Ole Miss and LSU both find themselves with one loss and a chance to become a playoff contender on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Ole Miss is coming off a 27-3 win over South Carolina, and LSU defeated South Alabama 42-10 last Saturday. After a weekend of tumultuous upsets in college football, Ole Miss sits at No. 9 in the AP rankings, while LSU remains at No.13.

The Rebels have not won an away game against LSU since 2008 — although they have come close. Ole Miss has lost the last two times they traveled to Death Valley, once in 2020 and again in 2022.

The Daily Mississippian talked with Jason Willis, sports editor of LSU’s student newspaper, The Reiville, about LSU fans’ expectations for this weekend’s matchup.

“I think there’s a part of the fanbase that is thinking that Ole Miss at the beginning of the season was maybe the SEC team that people were most confident in,” Willis said. “There’s also an expectation within the LSU fanbase that LSU beats Ole Miss.”

The Rebel unit that stole the show on Saturday afternoon was the defense, led by T.J. Dottery with 13 total tackles. In total, Ole Miss had six sacks and 10 tackles for a loss, despite being down star EDGE Princely Umanmielen.

While asserting defensive dominance throughout the season, Ole Miss will face its biggest test against LSU’s offense, led by quarterback Garrett Nussmeir. 

An exceptional player, Nussmeir has done his best to replace Heisman-trophy winner Jayden Daniels. Nussmeir’s numbers have been solid, with 1,652 yards and 15 touchdowns while throwing only four interceptions. It will be important for the Rebels to force LSU into obvious passing downs on third and long so that the defensive line can apply pressure on Nussmeier. 

The Ole Miss offense looked a little closer to form last Saturday, gaining 425 total offensive yards, including 140 yards on the ground. The Rebels’ run game has been an adjustment with the return of running back Henry Parrish Jr. and the rise of sophomore running back Matt Jones. 

The Rebels have struggled to find much run game outside of Parrish and Jones. There is a lingering question on the status of Ulysses Bentley IV, who averaged 5.7 yards a carry in conference play last season.

Through four non-conference games with Ole Miss, Bentley racked up 16 rush attempts for 63 total yards. However, against Kentucky and South Carolina to start SEC play, Bentley did not  see the field once. 

“You know it’s a fair question. I get asked that every week,” head coach Lane Kiffin said in a press conference prior to the South Carolina game. “These other guys are doing well. I thought they ran well, I thought they protected well. … It’s nothing against Bentley; it’s just how it is. But I can’t predict how the future is going to go.”

Dart was in better form on Saturday, throwing for 285 yards — although he looked a little hesitant following the previous week’s loss to Kentucky, and struggled to find some reads early in the game. Dart will look to find wide receivers Tre Harris and Juice Wells this week against the LSU secondary.

The LSU defense has improved but is still vulnerable. The Tigers are without star linebacker Harold Perkins after he suffered a torn ACL earlier in the season. 

Ole Miss could explore some options within the ground game, as LSU has looked susceptible to the run this season. South Carolina scored 34 points on the Tigers and almost won in overtime earlier this season, but scored only three points on Ole Miss two weeks later. 

“I think one of LSU’s biggest strengths this season has been rushing the passer,” Willis said. “If there’s anything our corners do have going for them it’s physicality. … In order for them to beat Ole Miss, they would have to slow the offense down that way.” 

While the Rebels are more talented on paper, Ole Miss will need to capitalize on both ends of the ball to come out with a win in Death Valley. The offense is expected to come out aggressive early to take shots at the LSU defense.

Throughout Kiffin’s tenure at Ole Miss, the staff seems to be dialed in during these “swing” games. When Ole Miss faced teams with similar fates and records, Kiffin and staff tended to execute well and get the job done — just like in 2023 when the Rebels faced LSU in Oxford as the underdog and earned a comeback win.

The Rebels will face LSU in Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12. at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ABC.