The LSU Tigers travel to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to face the Ole Miss Rebels in a huge SEC showdown. The Tigers have lost two straight since opening the season 7-0 and are looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Arkansas last week. Ole Miss is still technically alive to win the SEC West but would need to win out and have Alabama lose to Auburn in their final game of the season.
Ole Miss hasn't played since their crushing overtime loss to Arkansas two weeks ago, and head coach Hugh Freeze will look to have his team ready for this important game. Junior quarterback Chad Kelly leads the Rebels offense and is having a tremendous season.
The Rebels quarterback has thrown for 3,224 yards this season with 23 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Despite losing to Arkansas, Kelly threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The Rebels will need their defense to improve this week, as their quarterback played a phenomenal game.
Ole Miss gave up a season high 52 points to the Razorbacks, and Freeze has likely tried to correct the issues during their off week. The Rebels may look to get senior running back Jaylen Walton involved more this week, as Freeze will look to control the time of possession against the Tigers. Walton rushed for 76 yards against Arkansas, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, but only saw 13 touches out of the backfield. While Ole Miss tends to throw the ball all over the field with Kelly, they may take a different approach, as they have been successful whenever they get Walton carries.
While Ole Miss will look to get the ball to their top running back, the Tigers will surely put the ball in LSU star running back Leonard Fournette's hands Saturday afternoon. Fournette was the clear Heisman frontrunner before a poor performance on the road against Alabama. The Tigers sophomore running back has rushed for 1,474 yards and has scored 17 touchdowns. Fournette had a strong performance against Arkansas with 91 yards and a touchdown, but head coach Les Miles knows that his team will have to have some sort of passing attack to beat the Rebels Saturday.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris will need to have one of his best games of the season to keep pace with Ole Miss' offense. The Tigers quarterback has struggled in their last two games with a collective two touchdowns and two interceptions. Miles' job reportedly could be on the line if the Tigers don't turn this season around, and he will need Harris to have a strong performance for the Tigers to pull out a win on the road.
It's a matchup of two of college football's best teams Saturday afternoon, and the Rebels are still playing for a chance to win the SEC West. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Rebels' radio broadcast, click here, and for the Tigers' radio broadcast, go here.
