LSU vs OLE MISS PREVIEW & PREDICTION

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

4-0 LSU go West to Oxford, Mississippi to take on fellow 4-0 Ole Miss, a team with plenty of ties to this current Tigers team:

From taking 3 former 5 star ranked Tigers out of the portal (Sage Ryan, Logan Diggs, and Dashawn Womack), to Whit Weeks' relationship with Landry Kiffin, the daughter of Head Coach Lane Kiffin, or even the fact Ole Miss' 2024 squad was built by LSU GM Austin Thomas during his final stint away from Baton Rouge....the ties may be awkward, the feelings may be complex, but not uncomfortable enough to lower the temperature of what should be a crackling masterpiece of brutality, Ole Miss' bad vibes meeting LSU bad asses in a high speed tectonic collision....

While recent LSU vs Ole Miss matchups are known for turning into wild orgies of record-breaking offense, disgraceful defensive displays, close shootouts, and genuine mayhem over the past 6 years, Kiffin & Ole Miss lost far too many quality defensive players during the offseason to uphold their end of a low scoring, slugfest bargain:

Defensively, Pete Golding's group could still be better than expected come season's end, but the Rebels' 72nd rated defense lost plenty of beef up front along their trenches, plus a few solid secondary stalwarts from this past NFL Draft.....players like Walter Nolen & Trey Amos are a rare luxury for the typically finesse, even porous Ole Miss defenses of the past.

Last season, Ole Miss' strong 2024 defense held LSU at bay until the final few drives of regulation, pressured & harassed Nussmeier (25 QB pressures & 4 QB hits as Rebel defenders batted down 9 of his passing attempts), completely stuffed any chance of a running game (84 yards total for just 3.5 per carry)....then, thanks to heroic, clutch performances by Aaron Anderson, Mason Taylor, the late Kyren Lacy (#LLK2), and Nussmeier, the Tigers forced an extra session before subsequently finishing off Kiffin & Co quickly during overtime.

This year, Pete Golding can't count on sustaining such a relentless push up front (despite adding former LSU edge rusher Dashawn Womack), and this lack of up front dictation should hand an advantage to LSU's offense, with Garrett Nussmeier aiming to rebound from his torrid first 3 quarters vs the Rebels' secondary last fall.

While LSU haven't sustained a running attack for 4 games yet (failing to really control or push around both LA Tech & Southeastern), the match up against Ole Miss favors a running back tandem like Caden Durham (if healthy) / Ju’Juan Johnson & Harlem Berry, primed for success during this matchup....gaining additional help from wandering powerhouse Kaleb Jackson, a player who could explode on any given play.

Ole Miss currently allow 190.5 rushing yards per game (Georgia State tacked on 191 yards on the ground, Kentucky racked up 172 rushing yards, 221 allowed against Taylen Green's Arkansas, and finally Tulane went for 178);

Golding's defenders have only cobbled together just 4 sacks (LSU have 11), 2 INTs to LSU's 6, 1 forced fumble (and 1 recovery), while some of their best defenders have failed to pop thus far....despite their 4-0 record.

While eyes will be on Zxavian Harris on the D-line interior (21 tackles, 5 TFLs, 1 INT, 2 sacks, 1 PBU), or safety Wydett Williams Jr (4 PBUs, 1 TFL & 1 fumble recovery), I am most concerned about Rebels' junior Suntarine Perkins.

Suntarine Perkins is the one Ole Miss defender who could really make life difficult for Joe Sloan & Garrett Nussmeier's LSU offense, thanks to his edge prowess, versatility (solid coverage, too), and chaos creation.

However, if LSU can run the football, Suntarine Perkins will be a non factor...but, if Nuss is forced to drop back time after time vs the Rebels, Suntarine Perkins will have opportunities to create turnovers or add to his impressive sack total (10.5 last fall, although 0 over his first 4 games in 2025).

Leading Kiffin's offense, following directly in the shoes of Jaxson Dart, it will be tough sledding vs LSU for either rising dual threat Trinidad Chambliss or Austin Simmons.....although Simmons flashed in some moments this year, he is also responsible for their most inept offensive moments, and I expect Lane Kiffin to utilize dual threat backfield weapon Trinidad Chambliss as his main man.

Chambliss leads the conference in yards per attempt and yards per completion, tossing 719 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, while adding 195 rushing yards (5.4 per touch) and a pair of rushing scores....he is a terrifying prospect for most defenses to stop....

Even though Chambliss can call upon a few scintillating weapons on the outside, I'm mostly worried about RB Kewan Lacy & big play tight end Dae'Quan Wright hurting LSU's 17th ranked defense, wearing down Blake Baker's defense & opening up avenues for Chambliss to make plays with his legs.

While Austin Simmons would've made this an easier outing for Blake Baker's excalibur defense, Trinidad Chambliss will make Saturday afternoon far more difficult.....representing the Tigers' first true test against an actual dual threat quarterback in 2025.

PREDICTION

While racking up some threatening big plays, Ole Miss will continuously fall short inside the red zone or deep in their own territory due to a deluge of turnovers & constant battering ram pressure by a relentless Blake Baker defense.

In particular, Whit Weeks haunts Ole Miss for the 2nd straight season (9 tackles, 1 sack, 3 QB Pressures, 2.5 TFLs, 1 forced fumble), alongside star turns from Patrick Payton (2 sacks, 1 batted pass), Jacobian Guillory (0.5 sack, 1 fumble recovery & 5 tackles), plus a subtle, yet impactful showcase by Harold Perkins (6 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 0.5 sack, along with 4 QB pressures).

But the story revolves around LSU finally being able to run the football, as Harlem Berry, Ju’Juan Johnson and Kaleb Jackson all combine for 177 total rushing yards & 2 trips to the end zone (both scored by Jackson), which will set up LSU's passing game: Nuss finishing with his first 300 yard game of 2025 (314 yards, 3 passing TDs, 0 INTs), Chris Hilton Jr lighting up Oxford for 118 yards & 1 long bomb TD, backed by Barion Brown scoring 2 touchdowns next to 86 yards (outputs which will be supplemented by Aaron Anderson making clutch catches to repeatedly move the chains).

Even on the road @ Oxford, LSU will be in "must win mode" and I predict they take home the victory decisively, making it two in a row vs Kiffin.

LSU 38

OLE MISS 17

By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

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