LSU vs. Ole Miss Prediction, Game Preview

Can LSU (7-2) put a stop to the slide and keep hopes alive for a top bowl bid? Can Ole Miss (7-3) win and keep SEC championship dreams rolling? It might be two teams coming in on low notes against Arkansas, but the winner could end up being the No. 2 team in the West. Check out the LSU vs. Ole Miss prediction and game preview.

LSU vs. Ole Miss Game Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, Nov. 21
Game Time: 3:30 pm
Venue: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, MS

Network: CBS

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Why You Need To Care

Are the wheels coming off LSU? Two weeks ago the Tigers were rolling with a 7-0 start, a sure-thing Heisman winner, and everything right there to come up with a massive season. Fast-forward to now, and Les Miles is supposedly coaching for his job – at least according to some in the Internet world – they’re going to close out the season with four straight losses, and the program is crashing and burning. No, this just wasn’t the team many made it out to be before the Alabama game – and it’s not like the Tigers were destroyed in Tuscaloosa – but the 31-14 sputtering loss against Arkansas was galling. The last thing LSU needs is to deal with a rested team in a physical game, but that’s going to be what it gets.

Ole Miss has had two weeks to sit and spin on the stunning overtime loss to Arkansas, but there’s no more time to be down. Yeah, the Rebels don’t control their own SEC destiny now, but if they can beat LSU, and if they can survive the Egg Bowl at Mississippi State, then it all comes down to the Alabama-Auburn game. One Auburn win, and Ole Miss is off to play Florida for the SEC title – it’s just that easy. Ha.

This is a wildly inconsistent team, but it’s a talented one that should look far stronger and sharper after getting time off late in the year – at least that’s their hope.

Why LSU Will Win

Overall, this is a bad fit for LSU so it has to do what it does best and pound away. Ole Miss is most vulnerable to good passing teams, but that’s not what LSU does. The Tigers are ultra-efficient and effective when they do throw, but with the season going down the tubes, this is what No. 7 is for. This isn’t the Ole Miss run defense of last season, and while it’s strong, it can be beaten on a bit. LSU has to turn this into a tough, grinding, ugly slugfest, and it should be able to by pounding away with Leonard Fournette. The Rebels don’t do anything in terms of time of possession – they keep the ball for just over 26 minutes per game – and the Tigers can take advantage.

Why Ole Miss Will Win

Can the Rebels start running the ball? The Tiger defensive line got its clock cleaned by the Alabama attack – with Derrick Henry taking over the Heisman race in the process – and the massive Arkansas offensive line pounded away last week for a gut-ripping 299 yards and three scores and an attack that averaged 7.5 yards per carry. The Ole Miss O line is just starting to hit its stride, and it has to keep being stressed, it’s rested. Two weeks ago the running game rocked against Arkansas, it came up with 230 yards against Texas A&M, and it’s working when the offense commits to it. But it’s not just the ground game with the offense coming up with massive games lately from …

Player Who Matters

Chad Kelly. Dak Prescott is the SEC quarterback of the year, but Kelly isn’t all that far behind even with 12 interceptions and a few stumbles along the way. The former Clemson Tiger has been fantastic for the Rebels, leading the way to the win over Alabama with 341 yards and three scores, but getting more and more accurate as the season has gone on while throwing for 368 yards or more in three of the last four games. How well is the Ole Miss passing game right now? Kelly has thrown two touchdown passes or more in each of the last five games.

What’s Going To Happen?

Ole Miss will come away with a terrific win, and not because it’s catching LSU on a downward trend. The Tigers will come in with an attitude, and Fournette will go off, but the Rebel offense will be sharp in a fun game with more offense than expected.