Football Practice Report: Tigers on Tap

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss football will look to bounce back from a tough loss on the road at Alabama last week when it hosts No. 12 LSU this Saturday for what's sure to be a high-energy atmosphere inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

There's no love lost between Ole Miss and LSU in this long-standing rivalry. The series between the Rebels and Tigers is the second-longest in school history, having started in 1894, with Saturday's contest marking the 112th all-time meeting in the series. Ole Miss-LSU trails only the Egg Bowl series against Mississippi State as the longest in the Rebel record books.

The 20th-ranked Rebels (3-1, 0-1 SEC) will welcome an LSU (3-1, 2-0 SEC) team that ranks among the most explosive offenses in the nation, setting a collision course with Ole Miss' lightning quick offensive attack that will look to get its bearings again after going up against a stout Crimson Tide defense last week.

Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. CT inside The Vaught on Saturday evening, with the game airing live on ESPN.

Head coach Lane Kiffin spoke with the media on Monday, and across Monday and Tuesday senior linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk, sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins, senior safety John Saunders Jr., junior safety Ladarius Tennison and senior wide receiver Jordan Watkins also took turns at the podium.

BOUNCING BACK
The mood was palpable in the locker room last week following the loss to the 12th-ranked Crimson Tide, but a message quickly calcified: time to move on.

"I think that's what you have to do in a conference like the SEC," Judkins said. "You can't dwell on what happened this past Saturday. You fix the mistakes and fix the things that can be changed, and look forward to the next week."

Coach Kiffin pointed out that the Rebels were in this exact spot almost two years to the day, after having started 3-0 in 2021 before a Week Five loss at then No. 1 Alabama. What followed was the first 10-win regular season in Ole Miss history and a trip to the Sugar Bowl.

"Our challenge is to get better this week," Kiffin said. "I did tell them, we've been in this situation. Happened to be in the same situation two years ago. Went 3-0, went into Alabama and actually played a lot worse. I think that game was 35-0 at one point. Ended up coming back from that game and going 10-2. Got a lot of football in front of us, and a huge one this week against I would argue maybe the hottest offense in the country."

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
No. 12 LSU comes into Oxford this weekend at 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, and are coming off a 34-31 shootout win over Arkansas last week. Through four games, the Tigers lead the SEC and rank seventh in the FBS in total offense (530.0 ypg) with the SEC's second-best pass offense (338.2 ypg, No. 10 FBS) and third-best rush offense (191.8 ypg, No. 36 FBS).

"We're excited to play LSU," Kiffin said. "These guys are extremely talented, phenomenal looking team. Great O-line, great receivers and quarterback. Running back ran great, and great looking defensive players all over. I've always said these two games (against Alabama and LSU) that happen to be back-to-back, for years in this conference have always been, two on this side at least, where they look like you're playing NFL teams. Lot of great looking players with great length and a lot of stars."

The Rebel defense is prepping to stymie that Tiger offense that features quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is back for his senior season in 2023. This year, Daniels leads the SEC and ranks within the FBS top-10 in total offense (372.2 ypg), passing (324.0 ypg), passing touchdowns (12) and passing efficiency (189.1), while ranking second in the conference in QB rushing at 48.2 yards per game – trailing only Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart (54.8 ypg).

"(Daniels) has developed a lot as a quarterback," Cistrunk said. "He's a very dynamic player. We're just preparing and getting ready for him. We've just got to stop him in every way."

Helping Daniels out are two FBS top-15 receivers in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., who rank second and fourth in the SEC in receiving yards per game at 130.8 and 103.2, respectively.

"We're going to make sure of everywhere (Nabers) lines up," Saunders said. "They line him up at multiple different spots, so everywhere he's at they're going to be trying to do different things to get him the ball. We're definitely going to be aware of where he's at every single play."

Defensively, the Rebels are also keying-in on sophomore linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., who last year against the Rebels had five tackles, one for a loss, and three QB hurries.

"(Perkins) is a guy who flies around," Watkins said. "You put on the tape and see he's a sideline-to-sideline guy, he's not afraid to stick his nose in there and get dirty. He plugs holes really well, so we've got to be prepared for him to go out there and play his game."

FINDING THE SPARK
The Rebels still rank as one of the top offenses nationally at 470.2 yards per game, but there's been one missing ingredient: the explosive rushing attack that led the SEC and ranked No. 3 in the FBS a season ago.

Opposing defenses have done their homework, stacking the box and daring the Rebels to go over the top in order to bottle-up consensus preseason All-American running back Quinshon Judkins. Despite that, Judkins and the Rebel rush game aren't frustrated, but rather are biding their time.

"I believe in my offense, I believe in my coaches," Judkins said. "(I'm) just being level-headed with the same poise, not getting frustrated, knowing that it will come. Just keep working and keep grinding, and fix everything that we can to get the run game going, because that's what our offense is based off of."

"We've gotta find that spark," Watkins said. "You look back at last year and some of the things we were able to do on offense, and I think we've just got to get back to that. I think we've got to get back to finding out just who we are on offense and coming out there and playing a complete game. I don't think our offense has had a complete game yet to where we just went out there and dominated."

Ole Miss was dealt a rough hand following an injury to star wideout Tre Harris at No. 22 Tulane on Sept. 9 not long after his fifth touchdown in just five quarters as a Rebel. Combined with a preseason injury to fellow Biletnikoff Award watch list member Zakhari Franklin, the Rebel passing game – while still highly effective – has been unable to fully take the pressure off the Ole Miss rushing game.

But last week, Franklin, Harris and tight end Caden Prieskorn all returned from injury, and with a game now under their belt could help spring loose the Rebel offense in new and unpredictable ways.

"I think bringing (Harris, Franklin and Prieskorn) back is a huge plus for us on offense," Watkins said. "Having those guys out there who can make plays all over the field is huge for us, and those guys are going to come in and help big time for us."

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Players Mentioned

Ashanti Cistrunk

Jaxson Dart

Zakhari Franklin

Tre Harris

Quinshon Judkins

Caden Prieskorn

John Saunders Jr.

Ladarius Tennison

Jordan Watkins

The University of Mississippi Athletics