Entering week seven of the 2024 season, college football fans are in store for what could be a series of cinematic masterpieces on Saturday. Among the top matchups of the week is that of Tiger football vs. Ole Miss, and LSU coach Brian Kelly had plenty of praise for Lane Kiffin and his team with just a few days remaining until the battle begins in Tiger Stadium.
LSU football vs. Ole Miss is set to be one of the top matchups in all of week seven
Last we saw the purple and gold take the field in Tiger Stadium, LSU coach Brian Kelly and his roster cruised their way into their fourth win of the 2024 college football season over a strong South Alabama foe from the Sun Belt Conference.
Now, as we come away from a week six BYE and into week seven, the Tigers have quickly found themselves face-to-face with one of their toughest matchups of the entire season: No. 9 Ole Miss.
“We get the opportunity to welcome Ole Miss into Tiger Stadium,” the Tiger head coach began on Monday. “An exciting matchup between two teams that are certainly familiar with themselves, and certainly a team that we have a great deal of respect for. Lane [Kiffin]’s done a great job there.”
Currently ranked as the No. 9 team in the country, according to the AP, the Rebels have the potential to be one of the very best college football has to offer in 2024. If anything, they just need to make sure they don’t get in their own way in the process.
Having begun the year with a 4-0 start, beating their opponents by a combined score of 220-22, Ole Miss appeared to have an absolutely lethal offense combined with a stifling defense, leaving their opponents with little to no wiggle room. Unfortunately for them, the hot streak would soon come to a screeching halt, as the Kentucky Wildcats made their way into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and came away with a 20-17 victory over Lane Kiffin and his team.
Now, as LSU football vs. Ole Miss quickly approaches in week seven, the Rebels sit with an overall record of 5-1, and are very much in the running for a trip to the College Football Playoff. Interestingly enough, the same can be said for the No. 13 LSU Tigers (4-1), who in many ways control their own destiny in a similar manner.
While it might not be the top matchup of the weekend (week seven is chock-full of top-25 battles), it’s bound to be up there with the best of them. Add in the fact that LSU is almost certainly looking for revenge following last season’s heart breaking 55-49 shootout loss, and we could be in for quite the show Saturday.
Brian Kelly outlines his initial thoughts of what the Rebels will bring to Tiger Stadium
While this may be one of the most challenging matchups on the entire Tiger schedule, it’s important to note that the purple and gold have some serious advantages on their side.
For starters, coming off their first BYE week of the season, coach Brian Kelly and LSU football are close to the healthiest they’ve been since the beginning of fall. On the contrary, this is going to be Ole Miss’s seventh game in a row to start the year, and they very well might be feeling the brunt of a heavy start to the 2024 season.
Even so, if there’s one thing we know about LSU coach Brian Kelly, it’s that he doesn’t truly take any opponents lightly, especially when coming off a loss to said opponent just one year prior.
“This is a team that is prolific offensively, and playing great defense right now,” Kelly continued while speaking on the upcoming week seven matchup. “I would say, if you look at their team last year to this year, they’re just playing great defense, coupled with the weapons that they have on the offensive side of the ball.”
As mentioned before, having lost to the Rebels by a score of 55-49, the Bayou Bengals are intimately familiar with just how good this Ole Miss offense can be. After all, not just anyone can outscore Jayden Daniels when he’s on a roll (just ask the NFL).
Now, while this isn’t the exact same roster they faced last season, they certainly brought back some impressive pieces, including star quarterback Jackson Dart and elite pass catchers Tre Harris and Caden Prieskorn.
“Jackson Dart, obviously we know about him – a three-year starter now – Tre Harris is an outstanding wide receiver, great depth at the running back position, and then defensively, I think they’re one of the top teams in terms of sacks.”
With all that said, though, the biggest difference between this year and last is the fact that Rebel head coach Lane Kiffin made some serious moves defensively in the transfer portal. In turn, they have a pretty solid defense in 2024, and this very well has the potential to cause some troubles for a Tiger offense that might take some time to get going off their BYE week.
“Love the linebackers [Chris] Paul and [TJ] Dottery, and then of course [Jared] Ivey and Walter Nolen, I think we all know about him in terms of what he’s been able to do in this league. Off the edge, Princely [Umanmielen] is a guy that really balances their pass rush. Then, in the backfield Trey Amos is an outstanding corner right here from Louisiana. So, this is a very talented football team and are deserving of their national ranking.”
Officially being out of their BYE week, LSU football will now return to the field this Saturday, October 12, 2024 against the Ole Miss Rebels in Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA. The game has most recently been declared as yet another night game for the Tigers, taking place at 6:30 p.m. CST, and will be available to watch live on ABC.
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