LSU vs. Ole MISS Preview:

By Taylor Cannon

Magnolia flower

One the best rivalries in the South comes to a head in Oxford, Mississippi when the TOP RANKED RED HOT LSU TIGERS take on the woeful Ole Miss rebel (Or after the name change last year the Black Bears whatever) in the 100th meeting of the two teams. This game has special meaning to me, because this was my FIRST LSU football I saw live at Tiger Stadium (still to this day has to be one of my favorite venues to watch and experience a football game) it was in 1993 (which was the 100 year anniversary of LSU Football) my dad, sister and me watched the game (I can’t remember the score, but I remember two things it was cold and we won), plus when my dad went to school at LSU during the late 60s and early 70s, LSU told its African-American students not to attend the game because of the racial tension at the time. This rivalry is now known as the Magnolia Bowl (because the Magnolia is the state flower of both states).

LSU leads the series 56-39-4 and this series has had its notable games from the Halloween Night game in 1959 where Ole Miss was leading 3-0 and LSUs Billy Cannon (no relation) returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown which turned out to be the game winner and gave Cannon the Heisman trophy. To the 1960 game where both teams were tied and was Ole Miss’s only blemish on route the 1960 national championship. In 1972 the Jones to Davis where LSUs Bert “the Ruston Rifle” Jones found Brad Davis for the last second game winning TD with one second remaining. In fact the “home-clock advantage inspired a sign at the Louisiana state line reading “You are now entering Louisiana. Set your clocks back four seconds”. To a heart-warming 1989 game where Ole Miss was playing its first game and it was at home since the pharyalis of its linebacker Chuckie Mullins. The Rebel fans were emotionally charged as they saw their team come from 21 points only to come up short against the Tigers.

The 1997 match up where Ole Miss upset then ranked #7 LSU coming off a win over Florida. To the 2003 when Ole Miss led by Eli Manning was undefeated in the conference and had to battle LSU who had one loss and the winner was to represent the West in SEC Championship. If Ole Miss won they would win the West outright, but if LSU won the two would be co-champions, but LSU would win the tie breaker. LSU WON before a record crowd to EVER WATCH A FOOTBALL IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI. It was a puzzling way to end and lose the game as LSU was down 25-23 with 9 seconds completes a 40 yard pass on a 4th and 26, but with no timeouts and no time to execute a play the kneel the ball preserving the Ole Miss win. So with this rivalry history laid out lets go to the preview.

Offense vs. Offense: What does that North Mississippi High School (Ole Miss) have on offense when you’re ranked next to last in the SEC in Offense, you get blown out by LA TECH, your starting QB Randall Mackey made a comment about Bama being beatable then your squad only putting up 7 against them and now recently its leading rusher in Jeff Scott and Mr. Mackey will be suspended for the game (and possibly against their season finale game against MSU). Here comes LSU with dual threat QBs Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee, quad running backs in Kenny Hilliard, Alfred Blue, Michael Ford, and Spencer Ware and receivers Russell Shepard, Odell Beckham Jr., and Rueben Randle (While we’re at it, Special Team Hit-Man and Freshman Receiver Jarvis Landry might see some playing time). LSU is going to go wild tonight and it will be a long night also for that North Mississippi High School D Edge LSU

Defense vs. Defense  - LSUs physical secondary led by Tyrann “The Honey Badger” Mathieu, Morris Claiborne, Eric Reid, Ron Brooks and Tharold Simon look to put down the already pathetic Ole Miss receivers and bring some Louisiana heat to the Quarterback and Running Backs of North Mississippi High. Sam Montgomery, Ryan Baker, and Keith Hatcher looks to make whoever the Black Bears QB is suffer. This 3rd ranked defense in the NCAA looks to sharpen its skills even more before its day after clash before they face the Razorbacks of Arkansas. Edge LSU

Intangibles - Lame duck Coach Houston Nutt will be coaching his next to last game as a Ole Miss Rebel/Black Bear with opening season losses to Jacksonville State in 2010, losing to BYU and getting shellacked by Vandy, UK, and WAC opponent for homecoming LOUISIANA TECH 27-7 in 2011, and with a 150 million dollar athletic expansion in the works things had to change, but has had a knack of getting under LSU’S skin and Its being played at Vaught- Hemmingway Stadium on the campus of Ole Miss where its home to “The Grove” – supposedly the best place to tailgate (If it is its about the only thing that Ole Miss is doing well this year, because they are definitely aren’t playing football down there) and its Ole Miss’s SENIOR DAY. LSU has been playing lights out, and taking to heart what Miles has said “Bringing the WOOD” and they are just finding ways to win which is to just flat out be focused, play mistake free ball, and most of all STEP UP when the pressure is on and when you can do those things YOU JUST CAN’T BE JUST STOPPED BUT CAN’T BE BEAT. – Edge-LSU

Winner and why – Ole Miss has just looked awful this year from on the field as well as off, even their heart has been held in to question as early as last week the coaching staff was seen packing up their stuff (Heartless and no PRIDE) personally this couldn’t have happened to a more deserving team. To reference an old Dave Chappelle bit LSU IS GOIN BUCK YA GROVE – OLE MISS and do a ‘what did the five fingers say the face- SLAP”!!! to Ole Miss (its going be COOLLDDD BLOOOODED). So you take that attitude which I mentioned earlier Ole Miss has, plus bring in a physical LSU team this will be a flat out blow out. LSU IS GOING TO BRING DA WOOD AND THEN SOME. I am going to enjoy this beat down very thoroughly. LSU 52-10

Sportaholic College Football Weekend Setup

Conference play is finally here and the first thing that catches my attention on the schedule are three heavyweight showdowns in the ACC, SEC and Big 10. Fresh off their victory over Florida State, Clemson takes on Virginia Tech as the Tigers have no time to celebrate or rest on there laurels. It doesn’t get any better than Florida vs. Alabama in the SEC. This could be a possible preview of the SEC championship game as both teams have looked strong and this should be the stiffest test Florida has seen thus far. Nebraska’s inaugural Big 10 game is a doozy as well as the Huskers take on the favorite to win the conference in my opinion Wisconsin. This is week 5 already and the games are only getting better each week. This slate this weekend will have a lot to say about where some of the top programs really stand and as a fan I can’t wait to see who rises to the top. Can Florida find a way to break Bama’s impenetrable defense? Is Clemson for real or will they flake out against the more experienced Hokies? How will Nebraska’s superior D handle Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson and their ball control offense? A lot of questions that won’t be answered until the games are played but before they are lets break them down and see who has the edge.

#12 Florida (3-0) vs. #3 Alabama (3-0) – In the annual SEC showdown of the week, the Gators travel to get ol Tuscaloosa to take on the Tide. This one should be a tantalizing one for multiple reasons. The match-ups are crazy when you think about Florida’s speed demons Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps going against Bama’s rock solid front 7 with the like of stud LB Don’t’a Hightower and defensive linemen Courtney Upshaw. Charlie Weis has had success this year by mixing in screens and quick tosses to get his speedsters the edge but it will almost impossible against Bama as they have one of the fastest group of LBs in the nation. Weis also has coddled Jeff Brantley’s confidence by simplifying the offense and giving him a lot of short safe throws. If Florida is to win this game, Brantley will have to be able to complete some deep balls to his receiver because Bama will load the box to stop Rainey and Demps. Florida’s defense isn’t too shabby either as they have their own ferocious front 7 as well. Trent Richardson is bread and butter of the offense for the Tide of course but just like Florida won’t be able to break a lot of those big gainers, I think the same will hold for Alabama. A.J. McCarron will have to make some plays for his team in this one. He does have a better receiving core around him than Brantley does. Marquise Maze seems to always make a play for his QB when he needs it the most and this game shouldn’t be any different. This is one of those games where you throw out all the stats because anything could happen. If you like fast flying defense’s and speedy shifty running back, this is the game you should be tuned into this weekend. As for the pick, I just can’t see Florida beating the Tide. Bama’s defense is too tough and will be prepared for the two-headed monster of Rainey and Demps. Brantley won’t be able to make enough plays and that will be the determining factor. The Pick: Alabama Crimson Tide.

#13 Clemson (3-0) vs. #11 Virginia Tech (3-0) – Raise your hand if you had this pegged as the most important game on schedule for the ACC. Waiting…. Ok yeah like I was saying, this one is a bit unexpected as the Tigers have brought it all together under Tajh Boyd and his stellar QB play so far. Boyd has probably brought on a contract extension for head coach Dabo Swiney as this could be a defining year for his program. When ever I see Sammy Watkins run with the ball it makes me hold my breath. That guy looks like he runs a 4.0 forty time. I don’t know if it’s the purple colored jerseys or what but boy he is fast. The Hokies are where we expected them to be, at the top of the ACC. Logan Thomas and the Tech offense will have to rev it up this game to keep up with the high paced spread offense first year OC Chad Morris has bought in with him. The Hokies defense is always stout and this year is no different with a pair of talented defensive ends in James Gayle and J.R. Collins who combined for four sacks and 12 tackles last week. Defense and special teams have always been the linchpin of Virginia Tech under Frank Beamer and that won’t change anytime soon. So basically what this game boils down to is Tech’s tough nosed defense vs. Clemson’s dynamic offense. From everything I have read on Tech’s offense, it doesn’t seem to have the horses to hang with the Tigers on that side of the ball. The Hokies do have a legit run game with David Wilson coming off a 132 yard performance against Marshall. So of course Tech will try to control time of possession to keep that explosive Tiger offense off the field. I’m not convinced it will be enough as Boyd, Watkins, and versatile tight end Dwayne Allen should be able to power Clemson to the win. The Pick: Clemson Tigers

#8 Nebraska (3-0) vs. #7 Wisconsin (3-0) – It has looked so easy for the Badgers and new QB Russell Wilson these first few weeks of the season. Now comes in big bad Nebraska in their first Big 10 conference game. The Badgers have just been rolling over inferior opponents and averaging 48.5 points in the process. The usually dominant Bo Pellini defense of Nebraska however has been disappointing ranking 52nd in the nation in yards allowed (349.8 yards) a game. This will be the first time all season that the Cornhuskers will have all of their guns on defense as DT Jared Crick, LB Lavonte David and CB Alfonzo Dennard will all be playing together due to injuries. It will take a great effort from all of those guys to stop juggernaut Badgers offense and give their mediocre offense led by QB Taylor Martinez a chance. Martinez numbers aren’t impressive but he probably gets more flak then he should considering his circumstances. It will be hard for him and the offense to move the ball on Wisconsin unless Martiznez breaks a few big gains with his feet. He has the speed to make a big difference against the Badgers. He and Rex Burkhead carry that offense and they don’t really have much else. With that in mind its easy in my opinion on the pick of this game. The Pick: Wisconsin Badgers

Game of the Week: Florida vs. Alabama – Ok maybe I am a little bias when it comes down to the SEC but how can you not watch this game? Two fast and dominant defense against a the two headed monster of Florida and the beast of Bama in Trent Richardson. This will be a great game for all the obvious reasons and I will make sure to be watching.

Most Intriguing Game: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas – Hmm, lets see here. So we have two ranked teams coming off of demoralizing losses and they happen to be rivals from the old Southwestern conference. Sounds interesting already right? And it only gets better as the loser of this one chances of a BCS bowl would be shot. To top it all off these are two high powered offenses that will be conference foes in 2012. Count me in on this one as well.

Under the Radar Game: USF vs. Pitt – This game could determine the winner of the Big East as crazy as it sounds, and Pitt has won the last three in this series. USF has looked good this season and if they take this one, I think they would run away with the Big East title.

Wake me when its over game: Arkansas State vs. Western Kentucky – When I saw Western Kentucky almost spring the upset of Kentucky in the season opener, I thought those guys would run over all of their conference foes. But alas, they are 0-3 and their oppoenent Ark. St. is 2-2 but they are a FCS team. Oh wait, Western got hammered by Indiana state this year which is a FCS team as well. I will be snoozing loudly during this one.

Coach better get it right game: Ole Miss vs. Fresno State – Is there a seat hotter than Houston Nutt’s? Most people would say Mark Richt maybe but Nutt’s team just lost to the Bulldogs last week. He has to pick his team up from the depths and at least show that they have some pride. The way Vandy beat up on the Rebels it’s a surprise they were even competitive against Georgia. Houston can all but kiss his job goodbye if swoon continues and even if he wins a few games it may not be enough.

College Football Weekend Finale

In what was suppose to be a down week as far as the good games, this week saw its share of close to the wire finishes, as Ohio State was able to pull out a thriller in Iowa City vs. the Hawkeyes, LSU and the mad hatter put on show with Jeremiah Masoli and Ole Miss, and Michigan State came from behind to stun Purdue. We even had some comic relief as Northwestern and Illinois played a one-way football game (All that was missing was the all-time quarterback) in historic Wrigley field.




The top three in Oregon, Auburn, and TCU were all idle, so the BCS standings stayed the same in that department for the fourth consecutive week. Following this weekend's games, there remains only one more week in college football's regular season which is such a bittersweet thought for me. Their are some exciting conference races that will come down to the last game in the Big Ten, Big 12 and the Big East. As the season winds down, now is where the great teams will separate themselves from the good teams.



Now lets breakdown the top games of the weekend:

Ohio State 20 Iowa 17 - Terelle Pryor just finds ways to win and when his team needed him, he put on a season-defining drive for the Buckeyes. On their next to last drive, Pryor led the Buckeyes on a 12 play 76 yard drive that would put them ahead for good. The drive would feature gorgeously lofted 50-yard bomb pass from Pryor to DeVier Posey that would have been a touchdown but was dropped by Posey on third and 10. Pryor wouldn't let that deter his team as he scrambled for 14-yards on fourth down to keep the chains moving. Pryor then completed a 24-yard pass to Dane Sanzebacher to set up Dan Herron's go-ahead score. The Hawkeyes and QB Ricky Stanzi couldn't muster up any late game heroics themselves on their last drive as the Buckeyes defense stuffed them. It was just a great performance for Pryor who was having a shaky game before leading his team on the game-winning drive. His athleticism rivals Heisman front-runner Cam Newton, with his length and speed. Iowa as I suspected had no answer for him on defense. The Buckeyes keep there Rose bowl chances alive with the win even though they are a long shot with Wisconsin being ranked higher than them in the BCS rankings.

Wisconsin 48 Michigan 28 - This one turned out exactly as I thought it would. The Wolverines just could not contain the powerful Badger run game. Wisconsin just pounded Michigan into submission with 354 yards rushing. RB Montee Ball, just the third string back two weeks ago, ran for 194 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman James White pitched in with 161 yards and two touchdowns. QB Scott Tolzien completed his first 10 passes and finished the day nearly perfect going 14 of 15 for 201 yards and an interception. Even in the lost, and Michigan QB Denard Robinson set the all-time record for QB rushing yards with 1,538 yards in a season after running for 121 yards on 22 carries. This is the Badgers first win at Michigan since 1994. Wisconsin built a 24-0 lead going into halftime and there was no way Michigan could overcome that lead with the way the Badgers run the ball. Wisconsin now is the highest rated BCS team in the Big Ten and if they win out they should make a run for the Roses in Pasadena.

Texas A&M 9 Nebraska 6 – This one was a low scoring affair that your dad would have been proud of. Cyrus Gray led the Aggies with a career high 137 yards and if you haven’t saw this guy play, your missing out. He was elusive and only got stronger as the game wore on. This was Gray’s fifth consecutive game over the century mark. The game was a defensive struggle for the entire night and Nebraska just couldn’t muster up any offense. They also committed way too many turnovers and a few key ones that may have cost them the game. The roughing the passer call on 3rd and 11 continued the drive that led to a go-ahead field goal by the Aggies. Taylor Martinez missed the last five minutes of the first quarter and the entire second quarter after hurting his right ankle. He came back for the third quarter and played the rest of the game despite noticeably being hobbled. He was flagged for intentional grounding on first down on Nebraska’s last drive and then sacked on third down. The biggest show of the game may have come on the sidelines as Cornhusker coach Bo Pellini was upset with Martinez for some apparent reason and resorted to shouting and poking his finger in the chest of his QB. The loss doesn’t affect the Huskers in the Big 12 south race as they still control their own destiny with a win next week over Colorado. The Aggies now have won four straight and look continue their hot streak and sneak into a New Year’s Day bowl.



Other News and Notables:

Northwestern vs. Illinois – Sometimes schools and administrations force things and this sure felt that way with this game being played at Chicago’s historic Wrigley field. This one had all the makings of a bad game with the teams only able to one way on offense. It was comical to say the least but Northwestern wanted this game played so badly and they made it happen, even if it wasn’t the best conditions. This was the butt of many jokes including where is the all-time QB? There was also a few Arena league quips. The sod was so lose on the field that most players spent their day trying not to slip. The one person who took advantage was Illinois RB Mikel Leshoure, running for a school record 330- yards. Illinois became bowl eligible with the win.

Stanford – After Cal nearly pulled off the upset of Oregon, the thinking was that they and the Clancy Pendergrast defense actually stood a chance in this one. In the great words of Lee Corso “Not so fast my friend”. The Cardinal went out and whooped the Golden Bears in the annual Big Game 48-14. Andrew Luck once again put on a great performance tossing two touchdown passes. He redeemed himself for his less than stellar performance in last year’s game. The 48 point outburst from Stanford was the highest scoring total ever for one team in this heated rivalry.

The Mad Hatter vs. The Nutt – Where is the D in the SEC? The 79 points the teams combined for are the most in the SEC this year. LSU came in with the No. 1 ranked defense in the SEC but allowed Jeremiah Masoli and the Rebels to rack up 36 points. This one had everything you expected from it when Les Miles and Houston Nutt teams get together. The teams traded blows back and forth in the 4th quarter combining for five touchdowns in the period. LSU is such a fun team to watch. They always play down or up to their competition so even they play a team like Ole Miss or Tennessee and it makes for a good game. The Tigers are entrenched in the BCS rankings at # 5 and should hold that ranking this week with the win.