When: Saturday, October 11, 7:30 PM
Where: Tiger Stadium
Spread: Ole Miss (-3.5)
For the second time in a row, our game of the week features No.9 Ole Miss as they travel to Death Valley to take on No. 13 LSU. This game features the two most prolific passers in the SEC. Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart leads the conference in passing yards and ranks second in passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier ranks first in passing touchdowns and second in passing yards.
Who will win when these one-loss SEC foes collide in Week 6? Find out our prediction here.
Ole Miss
Ole Miss is coming off a pretty dominant victory over South Carolina in a game I thought would be much closer. While Jaxson Dart had a pretty underwhelming day, their defense forced two turnovers on South Carolina and held them to just three points.
I expect Dart to bounce back this week despite possibly being without his top receiver for this game. Tre Harris, who leads the nation in receiving yards, is questionable to play this game after suffering an injury during the South Carolina game. But LSU’s secondary is the worst in the SEC and can still be exposed with senior receivers Antwan Wells and Jordan Watkins. The Tigers are a bit better at stopping the run, but we could expect Kiffin to lean on it more than usual on the road without his top weapon at receiver. Look for Henry Parrish to be used early and often as the Rebels try to take the crowd out of the game.
Defensively, Ole Miss has the number one run defense in the nation and ranks third in points allowed per game. LSU is a very pass-heavy team and will try to win this through the air. Fortunately for Ole Miss, they also lead the league in sacks with 24. However, LSU is headlined by two future first-round picks at left and right tackle, and their offensive line has only allowed two sacks all year. This will be one of the biggest battles to focus on when watching this game.
LSU
LSU is riding a four-game win streak and is coming off a bye with plenty of time to prepare for this one. Their dominant 42-10 victory over South Alabama showcased their strength, with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier delivering a career-high performance.
As mentioned before, we’re going to see LSU pass the ball a lot this game. While most of the attention is focused on Dart, Garrett Nussmeier has quietly emerged as the next-best quarterback in the SEC. the Bayou Bengals must get a consistent, complete performance from WR1 Kyren Lacy to get the passing attack clicking. LSU will be without Kyle Parker against Ole Miss, while a pair of receivers in CJ Daniels and Chris Hilton are questionable. With three impactful receivers in jeopardy of playing, Lacy’s performance is much more critical.
Prediction
I’ve gone back and forth on this one and originally had Ole Miss winning in my top five games of the week article. But with LSU coming off of a bye and looking great these past few games, I feel like it’s hard to have them as home underdogs. In this series, the home team is 10-2 across the last 12 and covered the spread in nine of the last 10. I’m expecting that trend to continue and will be changing my pick to LSU.
Prediction: LSU 38, Ole Miss 34
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