LSU certainly has a gauntlet of a schedule in the first season of the SEC’s expansion to 16 teams.
There’s the usual game against Alabama as well as a game against newcomer Oklahoma in addition to matchups outside the SEC against USC and UCLA. But perhaps the game that could prove to be the most pivotal, according to On3’s Andy Staples, is the Oct. 12 showdown against Ole Miss in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers lost a shootout to the Rebels in Oxford last season, but Ole Miss hasn’t won at Tiger Stadium since 2008. That feels like a must-win if it’s going to finally get over the hump as many expect. For LSU, a victory there would be a sign this team could compete for a College Football Playoff spot.
Ole Miss hasn’t beaten LSU in Baton Rouge since 2008, but if the Rebels want to make their first College Football Playoff appearance — or their first SEC title game appearance, or both — they probably have to win there this season. Perhaps they beat Oklahoma and Georgia at home, but this feels like the kind of road game a team needs to be able to overcome to take that next step.
Last year, Ole Miss beat LSU 55-49 in a track meet in Oxford. Reverse the result of that shootout and we probably feel differently about each team’s 2023 season. That’s the margin we’re dealing with.
For LSU, beating Ole Miss would show the Tigers can compete with the best of the SEC and might portend a CFP run — especially if LSU opened with a win against USC. Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma would be the three toughest opponents remaining on LSU’s schedule. Should LSU arrive at that stretch without a loss, it would have considerable room for error the rest of the way.
The Tigers are looking to make a CFP run in coach Brian Kelly’s second season, and doing so could necessitate getting some revenge in the Magnolia Bowl.
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