Ole Miss Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Louisiana in Week 11
Ole Miss is fresh off a last second victory over Kentucky, and welcomes the Ragin Cajuns to Oxford in a non-conference matchup.
Ole Miss got a much-needed win against Kentucky last week. A win that the Rebels won with only five seconds left in the game. This team was due for something good to happen to them and will be looking to keep the wins coming this weekend.
Louisiana (4-4) is in almost the same position as Ole Miss (4-5) record wise. The Ragin Cajuns have also won three out of their last four games. Louisiana has a potent rushing attack, something that Ole Miss has had troubles with all season. If the Rebels want to go into this game a big winner as most expect, then they’ll have to stop the ground game.
Stopping it may be too big of a stretch for this defense, which means they’ll have to at least avoid the big play. Teams like South Alabama and UT-Martin were even able to rush on the Rebel defense early in the year, meaning fans and coaches alike will want to see if the defense has improved enough to just stop a non-conference opponent.
As has been the case pretty much all season, the Rebel offense is rolling and hasn’t slowed down with Jordan Ta’amu in as quarterback since Shea Patterson’s season ended against LSU.
Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s game:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 11
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Venue: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to victory
It sounds redundant at this point but Ole Miss has to stop the run to win this game and win it comfortably. It’s hard to say that the Rebels realistically could lose this game, strictly from a talent level gap between the two teams. But, ULL runs the ball well, and if Ole Miss doesn’t stop it then it will certainly be a close game.
In order for Ole Miss to pull away and win big, the defense has to step up and be sound in their run defense. The offense will take care of itself. Between Ta’amu, running back Jordan Wilkins and the litany of top receivers that Ole Miss possesses, there’s no reason they shouldn’t put up 50 or more on Louisiana. Ole Miss can’t sleep on the Ragin Cajuns though, this is a team that went toe to toe against Texas A&M in the first half of their game back in September.
While it might sound impossible, Louisiana’s defense has to get pressure on Ta’amu and make him force the ball and make mistakes. This is after all only Ta’amu’s third start of his college career. Louisiana doesn’t boast a particularly strong defense, but if they can get turnovers, they’ll keep their team in this game.
The Ragin Cajuns will look to set the tone early on offense by getting their running game going behind Trey Ragas. Ragas has rushed for 626 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He’s no slouch, and will be a threat to score for Louisiana all day.
Next: NFL Mock Draft 2018: Post-Week 10 edition
Prediction
While I do think that Louisiana will give Ole Miss troubles on the ground early in this game, the Rebels will win. Ole Miss has way too much offensive firepower for the Ragin Cajuns to stop. This game also serves as a break from SEC competition for the Rebels and they’ll be looking to exercise some muscle on a smaller team. I think ULL will hang in this game early on but Ole Miss pulls away before the end of the first half and never looks back.
Final Score: Ole Miss 52, Louisiana 23