GAMEDAY PREVIEW: No. 14 Ole Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Sept. 13, 2014

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TV Network: SEC Network | Ole Miss Radio Network: (Sirius 134, XM 192)

Tuesday Blog: Freeze, Luke Talk Offensive Line Progress

Wednesday Blog: Freeze Talks Schedule, Areas for Team to Improve

Saturday Blog: Three and Out: Keys to Ole Miss-ULL

OXFORD, Miss. - After playing its first two games away from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Ole Miss makes its 2014 home debut today, as the Rebels host the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns at 3 p.m. It marks the first of three straight home games over the next four weeks.

"We have a big game with Louisiana-Lafayette in our home opener, and it's always great to play here in front of our fans," head coach Hugh Freeze said. "I know they'll show up and be very supportive, and we owe them to put a product on the field that's very exciting."

With wins over Boise State and Vanderbilt, Ole Miss (2-0) has risen to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll, its highest ranking since 2009. The Rebels have been dominant on both sides of the ball, winning their first two games by an average margin of victory of 30 points.

"I was really excited to see some improvement from week one to week two in a lot of areas," Freeze said. "We certainly have a long way to go, but I did think we got some really good play out of some key positions like quarterback and our wide receivers, and our offensive line certainly took a step forward. We still have a ways to go, like I said, and defensively we continue to play really well."

The Ole Miss defense is allowing just 8.0 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NCAA and second in the Southeastern Conference. The Rebels also lead the SEC and rank second nationally with five interceptions.

Senior quarterback Bo Wallace has eclipsed 300 yards passing in each of his first two games, as he ranks second in the SEC and top 10 nationally in total offense (360.5 yards per game) and passing (353.5 yards per game).

Junior wide receiver Cody Core has emerged as one of his favorite targets setting career highs with his two-game season totals of eight catches, 195 yards and three touchdowns.

"I'm just relaxing and playing ball," Wallace said. "I don't think it's the best I've ever played or anything like that. I'm just trying to put points up and trying to win games."

Louisiana-Lafayette has started the season 1-1 with a season-opening 45-6 win over Southern University followed by a 48-20 loss to Louisiana Tech.

Inheriting a team that went 3-9 in 2010, head coach Mark Hudspeth has led Louisiana-Lafayette to three straight nine-win seasons and bowl victories. Coming off a Sun Belt Championship last year, their first since 2005, the Ragin' Cajuns were the unanimous pick to repeat as champions by the league's head coaches.

"They are a good football team, no question," Freeze said. "They didn't play their best the other night. They turned it over and put them in bad spots, but I know we'll get their best."

"From being in that conference, I know how it is for those kids to get a chance to play in these arenas and these games. I know Mark will have them ready and it'll be a good game."

This marks the fourth meeting between the two teams. Ole Miss leads the series 3-0, including a 43-21 victory in their most recent meeting in 2010. The Rebels are 28-1-2 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference.

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Players Mentioned

Cody Core

The University of Mississippi Athletics