Game Primer: Ole Miss vs. LSU

			OLE MISS (4-6, 2-4 SEC) vs. #1/1 LSU (9-0, 5-0 SEC) Saturday, Nov. 16 • 6 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)
Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Buy Tickets • Gameday Info Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF) • LSU Game Notes (PDF) • SEC Game Notes (PDF)

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This game marks the 108th all-time meeting between the Ole Miss Rebels and LSU Tigers dating back to 1894.
• LSU is Ole Miss' second-most played opponent behind Mississippi State, whom the Rebels will play for the 116th time on Nov. 28.
• LSU holds a 62-40-4 advantage in the series, 9-7-1 in Oxford ... The original record is 62-41-4 in favor of LSU with Ole Miss' 2013 win vacated due to NCAA ruling.
• The home team has won six of the last seven meetings on the field.
• 86.3 percent of Ole Miss' offense (3,751 of 4,345 yards) have come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country.
• Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 30th in the NCAA with 2.7 sacks per game.
• Ole Miss hasn't allowed a passing touchdown in the last 10 quarters.
• The Rebels are No. 17 in the NCAA with only 4.9 penalties per game.
• QB John Rhys Plumlee's 777 yards rushing on the season are a program record by an Ole Miss freshman and rank No. 3 in the country by a QB.
• RB Jerrion Ealy has three 50-yard rushes this season, the fifth-most in the country.
• Ealy is the first player since 2012 (Jaylen Walton) to record a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in the same season.
• ILB Lakia Henry ranks 10th in the conference in tackles per game (7.5).
• P Mac Brown is fourth in the SEC and No. 24 in the NCAA in punting average (44.3).

OLE MISS HEAD COACH MATT LUKE
Matt Luke (Ole Miss, 2000) is in his 12th season at Ole Miss and third season at the helm, taking the reins of his alma mater as the 38th head coach in program history. He was born a Rebel as his family has ties to Ole Miss that span three generations. During his 25 years as a player and coach at the collegiate level, Luke has risen through the ranks while learning from a number of successful veteran coaches. He has worked alongside national champion Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and former Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville, among others. Luke, a four-year center for the Rebels (1995-98), spent five seasons as the team's co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before being promoted to interim head coach for the 2017 season. During his first stop in Oxford (2002-05), he served four seasons coaching the Ole Miss tight ends and offensive line under Cutcliffe. Following his playing career, he served as a student assistant coach at Ole Miss in 1999, helping the Rebels to an 8-4 mark with regular-season wins against Auburn, South Carolina, LSU and Arkansas as well as a 27-25 triumph over Oklahoma in the Independence Bowl. He graduated in May 2000 with a degree in business administration. His father, Tommy, was a defensive back at Ole Miss in the 1960s while his brother, Tom, quarterbacked the Rebels from 1989-91. Tom is also on the Ole Miss football staff as assistant athletics director for player development.

LSU HEAD COACH ED ORGERON
Ed Orgeron (Northwestern State, 1984) is in his fourth year - third full year - as LSU's head coach and has a 34-9 record with the Tigers, including a 9-0 mark so far this season. Of Oregon's 34 victories, 15 have come against teams ranked in the top 25, including nine over top-10 opponents. In 2018, Orgeron guided a young and inexperienced LSU team to a 10-3 overall mark and a final ranking of No. 6 nationally. It marked LSU's first 10-win season since 2012 and the highest final ranking for the Tigers since 2011. Orgeron, a native of Larose, Louisiana, is LSU's 33rd head football coach, and the first Louisiana native to serve as head coach of the Tigers since West Monroe native Jerry Stovall held the position for three seasons in the early 1980s. Orgeron, who has also served as head coach at Ole Miss and Southern Cal, is 20-6 in his past 26 games as a head coach. Overall, Orgeron has a 35-33 overall mark as a collegiate head coach, including a 10-25 mark with the Rebels from 2005-07. Of LSU's six losses under Orgeron, three have come by six points or less and two others came against the nation's No. 1 ranked team.

TIGER SCOUTING REPORT
The LSU Tigers currently sit at 9-0 overall, 5-0 in SEC play and are ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches Poll. LSU is coming off a 46-41 win over No. 2 Alabama in which saw the Tigers gain 559 yards, including 393 yards through the air. Four of LSU's wins this season have come against teams ranked in the top 10. The LSU offense ranks in the top 10 nationally in multiple offensive categories, including total yards per game (538.4), passing yards (379.3) and scoring offense (46.7). Joe Burrow, considered the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, leads the Tiger offense under center. Burrow ranks second nationally in passing yards (3,198) and passing touchdowns (33). Burrow's completion percentage leads the NCAA at 78.9 percent. Burrow's favorite target is junior wideout Justin Jefferson. On the season, Jefferson has hauled in 62 catches for 898 yards and nine touchdowns. Ja'Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall, Jr. have 10 and eight receiving touchdowns respectively. Clyde Edwards-Helaire leads the way fort he Tiger rushing attack. Edwards-Helaire has rushed 83 times for 409 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Edwards-Helaire leads the SEC and ranks 14th nationally with 11 rushing TDs on the season. He's carried the ball 135 times for 786 yards. On the other side of the ball, LSU ranks seventh in the SEC in total defense (340.4) and second in the SEC and 13th nationally in rush defense (100.7). True freshman Derek Stingley, Jr. is second in the the SEC and eighth nationally with four interceptions on the season. Junior Jacob Phillips ranks third in the SEC with 7.9 tackles per game.

OLE MISS-LSU SERIES HISTORY
• This game marks the 108th all-time meeting between the Ole Miss Rebels and LSU Tigers dating back to 1894.
• LSU is Ole Miss' second-most played opponent behind Mississippi State, whom the Rebels will play for the 116th time on Nov. 28.
• LSU holds a 62-40-4 advantage in the series, including a 9-7-1 mark in Oxford.
• The original record is 62-41-4 in favor of LSU with Ole Miss' 2013 victory vacated due to NCAA ruling.
• The home team has won six of the last seven meetings on the field.

SENIOR SALUTE
Saturday's game will serve as Senior Day and 21 student-athletes will be honored before the final home game of the 2019 season. DT Josiah Coatney, P Spencer Cole, TE Octavious Cooley, OLB Vernon Dasher, DB Kweisi Fountain, OL Alex Givens, DB Myles Hartsfield, ILB Willie Hibbler, OL Michael Howard, DT Benito Jones, DB Jalen Julius, TE Jason Pellerin, RB Scottie Phillips, QB Grant Restmeyer, DE Ty Reyes, DE Austrian Robinson, OLB Qaadir Sheppard, OL KC Swaim, K Isaac Way, RB KeShun Wells, OLB Brenden Williams.

LOUISIANA REBELS
The Ole Miss roster features three players who hail from Louisiana: ILB Zikerrion Baker (Mooringsport), OL Peyton Cox (Metairie) and TE Jason Pellerin (New Iberia).

REBEL-TIGER CONNECTIONS
• OL Peyton Cox was teammates with the Tigers' LB Hunter Faust at Jesuit HS in Metairie, Louisiana.
• Sophomore wideout Jacob Carter and LSU's Preston Stafford are both from Pontotoc, Mississippi, and went to Pontotoc HS.
• Ole Miss' Tariqious Tisdale and Hal Northern played with LSU's Damien Lewis at Northwest Mississippi CC in 2018.
• Offensive lineman Carter Colquitt and LSU's Quentin Skinner played together at Buford HS in Buford, Georgia.
• True freshman quarterback Sellers Shy and the Tigers' Maurice Hampton, Jr. were teammates at Memphis University School in Memphis, Tennessee.
• LSU coach Ed Orgeron was Ole Miss' head coach from 2005-07, compiling a 10-25 overall record.
• Ole Miss strength coach Paul Jackson was an assistant strength coach at LSU from 2007-10.

SEC NATION HEADED TO THE GROVE
SEC Network's traveling pre-game show, SEC Nation, will be making its sixth appearance in The Grove prior to Saturday's game vs. LSU. The show will take place on The Grove stage from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and airs on SEC Network. SEC Nation's "The Pit" open at 7 a.m. for those that want to be close to the action. SEC Nation will feature host Laura Rutledge, analysts Paul Finebaum, Marcus Spears and Tim Tebow. The show's prior visits to The Grove were in 2014 for Ole Miss-Tennessee and the Egg Bowl vs. Mississippi State, 2015 for the Arkansas game, 2016 for Ole Miss-Alabama and again last year for a contest vs. the top-ranked Crimson Tide.

VS. NO. 1 TEAMS
• LSU will mark the 15th time that Ole Miss takes on the No. 1 team in the country.
• The Rebels are 0-13 against top-ranked teams on the field.
• Ole Miss knocked off No. 1 Alabama in 2014, but the win was vacated due to NCAA ruling.
• It's the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that Ole Miss has faced the nation's top-ranked team.
• This will be the fifth time the Rebels have squared off against a No. 1 LSU squad ... Ole Miss is 0-4 in those contests.

MR. RECORD BREAKER
QB John Rhys Plumlee has set nearly every single-season school rushing record for a freshman:

SINGLE-SEASON RECORD	PLUMLEE	RECORD	PREV. RECORD	RECORD HOLDER/YEAR
Most Rushing Yards - Freshman	777	777	612 (McSwain)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Most Rushing Yards by a QB	777	777	544 (Masoli)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Most Rushing TDs by a Freshman	7	7	6 (Gunn)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Most Total TDs by a Freshman	11	11	7 (Metcalf/Ellis)	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)
Consecutive 100-Yard Rushing Games by a QB	3	3	--	John Rhys Plumlee (2019)

RUNNING WILD
Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 14th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 247.4 yards per game, nearly 30 yards more than the second-best rushing attack in the conference, Auburn. In SEC play, the Rebels have run for a league-best 1,550 yards and 13 touchdowns. Ole Miss has averaged 47.7 carries per conference game, 13 carries per game more than the league average (34.8). The 447 rushing yards vs. New Mexico State were the fifth-most in school history and the most since 1962 (Chattanooga, 454). Ole Miss also rushed for 413 yards vs. Vanderbilt during Week 6, the most by Ole Miss against an SEC opponent since 1979 (Vandy, 443). It's just the third time in school history that Ole Miss has surpassed the 400-yard rushing mark twice in the same season.

WE WERE MERELY FRESHMEN
• 86.3 percent of Ole Miss' offense (3,751 of 4,345 yards) have come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country.
• Twenty-eight of Ole Miss' 33 touchdowns on the season have involved freshmen, including 13 straight.
• The 51 total freshmen (36 true, 15 redshirt) on Ole Miss' roster account for over 43 percent of the roster, the third-most in the SEC.
• Seven different freshmen have started at least one game this season for the Rebels.
• Thiry-seven freshmen (27 true, 10 redshirt) have seen action for Ole Miss at least once during 10 games of the season, the second-most in the NCAA. Those freshmen include: WR Miles Battle (RS), DE Quentin Bivens (RS), OL Nick Broeker (True), ILB Ashanti Cistrunk (True), RB Snoop Conner (True), QB Matt Corral (RS), DE LeDarrius Cox (True), OL Jalen Cunningham (RS), QB Kinkead Dent (True), RB Jerrion Ealy (True), DB A.J. Finley (True), WR Demarcus Gregory (RS), OL Hamilton Hall (RS), DB Jakorey Hawkins (RS), DT KD Hill (RS), WR Dannis
Jackson (True), WR Jadon Jackson (True), OL Jeremy James (True), WR Jordan Jernigan (True), QB Brice Johnson (True), DB Jalen Jordan (True), TE Casey Kelly (True), OLB Luke Knox (RS), NT Patrick Lucas, Jr., (True), OL Reece McIntyre (True), WR Jonathan Mingo (True), WR Mario Padilla (True), QB John Rhys Plumlee, (True), DB Deantre Prince (True), OL Bryce Ramsey (True), QB Sellers Shy (True), RB Dallas Smith (True), DB, Jay Stanley (True), QB Grant Tisdale (True), OL Caleb Warren (True), WR Jack White (True), WR Nevin Wells (RS).

PLUMLEE POSTS MONSTROUS NUMBERS VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
QB John Rhys Plumlee posted his best passing grade (77.0) since Week 4, but it was his running of the ball where he truly shined this week. Plumlee's 177 rushing yards led all FBS quarterbacks, and that's just one figure in which Plumlee ranked among the nation's elite this week. Plumlee also led all FBS QBs with an incredible nine missed tackles forced. With all of the missed tackles Plumlee forced, he gained 134 yards after contact. Plumlee's 11.17 yards after contact per attempt were by far the absolute best among all FBS players this week with at least 10 carries. An interesting note on Plumlee's career day on the ground is most of his success came on first down. On first downs, Plumlee gained 119 yards, one TD, and forced seven missed tackles on just six carries.

OFFENSIVE LINE SHINES IN WIN
On 24 total dropbacks, the Ole Miss offensive line wasn't charged with a single sack on the day. The Rebels were the only SEC team in action this week with a zero percent sack rate allowed and the conference average for the week was 8.39 percent. Three men along the offensive line that stood out in particular were RG Royce Newman, LT Michael Howard, and RT Alex Givens. Newman posted career-high 77.9 overall grade and 76.9 run blocking grade, accompanied by an excellent 82.5 pass blocking grade after he allowed zero pressures and won multiple run blocking reps on his 61 total snaps. Newman's 77.9 overall grade led all SEC guards this week. Howard also posted career highs in overall (82.8) and run blocking (78.7) grades (both of these led all SEC Tackles), which earning an 81.2 pass blocking grade after he, too, allowed zero pressures on the day. Givens posted season highs in overall (77.5) and run blocking (73.6) grades, with a pass blocking grade of 79.3 after he was the third member of the offensive line to go the entire day without allowing a single pressure.

RUN-JRP
QB John Rhys Plumlee has put up some record-breaking numbers on the ground in his first collegiate season. With at least two games remaining in the season, Plumlee already has the school record for most rushing yards by a freshman (777), rushing yards by a QB (777), rushing touchdowns by a freshman (seven) and total TDs by a freshman (11). Plumlee is the only Ole Miss quarterback in school history to rush for 100 yards in three straight games. In SEC contests, Plumlee ranks third in the conference in rushing touchdowns (five) and fourth rushing attempts (100). The Hattiesburg, Mississippi, native is second in yards on the ground per conference contest (109.4). He's also the first Power 5 QB to rush for 100 or more yards in each of his first three starts since Nebraska's Taylor Martinez and Michigan's Denard Robinson in 2010.

SMITH STINGY IN PASS COVERAGE
DB Keidron Smith turned his area of the field into an offensive wasteland last week vs. New Mexico State. On 40 total coverage snaps, Smith allowed one catch of three targets for a total of two yards, with those two yards coming after the catch. He also allowed a passer rating of just 42.4 on the day. Impressively, both incompletions in Smith's coverage were forced by Smith. They both resulted in tight, clean coverage that prevented the receiver from cleanly running the intended route. Since Week 6, Smith had been very stingy in coverage. In that span, Smith ranks seventh among SEC CBs with 0.63 yards allowed per coverage snap. He has also allowed a passer rating of 45.8 since Week 6, second-best among that group of SEC cornerbacks.

A FORCE IN THE MIDDLE
DT Benito Jones was unstoppable in his last contest vs. New Mexico State. Jones' excellent outing was highlighted by his outstanding nine total pressures (one sack, eight hurries), and he did so on 27 rushes. Of the 248 FBS defenders with 20-plus pass rushes in Week 11, nobody had a higher win of pressure rate than Jones' 33.3 percent in both categories. His nine total pressures also led all FBS interior defensive linemen in Week 11, while ranking second among all FBS defenders, regardless of position. Jones now has 29 pressures on the season, which ranks third among SEC interior defensive linemen and seventh among all FBS interior defensive linemen.

BIVENS OFF THE BENCH
DE Quentin Bivens came off the bench vs. New Mexico State and had an excellent showing, particularly in the pass rush. On just 16 pass rushes, Bivens contributed four total pressures (two sacks, two hurries). Among all FBS interior defensive linemen with at least 15 rushes, Bivens' 25.0 percent pressure and win rates both ranked fourth. They also only trailed teammate Benito Jones when compared against other SEC interior linemen. Bivens was the only interior DL in the SEC with multiple sacks this week, and one of two players in the conference to accomplish that feat all together in Week 11. Bivens has quietly been a reliable rotational player for the Rebels this season. His 13.0 percent pass rush win rate ranks tied for 12th among the 42 SEC interior DL with at least 100 rushes this season.

MAC BROWN RAISES NEARLY 75K FOR ALS
When he was in seventh grade, Ole Miss punter Mac Brown had a modest goal of raising $500 for a childhood friend's dad who had been diagnosed with ALS. Along with a group of neighborhood friends, Brown started a lemonade stand, Awesome Lemonade Stand, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to help his friend's family. Eight years later, that $500 goal has ballooned to nearly $75,000 raised by Brown and his friends for ALS research. This year alone, the Awesome Lemonade Stand has raised more than $21,000 alone, including $4,500 during the Vanderbilt game when the stand was set up outside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

BROTHERLY COMPANY
Ole Miss is one of only nine FBS schools in the country to have brothers on the same coaching staff as running backs coach Derrick Nix is in his 12th year at Ole Miss and Tyrone Nix is in his fifth overall season (second stint) coaching outside linebackers. If you include support staff, Matt and Tom Luke (Assistant A.D. for Player Development), the Rebels are the only school in the country to have two sets of brothers on staff.

    • Jeff, Brian & Greg Brohm (HC, OC, Ops) - Purdue
    • Travis & Trent Greene (GAs) - Syracuse
    • Thomas & Tyquan Hammock (HC & GA) - Northern Illinois
    • Willy & Colton Korn (Co-OC & Def. GA) - South Alabama
    • Matt & Tom Luke (HC & Player Dev.) - Ole Miss
    • Joey & Kevin Lynch (AHC/OC & RB) - Ball State
    • Derrick & Tyrone Nix (RB & OLB) - Ole Miss
    • Jake & Zac Spavital (HC & DC) - Texas State
    • Matt & Luke Wells (HC & TE/IR) - Texas Tech
    • Kyle & Freddie Whittingham (HC & TE) - Utah

HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE
After the 2018 campaign, Matt Luke found himself in the market for both an offensive and defensive coordinator, and he delivered in a big way. Mike MacIntyre, a two-time national coach of the year and coaching veteran with nearly three decades of experience, will take over the reigns as the Rebels' defensive coordinator while Rich Rodriguez, considered one of the most innovative offensive minds in college football, will serve as Ole Miss' offensive coordinator. Ole Miss is one of only two teams in the nation, along with Alabama, to have three coaches with Power 5 head coaching experience.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 14th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 247.4 yards per game.
• The Rebels' 276.6 yards rushing per game in SEC contests lead the conference ... In SEC play, the Rebels have run for a league-best 1,550 yards and 13 touchdowns.
• Ole Miss has averaged 47.7 carries per conference game, over 13 more carries per game more than the league average (34.8).
• 86.3 percent of Ole Miss' offense (3,751 of 4,345 yards) have come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country ... 28 of Ole Miss' 33 touchdowns on the season have involved freshmen.
• QB John Rhys Plumlee's 777 yards rushing on the season are a program record by an Ole Miss freshman and rank No. 3 in the country by a QB.
• Plumlee is the only Ole Miss quarterback in school history to rush for 100 yards in three straight contests and the first SEC quarterback to do so since 2010 when Tim Tebow tallied four such games.
• He's the first Power 5 QB to rush for 100+ yards in each of his first three starts since Nebraska's Taylor Martinez and Michigan's Denard Robinson in 2010.
• The Rebels have started the same five offensive linemen in all 10 games this season.
• RB/KR Jerrion Ealy has three 50-yard rushes this season, the fifth-most in the country.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 30th in the NCAA with 2.7 sacks per game.
• The Rebels haven't allowed a passing touchdown in the last 10 quarters.
• Ole Miss has forced at least one turnover in eight of its 10 games this season.
• The Rebels currently rank 26th in the NCAA in rushing defense, allowing 122.7 yards per game.
• Ole Miss has held five opponents to under 70 yards rushing this season, including limiting the New Mexico State to just 66 yards on the ground in the Rebels' win over the Aggies.
• In Weeks 2, 3 and 4, the Rebels held their opponents to 61, 66 and 60 yards, respectively. It was the first time since 1999 that Ole Miss had allowed 70 or less rushing yards in three straight games.
• The three points and 193 yards allowed were the fewest since 2015 when the Rebels beat Texas A&M 23-3.
• Seven different Rebels have tallied at least one interception in 2019.
• ILB Lakia Henry ranks 10th in the conference in tackles per game (7.5)

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• P Mac Brown is fourth in the SEC and No. 24 in the NCAA in punting average (44.3).
• Ten of Brown's 49 punts this season have been more than 50 yards ... He had six punts that surpassed 50 yards last season.
• K Luke Logan leads the Rebels in scoring with 6.3 points per game.
• Logan has made at least one field goal in eight of the 10 games this season.
• KR Jerrion Ealy ranks No. 1 in the SEC in kick return average (24.4).

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Zikerrion Baker

Miles Battle

Quentin Bivens

Nick Broeker

Mac Brown

Jacob Carter

Ashanti Cistrunk

Josiah Coatney

Spencer Cole

Snoop Conner

Matt Corral

LeDarrius Cox

Peyton Cox

Jalen Cunningham

Vernon Dasher

Kinkead Dent

Jerrion Ealy

AJ Finley

Kweisi Fountain

Alex Givens

Demarcus Gregory

Hamilton Hall

Myles Hartsfield

Jakorey Hawkins

Lakia Henry

Willie Hibbler

KD Hill

Michael Howard

Jadon Jackson

Jeremy James

Jordan Jernigan

Brice Johnson

Benito Jones

Jalen Jordan

Jalen Julius

Casey Kelly

Luke Knox

Luke Logan

Reece McIntyre

Jonathan Mingo

Royce Newman

Hal Northern

Mario Padilla

Jason Pellerin

Scottie Phillips

John Rhys Plumlee

Deantre Prince

Bryce Ramsey

Grant Restmeyer

Ty Reyes

Austrian Robinson

Qaadir Sheppard

Sellers Shy

Dallas Smith

Keidron Smith

Jay Stanley

KC Swaim

Tariqious Tisdale

Caleb Warren

Isaac Way

KeShun Wells

Nevin Wells

Jack White

Brenden Williams

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