The LSU Tigers travel to face the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford, MS this weekend.  The visiting Tigers (SEC West #2) put their 8-2 mark on the line against a 7-3 (SEC West #3) Rebels squad that is improving weekly.

Yes, this weekend's match-up is a battle for the second place trophy in the SEC West.  You did not realize that second place teams received trophies?  That might be because they do not.  Instead of a tacky, half-baked, thrown into the closet, pre-fabbed trophy, these two teams are playing for something much grander:  bowl positioning.

The winner of this game will likely also win a spot in the Capital One Bowl

Ole Miss is led on offense by the dual-threats of Jevan Snead's arm and Dexter McCluster's hands and legs.  Snead has not lived up to preseason billing that many Rebels fans placed on him.  Snead is averaging 198 yards passing per game and has 17 touchdowns on the year.  So what is the problem?  Jevan Snead also has thrown 14 interceptions ... not good.

Dexter McCluster leads Ole Miss on the ground with 755 net yards and is second on the team in receiving (394 yards).

McCluster was last week's SEC Player of the Week after torching the Tennessee Vols for 282 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.  Last week's performance has many Ole Miss fans grumbling about "what could have been" if McCluster had been used more effectively earlier in the season.  When questioned on the subject at his weekly press conference, Ole Miss Head Coach Houston Nutt emphatically stated: "He was injured".

The hidden warriors of the Ole Miss team are found on the defense.  Ole Miss' has the fifth best defense in the conference and is surrendering an average of 313 yards per game.  The Rebels have 26 sacks on the season and only Florida and Alabama have given up fewer first downs.

LSU found out last week exactly how much a healthy Jordan Jefferson is needed in the huddle.  Receiving a scare from ULM, LSU struggled on offense for much of the game.  Jefferson has completed 63% of his passes for 1535 yards and 12 touchdowns against only four interceptions.  The LSU offense will go as far as Jefferson is capable of taking them.

Coming into the season, everyone expected LSU to be a run-oriented team.  Due to problems on the offensive line, the Tigers have been limited while rushing the football.  Charles Scott leads the team with 550 yards rushing and four touchdowns on the season ... a far cry from last season's 1174 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

Scott must be a factor in this game in order for LSU to have a chance.  Scott's back-up, Keiland Williams, has 339 yards rushing.

LSU's defense has shown that it can rise to big-game occassions.  Earlier this season, LSU's defense shut down run oriented offenses in the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators.  While the end result was one-win and one-loss, everyone knows that LSU has it in them.

LSU's defensive strength is playing inside the twenty's.  On the year, the Tigers are giving up red zone scores 74% of the time (contrasted to Ole Miss' 73%).  Both teams are yielding a red zone touchdown less than 33% of the time.

On paper, these teams are almost identical ... offensively and defensively.  The teams are currently attempting to occupy the same space in the SEC West, but only one team can hold a single spot.

SECRivals has Ole Miss as a 20-17 winner.

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images North America

Comments (1)

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written by olemisscowboy, November 20, 2009

Love the prediction, Darrell. Hope you're spot on. Or that we win even bigger.

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