FAYETTEVILLE — LSU Coach Brian Kelly is preparing for his first appearance in the Magnolia Bowl, the Tigers’ annual trophy game against Ole Miss.
The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Central at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers lead the series 64-41-4 and they are a somewhat surprising 1 1/2-point favorite despite a 5-2 record and a 40-13 hammering at the hands of Tennessee in their last home game on Oct. 8.
Kelly, the long-time Notre Dame coach, has the Tigers on the fringe of the rankings following a 45-35 win at Florida last week. He has brought up what he’s been able to learn about the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry with the team.
“We mention the history of all the rivalry games,” Kelly said on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “The Magnolia Bowl history and what it has meant to the university. Because it’s new for me too, I like to look it up and learn a little bit more about each game. We discuss it on Monday. … We like to talk about it.”
Ole Miss (7-0, 3-0 SEC) moved up to No. 7 in The Associated Press Top 25 following a 48-34 win over Auburn last week. The Rebels have built confidence through the first seven weeks and enter the game unbeaten, but their closing schedule is rugged.
Ole Miss’ strength of schedule thus far is ranked No. 109, the third lowest among the top 50 teams in ESPN’s Football Power Index, ahead of only Central Florida (122) and Syracuse (114).
However, the strength of schedule for the Rebels’ remaining games is No. 4, behind only Mississippi State, Northwestern and Iowa. After LSU, Ole Miss faces Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State in order, with a bye week before Alabama and the road games coming at A&M and Arkansas.
“This will be a very exciting opportunity to go into one of the hardest places in the country to play,” Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin said. “We’ve been on the road a few times but nothing like this.
“This is the most talented opponent by far that we have played.”
O-for-Aggies
South Carolina will be aiming for its first win ever over Texas A&M on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.
The Aggies own an 8-0 record in the series, with all the games played since Texas A&M joined the conference in 2012.
The teams started playing on an annual basis as cross-division opponents in 2014. They compete for the Bonham Trophy, named for South Carolina native James Butler Bonham, who died in the Battle of the Alamo. The trophy has been housed most often in the Alamo since its creation as the Aggies have preferred to keep it there.
South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer has been on the losing end of the series only once, a 44-14 Aggies rout last season in College Station, Texas. Beamer said he talked only briefly about the history with the Aggies with his team.
“I mentioned it to the team, so they know and I’m sure it was going to get brought up at some point,” Beamer said. I mentioned it to the team on Tuesday morning but also made them aware, because it’s true, that it has absolutely zero to do with the 2022 Texas A&M team and the 2022 South Carolina team.
“Credit Texas A&M, they’ve been better than South Carolina over the years and certainly it’s a challenge for us to change that and find a win in there somewhere.”
Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher said he doesn’t address the series history.
“Nah, it’s next game,” Fisher said. “Each year never affects the other year. You’ve got to line up and play each week and do the things you’ve got to go do.
“Each team is a totally different animal. You have to earn your victory each week in the things you do and how you practice. We don’t ever speak on that.”
Bulldog blowouts
The last two times Alabama lost a game and followed that with a game against Mississippi State have not turned out well for the Bulldogs, who have not reached double-digit scoring in either game.
The Crimson Tide were coming off a 46-41 loss to LSU before facing the Bulldogs in 2019, and they had just lost 41-38 at Texas A&M last year before playing Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.
Alabama won the 2019 game 38-7 and they crushed the Bulldogs 49-9 last year. Combined scoring margin in those two games, both played at Mississippi State: 87-16.
Field frenzy
Alabama dealt with yet another field storming after Saturday’s 52-49 loss at Tennessee, which has become a common occurrence for the Crimson Tide.
According to research by the Chattanooga Free Press, fans have rushed the field in the last six Alabama road losses: at Auburn (2013, ’17, ’19), at Ole Miss (2014), Texas A&M (2021) and on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.
Coach Nick Saban had to deal with some bruising after being jostled around following last year’s 41-38 loss at Texas A&M. Tide receiver Jermaine Burton’s interaction with a fan after Saturday’s game is currently under scrutiny from Alabama and SEC officials.
A female Tennessee fan said on social media she was hit “on the head” by Burton after the game.
The Volunteers had a $100,000 fine imposed by the SEC office for the breach of league policy.
“It’s a difficult situation for the league,” Saban said Wednesday. “It’s a difficult situation for all of us that are in this situation. We certainly don’t condone any mistreatment of anybody, whether they should or shouldn’t be there. You’ve got to have respect for other people.”
Mustard head
Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin keeps on messing with his former boss, Alabama Coach Nick Saban.
Over the weekend, Kiffin retweeted a meme made out of a picture of Saban in mid-fury with his headphones off and his hands raised into the air from last week’s loss at Tennessee. The meme creator had superimposed a plastic mustard bottle about to connect with Saban’s head, a reference to Kiffin having a mustard bottle thrown at him last year as the Rebels won at Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium.
Kiffin was asked Wednesday about his Twitter game being “in peak form” Saturday night and how invested he was in watching Alabama-Tennessee.
“It was an exciting game, regardless of which side you were on,” said Kiffin, who was head coach at Tennessee in 2009 and was an assistant for Saban at Alabama from 2014-16.
“You’re just watching to watch. Just a classic football game where it could go either way. When you consider this week, one kick doesn’t go in and one goes in and the whole world’s changed.”
Three years gone
Vanderbilt owns four of the top five SEC losing streaks in conference history, with the Commodores’ current string siting at 24 games.
However, there is hope for second-year Coach Clark Lea’s club as the Commodores face struggling Missouri on the road Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
When they take to Faurot Field on Saturday, they will have gone just over three years without an SEC victory. Their last was a 21-14 decision over Missouri on Oct. 19, 2019, with Derek Mason as head coach. Mason has had two jobs since then: Defensive coordinator at Auburn and Oklahoma State.
That will be 898 days without a conference win come Saturday.
Sewanee has the longest SEC losing streak at 37 games between 1933-40, followed by Vanderbilt’s 33 game losing streak between 1976-81.
The Commodores also lost 23 consecutive league games between 2000-03 and 22 games between 1995-98.
Fourth-down analytics
Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin had his offense on the field facing a fourth-and-4 decision at the Auburn 24 with a 38-31 lead early in the fourth quarter last Saturday.
Auburn called timeout and when play resumed, Ole Miss kicker Jonathan Cruz booted a 42-yard field goal to put the Rebels up 10 points in a game they would win 48-34.
Kiffin was asked on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference if he was initially planning to go on fourth down.
“Yeah, it was exactly dead on the analytics about 50-50 by like a half a yard on whether to go or not,” Kiffin said, saying the Rebels needed 3 1/2 yards for the line to gain.
“It was right on fourth and 4 if I remember,” he said. “I want to say [the analytics’ choice] was like 52% field goal, I think.”
West vs. East
SEC West teams hold a 6-4 advantage in cross-division games this season.
Ole Miss has done its part for the West, sweeping games against Kentucky (22-19) and at Vanderbilt (52-28).
Tennessee is unbeaten on the East side with wins at LSU and against Alabama.
Arkansas is 1-0 against the East with its season finale at Missouri in store for the day after Thanksgiving.
Streaks snapped
Tennessee broke all kinds of streaks Alabama had going with last Saturday’s 52-49 win over the Crimson Tide in Knoxville, Tenn.
Most importantly for the Volunteers (7-0), they canned a 15-game losing streak against Alabama that dated to Alabama Coach Nick Saban’s arrival in Tuscloosa. Ala.
Additionally, Alabama’s streak of 25 consecutive wins over SEC East teams in regular season games came to a halt. That string dated to a 35-21 loss at No. 19 South Carolina on Oct. 9, 2010.
Alabama had also been 33-1 against SEC East teams overall since that loss to the Gamecocks. The only loss in that span was a 33-18 setback against Georgia in last year’s College Football Playoff championship game.
No top 5
The SEC has two teams in the top 5 of The Associated Press Top 25, but neither one of them is Alabama for the first time in 40 consecutive polls.
The Crimson Tide fell out following a 52-49 last-second loss at Tennessee last week, vaulting the Volunteers to No. 3 and dropping Alabama to No. 6.
The 40 consecutive weeks in the AP top 5 was the third-longest such streak for the Crimson Tide under Nick Saban, following a 68-week span between 2015-19 and a 48-week stretch between 2011-13.
Goodbye, hello
The four SEC teams who have bye weekends all meet next week.
Arkansas takes on Auburn next week on The Plains, trying to snap a six-game losing streak to the Tigers.
Florida and Georgia rest up this week in advance of “The World’s Largest Cocktail Party,” their annual meeting in Jacksonville, Fla.
Tom Murphy's SEC Power Rankings
1. Georgia (7-0)
2. Tennessee (6-0)
3. Alabama (6-1)
4. Ole Miss (7-0)
5. Kentucky (5-2)
6. LSU (5-2)
7. Mississippi State (5-2)
8. Arkansas (4-3)
9. Texas A&M (3-3)
10. Florida (4-3)
11. South Carolina (4-2)
12. Auburn (3-4)
13. Missouri (2-4)
14. Vanderbilt (3-4)
Player to Watch: LSU QB Jayden Daniels
Daniels, the Arizona State transfer, has hit his stride in the offense and is coming off a monster showing in a 45-35 win at Florida.
Daniels completed 23 of 32 passes for 349 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions against the Gators. He also ran for 44 yards and 3 touchdowns to account for 393 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Game of the Week: No. 7 Ole Miss at LSU
The surprise SEC West leader Ole Miss faces an LSU team that has been up and down under first-year Coach Brian Kelly.
The Tigers have won their last two road games at Auburn and Florida but between those games they delivered a stinker in a 40-13 home loss to Tennessee.
Ole Miss has two new coordinators and transfer newcomers all over the field, but the Rebels’ relatively easy schedule has allowed them to gain confidence through the first half of the season.
Ole Miss won last year’s Magnolia Bowl 31-17 in Oxford, Miss., on Eli Manning Day at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
By the Numbers
4 SEC teams on byes (Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia)
24 — Consecutive SEC losses for Vanderbilt
40 — Run of consecutive weeks in the AP Top 5 by Alabama, which was snapped this week
110-3 — Combined score of Alabama and Georgia wins over Vanderbilt
Overheard
“This is the most talented opponent by far that we have played.”
— Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin on facing LSU
“You know when you’re playing Tennessee that they’re going to score points. I wouldn’t use the term … nervous or anxious.”
— Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops on how it feels to face the high-powered Tennessee offense
“We want to be able to put two performances back to back and we haven’t been able to do that yet.”
— LSU Coach Brian Kelly
Losing Streaks
The current longest winning streaks for each school against one opponent in the SEC in order of the longest streaks. Eight SEC schools have their longest current winning streaks against Vanderbilt, while Arkansas is the longest for three teams, including the Commodores.
Team: Opponent, Streak, Year Started
Alabama: Arkansas, 16, 2007
South Carolina: Vanderbilt, 13, 2009
Georgia: Kentucky, 12, 2010
LSU: Vanderbilt, 9, 1991
Florida: Vanderbilt, 8, 2014
Texas A&M: South Carolina, 8, 2014
Auburn: Arkansas, 6, 2016
Kentucky: Vanderbilt, 6, 2016
Missouri: Ole Miss, 6, 1978
Mississippi State: Vanderbilt, 5, 2008
Ole Miss: Vanderbilt, 4, 2019
Arkansas: Tennessee, 3, 2011
Tennessee: Missouri/Vanderbilt, 3, 2019
Vanderbilt: Arkansas, 1, 2018