{"id":80520,"date":"2025-09-26T13:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T17:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=80520"},"modified":"2025-09-26T07:13:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T11:13:46","slug":"lsu-at-ole-miss-four-keys-to-a-tiger-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/09\/26\/lsu-at-ole-miss-four-keys-to-a-tiger-win\/","title":{"rendered":"LSU at Ole Miss: Four Keys to a Tiger Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

LSU is set to face Ole Miss on Saturday for the latest battle in their long-standing, unpredictable rivalry<\/a>. This year\u2019s matchup of undefeated teams seemingly assures another classic, in which the hype of the buildup is only surpassed by the suspense of the game.<\/p>\n

The intrigue of this game surrounds LSU\u2019s dominant defense taking on Ole Miss\u2019s potent offense. Vegas likes the Rebels at home by 1.5 points, but we\u2019re not so sure the right team is favored. Either way, there are four keys to the game in which LSU must excel to come out on top.<\/p>\n

LSU at Ole Miss Keys<\/h2>\n

Make Chambliss Uncomfortable<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Austin Simmons had high hopes as he entered the season as the Rebels\u2019 starter at quarterback. He caught a bad break when an ankle injury against Kentucky sent him to the sidelines for the next two games. Speaking of bad luck, LSU is also unlucky, as Simmons\u2019s replacement, Trinidad Chambliss<\/a>, is the better quarterback<\/a> at this point.<\/p>\n

Chambliss is an experienced senior transfer from Ferris State who has taken the Ole Miss offense to another level. Since taking over the job two weeks ago, the dual-threat signal-caller has a 90.0 PFF grade and the second-most passing yards in the country. He\u2019s also tacked on 171 rushing yards just for fun.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the intangibles, Chambliss has the football IQ to quickly understand what the defense is giving him. He\u2019s decisive and composed under pressure. Physically, he\u2019s quick, elusive, and most importantly, accurate. His ball placement has been elite in tight windows.<\/p>\n

LSU must speed the game up for Chambliss. Although he\u2019s been great, the defenses he\u2019s faced in Arkansas and Tulane are not exactly steel curtains. The LSU defensive line has to continue to disrupt the timing of offensive plays. It doesn’t hurt that the Tigers have the ultimate spy in Harold Perkins.<\/p>\n

Field Position: The Game Within the Game<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Ole Miss offense has had success despite the wide receiver room lacking the top-end talent we\u2019ve grown accustomed to seeing in Oxford. Transfers like Harrison Wallace<\/a> have been productive so far. But nobody stands out in getting consistent separation without Lane Kiffin using his schematic prowess to get guys open.<\/p>\n

Consequently, we don\u2019t expect the Rebels to have much success with long drives the length of the field against the LSU defense. The second key to the game for LSU is to win the field position battle and prevent giving the Ole Miss offense short fields. So, an obvious goal for any team is to avoid turnovers. The not-so-obvious aspect of the game when making a prediction is that the winner could be the team that punts the most effectively.<\/p>\n

LSU\u2019s Grant Chadwick<\/a> has been a bright spot so far. He\u2019s 13th<\/sup> in the nation in yards per punt. Unfortunately, the Tigers have needed him more than they expected due to the inconsistent offense, but he\u2019s proven to be reliable. This isn\u2019t a game in which it would be wise to take many risks on fourth down \u2013 a Rebels stop will send the crowd into a frenzy. If the offense fizzles on third and short, our advice would be to punt, play field position, and force Ole Miss to earn every point.<\/p>\n

Secondary Depth Must Shine<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now that we\u2019ve established that there is no Tre Harris on this Ole Miss roster, we must assure you that this team still has weapons. This offense spreads the ball around more without a true \u201cgo-to\u201d guy on the outside. There are times when this style can present even more problems, because the defense can\u2019t key in on one person.<\/p>\n

This is where the new and improved Tiger secondary has to continue to show up in a big way. While we never know what might happen in a battle between LSU and Ole Miss, we can expect Kiffin to dial up shot plays at the perfect times. It\u2019s quite possible that we\u2019ve reached a point where teams are hesitant to challenge Mansoor Delane<\/a> down the field. If that\u2019s the case, then Mississippi native PJ Woodland<\/a> and DJ Pickett will be tested.<\/p>\n

Safety play will also be paramount as Ole Miss will surely be tactical enough to create the best matchups. AJ Haulcy<\/a>, Tamarcus Cooley, and Dashawn Spears<\/a> don\u2019t have to do anything they haven\u2019t done from a coverage standpoint. But it’s imperative that the consistency continues.<\/p>\n

Return of the Receivers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The LSU receivers\u2019 production hasn\u2019t matched the hype they received leading up to the season. To be fair, most of that has to do with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier<\/a> playing through an injury so far. Regardless of the opponent, Nussmeier looked comfortable pushing the ball down the field last week, and that\u2019s encouraging.<\/p>\n

However, the fourth key to the game doesn\u2019t simply involve throwing the ball against a vulnerable secondary. The LSU running game was more effective when the receivers were involved, and Ole Miss is 120th<\/sup> in the nation in rushing defense. There is a lot of skill in running backs Caden Durham and Ju\u2019Juan Johnson<\/a>, but this is a game in which Zavion Thomas<\/a> can thrive.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s from the backfield or quick hitters, the shifty LSU receivers can cause problems for the Ole Miss defense. This secondary is not the most athletic group, so open field tackling has been an adventure at times for the Rebs. Aaron Anderson, with space in a one-on-one situation, will not end well for the home team.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LSU is set to face Ole Miss on Saturday for the latest battle in their long-standing, unpredictable rivalry. This year\u2019s matchup of undefeated teams seemingly assures another classic, in which the hype of the buildup is only surpassed by the suspense of the game. The intrigue of this game surrounds LSU\u2019s dominant defense taking on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4690,"featured_media":76974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35584,2,17,35582,3],"tags":[33388,32984,33811,495],"class_list":["post-80520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lsu-tigers","category-featured","category-news","category-ole-miss-rebels","category-sec","tag-austin-simmons","tag-caden-durham","tag-dj-pickett","tag-lane-kiffin"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80520"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80525,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80520\/revisions\/80525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}