Winston Watkins, who followed Lane Kiffin from Oxford to Baton Rouge this offseason, leads the Tigers with 12 catches and sits just nine yards behind Trey'Dez Green for the team lead in receiving yards. Watkins is also tied for the team lead in touchdowns, and he’s one of only three LSU players to catch a scoring pass so far.
Watkins does most of his work from the slot, which likely means he’ll line up against Ole Miss nickelback Edwin Joseph. That’s a spot Ole Miss needs to stabilize fast.
The Rebels have already given up 38 points to Louisville in Week 1 and allowed a stream of explosive plays in garbage time against Charlotte. Pete Golding knows the secondary has to clean things up if Ole Miss wants to keep LSU from taking control through Sam Leavitt’s arm and Winston Watkins’ hands.
The biggest matchup, though, isn’t a head-to-head battle in the traditional sense. It’s the quarterback duel between Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss and LSU’s Sam Leavitt, and it may end up deciding everything. Leavitt has opened the season in full gunslinger mode, piling up seven total touchdowns and more than 700 total yards, but he’s also thrown four interceptions in the first two games.
That gives Ole Miss a path. Chambliss has been the steadier operator so far, with just one interception and more than 600 total yards to go with six total touchdowns.
He’s already shown he can take over a game, most notably in the second half of the Louisville opener, when he threw three touchdowns and finished with nearly 400 passing yards. He has also lost a fumble, but his ability to stay composed and avoid the costly mistakes stands out in a matchup where both offenses can score in bunches.
With the defenses carrying more questions than answers, Ole Miss may need another big-time performance from Chambliss to offset those issues and survive a game that figures to be decided by which offense makes fewer mistakes.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Are Facing A Brutal Price To See This Ole Miss Showdown
The buzz around Saturdays LSU trip to Oxford has already spilled well beyond the field, and the price of admission makes that clear. With two top-10 teams meeting at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and ESPNs College GameDay in town, the market for Ole Miss showdown has been pushed into another tier, with the cheapest available seats on SeatGeek sitting around $467 with fees.
For LSU fans, the sting only gets worse from there, since secondary-market listings show a median ticket price of $862. Add in Lane Kiffins return to Ole Miss as LSUs head coach and it is easy to see why this one has the feel of a marquee event, even before a snap is taken at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Sam Leavitt Just Became LSUs Biggest Concern At Ole Miss
Rece Davis has already put a spotlight on LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt ahead of the Tigers trip to Ole Miss, and the concern is less about raw talent than whether he can keep the offense on schedule. The ESPN College GameDay host questioned Leavitts ability to avoid mistakes and operate cleanly as a passer, pointing back to the kind of turnover issues that can quickly change a game.
For Ole Miss, that makes the quarterback matchup one of the central story lines to watch. If Leavitt presses or gives the Rebels extra chances, it could tilt the game in a hurry, which is exactly why his decision-making is drawing so much attention before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fans Can't Ignore What Overshadowed This 2-0 Start
Ole Miss rolled to a 41-9 win over Charlotte and stretched its home winning streak to 13 straight, with Trinidad Chambliss, Deuce Knight and Kewan Lacy helping drive a performance that left the Rebels sitting at 2-0. Pete Golding had plenty to like about how his team handled business on the field, especially with the offense and defense both setting the tone in a routine-looking victory.
Still, the scene around the stadium carried a jarring distraction before kickoff, when a physical altercation broke out between two Ole Miss fans at a pregame tailgate and campus police had to step in. It was the kind of episode that cut against the celebratory feel of an early-season home game, and it ensured the afternoon would be remembered for more than just the final score. [Read more 🡒]