No. 12 Ole Miss Host LSU for the Latest Chapter of the Magnolia Bowl

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 12 Ole Miss welcomes the LSU Tigers to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday for an SEC West showdown for the Magnolia Bowl trophy. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

Ole Miss (5-1, 2-1 SEC) is coming off a 31-26 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers last Saturday night on Rocky Top.

Junior quarterback Matt Corral led the Rebels to the win as he threw for 231 yards and ran for an additional 195 yards.

Corral ranks top 10 nationally in total offense (363.0 ypg), passing efficiency (169.2), points responsible for (134) and yards per pass attempt (9.39).

The Rebels are third in the FBS in total offense (553.0 ypg) and fifth in scoring offense (43.7 ppg).

Coach Lane Kiffin and his staff have Ole Miss ranked in the top 10 in the country in six separate categories: total offense (553.0), scoring offense (43.7), rushing offense (262.8), first downs (170), passes had intercepted (1) and turnovers lost (4).

This weekend, Ole Miss will honor Eli Manning by retiring his number 10 at halftime. During his tenure with the red and blue he was a four-year letter winner for the Rebels from 2000-03, won the 2003 Maxwell Award, an honor given to the best all-around player in college football. The New Orleans, Louisiana, native set or tied 47 Ole Miss single‑game, season and career records.

“Always have had great respect for them (the Manning family),” Kiffin said. “Second place where they were the quarterback I was the head coach.”

LSU (4-3, 2-2 SEC) rolls into Oxford after a 49-42 win over the No. 20 Florida Gators. 

The Tigers announced on Sunday, that head coach Ed Orgeron will not return next season.

LSU’s quarterback Max Johnson has completed 150 of his 244 attempts on the year for 1,876 yards and 20 touchdowns. Wideout Kayshon Boutte is the Tigers top target. He’s caught 38 passes for 509 yards and ranks second in the nation with nine receiving TDs. Running back Tyrion Davis-Price is coming off a game in which he set the LSU school record for rushing in a game with 287 yards and three touchdowns. He has accounted for 574 yards and five scores this season.

Defensively, the Tigers are led by linebacker Damone Clark, who leads the nation in total tackles with 79. As a team, LSU has picked off nine passes through seven games.

Saturday will be the 110^th all-time meeting between the two programs. The Magnolia Bowl Trophy was introduced in 2008 and the Tigers hold a 9-3 edge. LSU has a 64-40-4 advantage in the series, including a 11-7-1 mark in Oxford.