The LSU Tigers remain in the National Championship hunt despite having one blemish on their schedule. Falling to the Georgia Bulldogs 44-41 in one of the best games this season, the Tigers have bounced back in a big way since the September 28 defeat. Taking down Mississippi State 59-26 and the Florida Gators 17-6 in back-to-back weeks, head coach Les Miles and the Bayou Bengals have kept themselves afloat in the always-competitive SEC and nationally. Though the offensive display from LSU may have not been appealing to the eye in last weekend's win over Florida, Miles was happy with his team's performance and hopes it carries over to the upcoming Ole Miss showdown.
"The offense in my opinion did exactly what it needed to do," Miles said after watching quarterback Zach Mettenberger complete 9 of 17 passes for 152 yards while the running game carried their side of the football. "It controlled the game, moved the football, was smart with the ball and finished the game. Zach played a pretty good game. It might not have been his best game, but he managed the situations and allowed us to play well enough to win."
Mettenberger has completed over 66% of his passes this season for 1,444 yards and 15 touchdowns. Set to face a Mississippi defense that is surrendering over 27 points per game, the senior quarterback and primary targets Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry could find themselves in the end zone frequently if their signal caller is on point.
The receiving tandem coupled with a rushing attack that is led by Jeremy Hill has certainly heightened the level of awareness on the part of Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze and the Rebels defense. While he is concerned with the opposition's talent, playing smart football could ultimately lead to Ole Miss pulling the upset.
"The receiving corps and Mettenberger, they have been so on point almost every game," Freeze said. "It certainly concerns you they can have an explosive play any time they want to in the passing game, which makes you pay maybe little more attention that it shortens the box by half a man or a man."
"Thus Jeremy and all those running back and the O-line, they're just a solid football team," he continued. "It's probably a combination of some things, he's another year more mature, and the things going on around him."
LSU vs. Ole Miss - DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Saturday, October 19
TIME: 7:00pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: ESPN2
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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