GAMEDAY: Southeastern Louisiana @ Ole Miss

In addition to live stats and audio, OleMissSports.com will also provide another edition of Blog From The Box with live updates and insight from the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium press box. Return to OleMissSports.com prior to kickoff for some pre-game posts. The blog is also easily accessible on smartphones by typing m.olemisssports.com (no www) in the browser.

Among the ceremonies today, Billy Brewer, who served as head coach at both Ole Miss and Southeastern Louisiana, will be recognized by participating in the pre-game coin toss. At halftime, former Rebel All-American QB Jimmy Lear, who is being honored as an SEC Legend this year, will be distinguished with a campus salute.

AP GAMEDAY PREVIEW

By CHRIS TALBOTT, Associated Press Writer

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Forget about No. 5 Ole Miss taking it easy against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent this week.

With an odd schedule, a terrible case of the flu and a few questions still circulating about Ole Miss' Top 5 worthiness, the Rebels aren't thinking about coasting to a win against Southeastern Louisiana today. No, they need to work out the kinks with two games in six days, and the Lions just happen to be handy.

``It is a game where we've got to see where we're at,'' wide receiver Shay Hodge said. ``Are we at 100 percent? Can we play in gametime situations after being sick and having time off? It's going to be a good challenge, but I don't think we're going to miss a beat.''

The Rebels (1-0) got off to a slow start in the 31-point win at Memphis. Then the flu hit more than a dozen starters, including quarterback Jevan Snead, and most missed significant practice time. And then the team learned it might be without defensive end Greg Hardy because of a swollen ankle.

Now players must attempt to focus on the game at hand with the Southeastern Conference opener at South Carolina looming just five days away.

The smart thing to do, everyone around Oxford agrees, is to just bear down.

``We weren't going to take it as a laugher anyway, even if we weren't sick before or whatever,'' Hodge said. ``We've still got to take every game as if we're 3-9 because that's the way we think, that's our mindset around here.''

Coach Houston Nutt and most players did watch South Carolina play Georgia last week during their open date. But Nutt said he didn't feel comfortable working in any Gamecocks prep, despite that quick turn. He's a firm believer in the old coaching axiom ``one game at a time.''

``You look at every Saturday, and you see what happens,'' Nutt said. ``Florida International gave Alabama all the fits they could handle in the first half. It was the same thing with the Florida State vs. Jacksonville State game. It is just a different world now. There are a lot of athletes all over the country. You better take them one at a time. It's just the way it is.''

Plenty of good things can be gained from a win. It would be the eighth straight win for the Rebels, the longest streak since the 1971-72 season. And they'd be 2-0 for the first time since 2001.

So don't expect the quick hook for the starters.

``It seems like it has been a long time since we have been together as a team,'' Nutt said. ``We have to get better as a team, starting with the first team. We are more concerned about getting our first team going, and we will worry about that second and third team as we go.''

And this is a chance for the Lions, revived in 2003, to see how far they've come. And how far they have to go.

``We really can't look at it like we're playing the No. 5 team in the nation,'' quarterback Brian Babin said. ``It's going to be hard not to, but we're just going to go in there relaxed and not get too pumped up or not get to down and just kind of do our thing.''

Southeastern Louisiana players and coaches have an added advantage of being familiar with the terrain. They relocated to Oxford during Hurricane Gustav and used Ole Miss' facilities.

Babin's even been to a game. He thought the hospitality was great, an opinion that might change Saturday night.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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