When LSU’s defense takes the field Saturday night, it will be playing with a chip on its shoulder.
The last time LSU played No. 3 Ole Miss (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), the unranked Rebels dismantled the Tigers’ defense. Led by then-junior quarterback Bo Wallace, the Rebels put up 525 yards of total offense, more yards than any other team accumulated against LSU all season.
Wallace went 30-39 on passing, slinging the ball for 346 yards and completing more than 75 percent of his passes. So when the two rivals square off at 6:15 p.m. tomorrow, the Tigers will be out for revenge.
“Bo was picking us apart on third down. He was making excellent reads and picking out the defense and making great decisions,” said sophomore defensive back Tre’Davious White. “He was very confident about where he was going with the ball, and the receivers were making big time plays for them. We’ll try to limit that this year.”
In the 2013 contest between the two, Ole Miss converted 11 of 18 third downs and scored on three of its four possessions inside the red zone.
This season, Wallace has looked dominant. He’s thrown 209 times with 137 completions for 1,899 yards and 17 touchdowns. He has also been a threat on the ground, rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Wallace is averaging 271.3 passing yards per game and has a pass-to-interception ratio of 34.8 to 1.
“He was strong last year, and he’s pretty much the same guy,” White said. “He can take off and run it. He’s a big, quick, physical guy that can put the ball in the perfect place for his receivers to make the plays. He’s been doing that this year in the film we’ve been watching, just like he did last year.”
The Tigers are eighth in the nation in points against with 17, and the Rebels are 30th in the nation in points for with 35.4. Ole Miss has won against two ranked teams this season in Alabama and Texas A&M, while LSU’s opening-week victory over Wisconsin is its only victory against a ranked team.
With the Tigers’ youth on defense, some players are in the process of getting acclimated to SEC rivalries. Defensive players who were freshmen in 2013 saw the bitterness of the loss in Oxford and are understanding the magnitude of the game as well as looking for revenge.
“Last year I was a freshman, so I really didn’t know a whole lot about the history of LSU and Ole Miss,” said sophomore defensive end Tashawn Bower. “But I could tell in the locker room after that it was hitting a lot of guys hard.”
Sophomore safety Rickey Jefferson is a defensive player who has stepped up to the plate as a leader on the Tigers defense this season. Although he didn’t see the field against the Rebels in their last contest, he said he still feels like he has something to prove.
“Even though I didn’t play, I still have a bad taste in my mouth,” Jefferson said. “Just because it’s another team in the SEC and it’s Ole Miss, a rivalry for us, so anytime we lose to a team like that in our division it’s a hard loss.”
The defense has been steadily producing turnovers, pulling in eight interceptions and picking up eight fumbles, putting the Tigers at 18th in the nation for total turnovers gained. The Rebels have thrown six interceptions and given up four fumbles, ranking them 41st in the nation for turnovers lost.
To stop the Rebels’ offense, the defensive line may be a crucial unit in LSU’s pursuit of retribution.
“We’ve been attacking the line of scrimmage,” said sophomore defensive tackle Christian LaCouture. “I think the defensive line is just playing comfortable and keeping our technique, making sure that we do our job and nothing goes in the middle of us. If we do that and kick it outside to the guys there and make plays too, it’s a successful day for us.”
With homecoming week and ESPN’s “College GameDay” coming to Baton Rouge, there is much fanfare behind this year’s chapter in the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry. The game will likely have a record crowd, and if LSU’s defense plays like it has so far this season, a full Tiger Stadium could see LSU pull off the upset.
“We’re ready for it. We’re ready for this dog fight and to show the world what LSU is really about,” said freshman defensive tackle Maquedius Bain. “We’ve come together as a team. We weren’t together as a team when we first started, so we came together and now we have our mind on the right track and we’re going after that one goal.”
You can reach Michael Haarala on Twitter @haarala_TDR.