GAMEDAY PREVIEW: Ole Miss at No. 5 LSU

Nov. 20, 2010

TV: CBS | Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network (Sirius 219, XM 201)
WEB: Audio: RebelVision

OXFORD, Miss. - The road gets no easier for Ole Miss, as the Rebels travel to Baton Rouge, La., for a rivalry game against No. 5 LSU.

Game time is 2:30 p.m. CT at Tiger Stadium. It will be televised on CBS.

Ole Miss (4-6, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) will look to bounce back from a 52-14 defeat at Tennessee this past Saturday. It will not be easy against LSU (9-1, 5-1), whose only loss came against current No. 2 Auburn and who will be the highest ranked team playing on Saturday.

"The good thing about football is that it teaches you all that you need to know about life," Rebel head coach Houston Nutt said. "There is no sin in getting knocked down; the sin is when you stay down."

The series between Ole Miss and LSU, which dates back to 1894, is a storied one. The Tigers hold a 55-39-4 advantage as the teams enter their 99th meeting all-time. Ole Miss has won two straight after LSU pulled off six wins in a row. The Rebels are 4-3 in the last seven games in Tiger Stadium, and Nutt is 6-6 all-time against LSU.

Ole Miss is led by a hard-nosed running game that ranks second in the SEC and 14th in the nation averaging 219.0 rushing yards per game. The squad is averaging 237.3 yards over its last three games.

Brandon Bolden has rushed for 840 yards on the year with five 100-yard games. He ranks sixth in the league with 84.0 rushing yards per outing. His 11 rushing touchdowns this season are tied for the fifth most in school history.

"Brandon has played his heart out every game," Nutt said. "He is a guy who takes the ball, takes the punishment and pounding and then goes and covers a kick. He does it all with a lot of energy. I am excited about Brandon and hope he gets more yardage. He has been playing hard and taking care of the ball for us."

LSU is riding a two-game win streak, including a 51-0 thrashing of Louisiana-Monroe this past Saturday. The Tigers beat Alabama 24-21 in their last league contest.

Les Miles' team is led by a staunch defense that ranks first in the league allowing just 273.6 yards per game to opponents. LSU is second in the SEC in scoring defense, giving up 14.6 points per outing.

Tiger running back Stevan Ridley has rushed for 811 yards and seven touchdowns on the year, while Rueben Randle leads the receiving corps with 28 catches for 469 yards and three scores.

"We are getting ready to play one of the best teams in America, LSU," Nutt said. "LSU has one of the finest defenses I have ever seen. It starts with their front, their front is outstanding. They are big, huge, fast, and give up very few points. They have real speed from the front to the backers to the back ends. Offensively they have weapons at the wideout and they have a good offensive line. They also have good special teams. We are playing the No. 5 team in the nation. We have to get ready."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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