Ole Miss dashed LSU’s playoff hopes last year with a shootout win in Oxford. LSU entered the game 3-1 with no margin for error thanks to a season opening loss to Florida State.
Ole Miss led 21-7 after the first quarter and from that point on, it was a track meet. LSU cut the deficit to three and Ole Miss led 31-28 at the half.
LSU’s defense buckled down in the third quarter, allowing just a field goal. That allowed LSU to take a 42-34 lead into the fourth, but the defense gave out and Ole Miss scored three touchdowns to LSU’s one in the final 15 minutes.
LSU dropped to 3-2 and was out of the playoff picture with two losses before the calendar struck October.
The Tigers have a chance to repay the favor on Saturday. Ole Miss enters this one 4-1 with national title hopes. The Rebels were upset by Kentucky two weeks ago but bounced back with an emphatic win over South Carolina on Saturday.
This is a swing game as far as the playoff picture goes. Both teams enter with a questionable loss and lack a signature win. The winner will be in a position to grab a playoff spot while the loser will likely need to win out or get some help.
Lane Kiffin has proven to be trouble for LSU since arriving in Oxford. LSU squeaked out a win in 2020 but was on the wrong end of a blowout in 2021. In 2022, LSU played the spoiler role in Tiger Stadium, staging a comeback to knock off the top 10 ranked Rebels.
If the recent back-and-forth nature of this series continues on Saturday, that’s good news for LSU.
LSU knows it left something on the table in that game last year. When the offense plays like that, it should be enough to win.
Jaxson Dart and Tre Harris carved LSU up in 2023. Both will be there when Ole Miss heads to Tiger Stadium on Saturday. This is a chance for the defense to show the progress it has made.
LSU fired its entire defensive staff following the season and the Ole Miss loss played a large part in sealing their fate. A good performance here would stand in stark contrast to the display put on in 2023.
The Tigers are coming off a bye and get a home game at night in Death Valley. It’s hard to ask for a much better situation than that.
These are the games that will come to define Brian Kelly’s tenure at LSU. There’s a chance here to exercise those demons from last year and demonstrate real progress towards Kelly’s ultimate goal at LSU — a national championship.
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