Zach and Zach preview LSU-Ole Miss
After a bye week and a couple of meh non-conference wins over UCLA and South Alabama, LSU’s finally back on the field and they’ll play someone that will surely get the blood pumping in all Tiger fans: Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels.
The Ole Miss game is by far the biggest one Tiger Stadium has hosted to date this season, but despite being inside the friendly confines and kicking off under the lights, LSU enters the contest as a 3.5 point underdog. Is that fair? Can LSU protect its home field? To get a better feel for Saturday night, we reached out to our pal Zach Berry formerly from Red Cup Rebellion and nowadays he’s part of the On3 gang.
1. Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss seemingly pushed all their chips in for this 2024 season and they’re already carrying an ugly loss against Kentucky. What does a successful 2024 season look like for Ole Miss and how hard of a hit did those dreams take with that Kentucky loss?
The dream is still alive despite the loss to Kentucky. As evidenced by Week 6 in the SEC, the door is very much still open for Atlanta and the CFP. I think it’s more than fair to say anything less than a 10-2 regular season is a failure.
2. What’s the status of Tre Harris and if he can’t go, who does Jaxson Dart rely on?
I’ve talked to several folks in and around the program who expect him to play. Furthermore, I have it on good authority he was fine last Saturday, but Lane Kiffin told him to take a seat. If he cannot go, though, I think it will be a mix of Jordan Watkins, Caden Prieskorn and Juice Wells. He has great chemistry with the first two and he and Wells are gelling more and more with each passing week.
3. Is Logan Diggs expected to play at all this season? If/when he’s healthy how does he factor into the Rebel running game?
Most believed Diggs wouldn’t be rushed back due to the additions of Henry Parrish and Rashad Amos. But, as you have seen, Amos hasn’t gotten a ton of usage and Ulysses Bentley’s notable absence week in and week out is puzzling. All signs point to him progressing fine post-surgery. The word I always got on his availability was late October. We shall see in a few weeks.
4. Ole Miss and LSU had pretty opposite approaches to the portal this off-season. Ole Miss was more aggressive while LSU was a little more passive and relied on high school recruiting. Does either extreme approach or will we see teams try to strike a balance moving forward?
Case-by-case in my opinion. It will depend on the head coach and program’s strategy. Ole Miss has done a nice job of filling gaps with the portal. Heavy portal recruiting to fill out a two-deep is expensive and not sustainable.
5. Finally who wins this game? Is Saturday just a carbon copy of last year’s game where the LSU defense can’t get enough stops?
Saturday’s key matchup is LSU’s OL vs Ole Miss’ DL. The Rebels have one of the best groups in the country, boasting the 3rd-best third down defensive efficiency unit. If Ole Miss can get to Garrett Nussmeier and force some turnovers, it bodes well for Kiffin and Ole Miss’ chances. This as well as the Rebels’ No. 2 offense in terms of explosive plays versus the Tigers’ 104th-ranked pass defense efficiency group will tell the tale.
I think Ole Miss gets in done in Baton Rouge for the first time in 16 years.
Ole Miss 34 LSU 16