Rebels travel to Baton Rouge for Saturday night showdown with No. 5 LSU
OXFORD, Miss. — After Wednesday’s practice, Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke talked about his team’s preparations for Saturday night’s game against LSU in Baton Rouge, including getting ready for the raucous crowd at Tiger Stadium.
“Some of them have experience in that kind of environment, but some of them don’t,” Coach Luke said. “Going on the road and playing in Houston with this team certainly should help. It’s going to be much louder, so we’re going to have to be able to deal with the crowd noise. You just have to embrace it. It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” he added.
(Video credit: Archie Breland, The Rebel Walk)
Scouting the Tigers
The Rebels will face a 4-0 LSU team currently ranked No. 5 in the nation after defeating then-No. 8 Miami in the Tigers’ season opener, followed by a victory over then-No. 7 Auburn two weeks later.
(Click here for LSU game notes.)
As is usually the case, the LSU defense is stout, ranking third in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (91.2) and second in the conference in turnover margin (+8). Junior linebacker Devin White leads the SEC in tackles per game with an average of 9.5 per contest.
Offensively, the Tigers are led by quarterback Joe Burrow, a transfer from Ohio State, who is 4-0 as LSU’s QB. He’s the only quarterback in school history to have a pair of Top 10 wins during the first three starts of his career. The Tigers lead the conference and are tied for first in the nation in red zone efficiency, going perfect 16-16, with nine TDs and seven field goals.
Senior running back Nick Brosette has been hard to stop, currently sitting at fourth in the conference in rushing yards per game (102.2). He’s tied with Ole Miss RB Scottie Phillips for second in the league in touchdowns scored (5) this season.
Coach Luke believes the Tigers are strong in all facets of the game.
“They’re the No. 5 team in the country and very good,” Luke said.
“I’m impressed with their defense. They’re very good on all three levels—D-Line, linebacker and secondary. Then offensively, they don’t turn the ball over. They’re efficient in the red zone. They’re a good football team.“
Coach Luke on the LSU Tigers
Game info:
Ole Miss and LSU will kick off at 8:15 p.m. (CT) at Tiger Stadium at Baton Rouge this Saturday. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
