LSU vs. Ole Miss Early Picks, Predictions & Preview with Brooks Austin

I’m excited to be down in Oxford this weekend for LSU at Ole Miss.

My announcement post on Twitter actually had a lot of Ole Miss fans welcoming me to Oxford, so perhaps they did not remember that I picked against them twice last year because I’m a Georgia homer.

We’ll see what I do this time around.

There are a lot of keys to this matchup, starting with the pre-snap chess match between Lane Kiffin, Charlie Weis Jr. and Pete Golding on the Ole Miss side of the football.

That Ole Miss defense got dunked on a little bit by Louisville. A lot of explosive plays. Have they got their ducks in a row over there on the defensive side of the football? We’ll find out.

Another major key to this matchup – and it’s a layup take, but it’s an obvious one – is the adrenaline dump.

It’s such an emotional build to this football game. How do you make sure that in the fourth quarter you’re not gassed because you treated this like the Super Bowl?

I think this got Ohio State to an extent on Saturday night. The heat, obviously, all that good stuff. But there was an emotional drain on that game by the time it came to 10:30 local time and it’s the fourth quarter and they’re taking 40 offensive snaps.

I also think turnovers are a major factor in this football game.

Here’s a fun stat: Sam Leavitt has four interceptions on the season. Trinidad Chambliss has four interceptions in his career as the Ole Miss quarterback.

Lane Kiffin vs. Pete Golding

Which coordinator stays balanced if one of these teams jumps out to a 14-point advantage?

Which one of these coordinators is disciplined enough to do what Sark did Saturday night and not abandon the run?

You have to stay balanced against these defensive coordinators.

As Jonathan mentioned, Pete Golding knowing Lane’s offense – or vice versa – is going to be a big part of this. These two coaches have a lot of familiarity with one another from their overlap at Ole Miss together.

It’s hard to ever give anybody an edge against Lane Kiffin’s offense. There’s always something new, a new wrinkle that he adds, and it always seems so unpredictable.

Lane Kiffin is also really good at diagnosing defenses and just giving the answers away.

Can Pete Golding figure out a way to outsmart him in this one? I think that’s going to be a tipping point.

QB Run Game is the X-Factor

Princewill Umanmielen has five sacks already on the season. I think he’s another major X-factor in this football game.

But my main X-factor is the quarterback run game. Both of these guys are athletes. Both of these guys can get it done.

Trinidad Chambliss hasn’t been used all that much in this fashion so far this season. Sam Leavitt obviously was in Week 1 against Clemson.

Which one of these defenses can hold those quarterback run games to a minimum?

LSU vs. Ole Miss Early Prediction

Ole Miss wins an instant classic.

Ole Miss 35, LSU 34.