Louisiana State @ Mississippi preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 20, 2010 ) Mississippi 36, Louisiana State 43

THE STORY: One game from a Thanksgiving weekend showdown with Arkansas, No. 1 LSU travels to Mississippi to face a Rebels team gunning to give outgoing coach Houston Nutt a tremendous upset in his final home game. The Tigers are huge favorites, undefeated and on track for the BCS national championship game following their 9-6 overtime victory over Alabama two weeks ago. Last week, the Tigers throttled Western Kentucky 42-9. Ole Miss, which has lost 12 consecutive SEC games, found out-of-conference play to be just as difficult last week, losing 27-7 at home to Louisiana Tech. The task gets even harder now as quarterback Randall Mackey and running back Jeff Scott have been suspended for violating team rules.

TV: ESPN, ESPN3.com. LINE: LSU -30.

ABOUT LSU (10-0, 6-0 SEC West): Dominating defense has sparked the Tigers all season. After allowing 27 points to Oregon in the season opener, LSU has given up more than 11 points once in nine games. The Tigers rank near the top in the nation in rush defense (third), scoring defense (second), total defense (second) and pass efficiency defense (second). The quarterback duo of Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson has combined to throw 17 touchdown passes and complete 61.5 percent of their passes.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI (2-8, 0-6): Nutt has pulled off an upset of a top-ranked LSU team once before, in 2007. But Nutt was at Arkansas then and after leading the Rebels to nine-win seasons in his first two years in Oxford (2008-09), Ole Miss has lost 16 of its past 22 games. Nutt will resign at season’s end. Senior running back Brandon Bolden finished with 112 all-purpose yards and scored the Rebels’ only touchdown last week. The malaise even has spread to junior kicker Bryson Rose, whose streak of 17 consecutive field goals ended last week.

EXTRA POINTS:

1. LSU is off to its best start since 1958.

2. The Rebels do have this going for them: Ole Miss leads the nation in average yards per punt return (22.6).

3. Saturday’s meeting is the 100th in a series dating back to 1894. LSU leads 56-39-4.

PREDICTION: LSU 41, Ole Miss 7 - This one will be over early as the Tigers have too much talent and too much on the line for the Rebels to stay close for long.