Troy @ Ole Miss preview

Troy will be looking to win its sixth game of the season and secure bowl eligibility when it visits Mississippi on Saturday. The Trojans are coming off a 41-36 road loss to fellow Sun Belt school Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 7 when the Ragin' Cajuns stopped the Trojans on a fourth-and-goal play from the 4 with 2:01 left. Trevence Patt knocked away Corey Robinson's pass to Eric Thomas in the end zone, and Louisiana-Lafayette was able to run out the clock.

Troy is 5-5 with two regular-season games left - just like it was last season before losing one-score games to Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee to finish 5-7 and out of bowl consideration. After traveling to Oxford, Miss., the Trojans host Texas State (6-3, 2-2 Sun Belt) on Nov. 29. “You’ve just got to try and get ready to play and play as good as you can play,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said.

TV: 12 p.m. ET, ESPNU. LINE: Mississippi -28.5

ABOUT TROY (5-5): After starting out 5-3, the Trojans have dropped two straight - with a 49-37 loss to Louisiana Monroe preceding Louisiana Lafayette. Robinson has completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,828 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Thomas has been Robinson's top target with a team-leading 53 catches for 835 yards and 11 touchdowns while Brandon Burks has a team-high 121 carries and 635 yards and has rushed for a touchdown.

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI (6-3): The Rebels, who started off 3-0 before losing three straight, have won their last three games. Ole Miss is coming off a 34-24 home victory over Arkansas in which quarterback Bo Wallace completed 27-of-34 passes for a career-high 416 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Donte Moncrief had a team-high seven catches for 149 yards and a TD and Ja-Mes Logan added five catches for 110 yards and a TD - the first time two Ole Miss players have had at least 100 yards receiving in a game since 2003.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Mississippi's three losses this season have been to teams currently in the BCS Top 15 - No. 1 Alabama, No. 9 Auburn and No. 11 Texas A&M.

2. Troy, which is meeting Mississippi for the first time, has lost 16 straight games to SEC teams. The Trojans defeated Mississippi State 21-9 in 2001 in their first game against an SEC team.

3. The Rebels are bowl-eligible for the second straight year under coach Hugh Freeze. Before this year, Ole Miss' last back-to-back bowl seasons were 2008 and 2009, when the Rebels went to the Cotton Bowl both years.


PREDICTION: Mississippi 44-21