The LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels enter Saturday’s Southeastern Conference match-up positioned on opposite ends of the college football spectrum. The Tigers have won four consecutive games since five turnovers basically handed a 23-10 victory to the University of Florida on Oct. 7 and put LSU’s chances of playing in the SEC Championship game in the palms of two of the Tigers’ most hated rivals, the University of Arkansas and Auburn University. The Rebels, on the other hand, have lost seven of nine games since their season-opening 28-25 win against Memphis (1-9). By this point in the season, both teams are well aware of what works, and in the case of Ole Miss, what hasn’t worked on the field. LSU started the season using a running back-by-committee approach, which relied on everyone from senior Justin Vincent to true freshman Charles Scott to carry the pigskin. Vincent and Scott have been slowly but surely removed from the ground attack, while freshman Keiland Williams has been substituted in their place. Since the shift, the Tigers running game has been one of the best in the nation. LSU has rushed for more than 184 yards in every game since its devastating loss to the Gators. Is Williams the sole reason for the success? Of course not. Is he currently – keyword being currently – the most effective running back on the roster? No doubt about it. If Alley Broussard was anywhere close to the level of physical fitness he was at during the 2004 season, then that title might be awarded to him. Broussard, who has rushed for 264 yards on 64 carries, has shown flashes of his former self this season but not enough to garner significant playing time. Although junior Jacob Hester leads the team in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, he is most effective at his natural position of fullback and as a third-down running back in short-yardage situations. In the four games since Williams began seeing significant action in non-garbage time, he has scored two touchdowns and carried the ball 40 times for 230 yards for an average of 5.75 yards per carry. That is higher than the University of Michigan’s Mike Hart (4.9 yards per carry) and Rutgers University’s Ray Rice (5.4 yards per carry). Williams should not be considered among top contenders like Hart and Rice in this season’s Heisman trophy race, but his natural talent cannot be ignored. If the Tigers want to capitalize on the very small crack in the door that is the SEC Championship game, then Williams needs to be the primary tailback. About 340 miles northeast, in Oxford, Miss., Ole Miss would sell its soul to be in the position LSU is in now. The Rebels have already guaranteed themselves a third-consecutive losing season in the Eli Manning-less era. They have nothing to look forward to but their Egg Bowl match-up against fellow SEC cell dweller, Mississippi State University (3-7), which because of the talent levels of both teams could turn out to be one of the hardest-fought games in the SEC this season. The key for the Rebels going into Tiger Stadium on Saturday is simple: have fun. Who knows what could happen if the Rebels loosen up and try to forget about their 0-4 road record this season going into Tiger Stadium where LSU is undefeated this year. Ole Miss trails LSU in literally every major offensive, defensive and special teams statistical category in the SEC, so on paper this game looks like it should be another home blowout for the Tigers. But the friction between the Rebels and Tigers dates back for ages, from LSU’s 7-3 triumph on Halloween night 1959 to Eli Manning’s 249-yard passing performance in the Rebels’ 35-24 win in Tiger Stadium in 2001. Statistics seem to go out the window, and hatred seems to enter through said window when the Rebels and Tigers tangle. This weekend’s contest will be no different. If LSU begins looking ahead to a potential season-ending showdown for a possible SEC West title next Friday against Arkansas, then the Rebels could give the Tigers a closer game than they could ever expect. As the legendary ESPN anchor Chris Bremen says, “That’s why they play the game.”
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