.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — There could hardly be a better time or place for the Ole Miss Rebels to announce an impending return to relevance than at LSU's Death Valley on Saturday night.
All the pressure and expectations are on the fifth-ranked LSU Tigers (4-0, 1-0 SEC), who won't want to disappoint dignitaries on hand to celebrate LSU's first national title team in 1958 and the unveiling of a statue honoring the late Billy Cannon, the biggest star on that team.
Cannon also won the Heisman Trophy in 1959, thanks in no small part to his memorable 89-yard punt return against Mississippi.
Second-year Mississippi coach Matt Luke, who, like his father, played for Ole Miss, seemed delighted by the celebrations of LSU history surrounding the Rebels' visit to Tiger Stadium.
"I think that's an awesome thing and part of what makes the rivalry so special," Luke said.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron, a Louisiana native who also has coached at Mississippi, doesn't sound like he's taking Rebels lightly, even if odds-makers have listed the Tigers as more than 10-point favorites in the so-called Magnolia Bowl.
"You can throw out the records," Orgeron said. "This is a bigtime rivalry on a bigtime stage and you've got some great players on both sides — a lot of history to this game."
Luke, a former Orgeron assistant at Ole Miss, took over in Oxford last year , when previous coach Hugh Freeze resigned amid investigations into recruiting violations and an escort service scandal, after which the program was saddled with sanctions including a two-year bowl ban.
This season got off to a promising start with a 20-point triumph over Texas Tech , but Mississippi got a huge dose of humility in a 62-7 loss to No. 1 Alabama . The Rebels (3-1, 0-1) are unranked, but hope this will be a year to lay the foundation for future SEC contention.
Luke said the visit to LSU "is important to kind of see where we are."
"We kind of got a mixture of some really, really good players and some really young players, so for us to keep growing as a team is important," Luke said. "I do think we have good enough players to compete with anybody."
More so on offense; the Rebels are gaining about 523 yards and scoring 42 points per game.
"They are very hard to stop," Orgeron said. "We are going to have our hands full."
Some other story lines surrounding the 107th meeting between Ole Miss and LSU:
KEY MATCHUP
Orgeron said the game could hinge on LSU's ability to cover top Rebel receivers A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf. The Tigers' have largely played well against the pass this season — with six interceptions and 12 sacks — but the secondary is coming off its worst game this season last week , when it yielded 330 yards and three TDs passing to Louisiana Tech. Luke dismissed that regression as a temporary letdown, noting that LSU raced to a 24-0 lead before Tech "hit some big plays. Some of them were just kind of throwing the ball up and a guy making a play."
HANDING OFF
Both teams' ground games have looked formidable. Rebels running back Scottie Phillips has rushed 62 times for 467 yards — 7.5 yards per carry — and scored five TDs. LSU is averaging nearly 170 yards rushing, led by senior Nick Brossette and sophomore Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who combined for 5 TDs last week.
QB COMPARISON
Rebels quarterback Jordan Ta'amu has thrown for nearly double the yards and triple the touchdowns of LSU's Joe Burrow, but Ta'amu also has thrown three interceptions to Burrow's none. The question is how much Burrow will even need to throw. "Everybody's well documented our struggles stopping the run," Luke said. "So we have to do a good job of trying to make them one-dimensional and throw the football. But Burrow has made really, really good decisions."
LINE SHUFFLE
LSU's offensive line has been in flux all season. Ed Ingram, a 2017 starter, was suspended shortly before the season opener, guard Garrett Brumfield has been ruled out after a leg injury last week, and Orgeron was coy when asked about how close banged-up starting tackle Saahdiq Charles and versatile lineman Adrian Magee were to returning. ""We are very thin" on the offensive line, Orgeron said. "We have to buckle up and play a good game."
