LSU Holds Slim Western Division Hopes — Must Defeat Ole Miss

Written by Benton Vale

Friday, 17 November 2006

LSU Holds Slim Western Division Hopes — Must Defeat Ole Miss The No.9 LSU Tigers still have an outside chance of winning the SEC Western Division crown but must defeat an emotionally charged Ole Miss team at Tiger Stadium this Saturday (Nov 18.) and hope Mississippi State can knock off No.5 Arkansas at Scott Stadium in Starkville. With a win over the Rebels coupled with a MSU win over Arkansas, the Tigers will get their chance to get into the SEC Championship game if they defeat Arkansas head to head on Nov. 24 in Little Rock.

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The Tigers are 8-2 entering Saturday’s contest with a 4-2 mark in SEC play after picking up back-to-back wins over Tennessee and Alabama in their last two outings. Junior quarterback Jamarcus Russell leads a high-powered offense that is averaging over 420 yards per game. Russell has completed 177 of 250 passes for 2364 yards and has thrown 21 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. A trio of Tiger receivers has had outstanding seasons. Senior Dwayne Bowel (48 catches for 780 yards and nine touchdowns), senior Craig Davis (44 catches for 637 yards and three touchdowns) and junior Early Doucet (44 catches for 577 yards and six touchdowns) are three of the top pass catchers in the SEC.

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The Tiger defense is the top ranked squad in the NCAA. LSU gives up only 231 yards of total offense to its opponents, including just 72 on the ground. Linebacker Darry Beckwith leads the team in tackles with 56 and is followed by All-America safety LaRon Landry with 52. Tyson Jackson has 7.5 sacks for minus 33 yards, while Craig Steltz has grabbed four interceptions to lead the team.

Ole Miss will catch LSU's defense in a nasty mood. The Tigers gave up a season-high 369 yards total offense to Alabama last weekend, breaking LSU's 16-game streak of limiting opponents to fewer than 300 yards. "The whole defense was kind of embarrassed," defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey said. "We're looking to come out and try to fix that" this week. Dorsey and LSU defensive end Chase Pittman said it was tough getting ready for Alabama. LSU was coming off after an emotionally sapping 28-24 victory at Tennessee the week before, while Alabama was upset, 24-16, by Mississippi State. "We knew we'd get their best shot, and we did," Pittman said.

Ole Miss is coming into the game installed by most Las Vegas and offshore sports books a huge +27.5 underdog. The Rebels have been a good bet for backers while getting double-digit chalk. Ole Miss covered +17.5 against Georgia, +15.5 at Alabama and +18 at home against Auburn. The bad news for Ole Miss backers is that LSU has covered 5-of-6 lines as double-digit favorites.

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