After seeing a near-fatal blow to its Southeastern Conference championship hopes, the Ole Miss football team doesn’t have time to wallow in pity.
Instead, another rival and big opportunity in the Southeastern Conference awaits at 8 p.m. Saturday (ESPN), when No. 23 Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2 SEC) will face No. 25 LSU (4-2, 2-1) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the Magnolia Bowl.
“This one I know means a lot to our people,” Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. “We will educate our young kids on the history of it this week, and hopefully get them prepared to go and play in another hostile environment and to play better than we did last week.
“Last week was frustrating. We talked about chances to make plays that have a direct outcome on the game we failed to make, or making a call that would have been better in a certain situation. We all have those, and we all have to improve ourselves as we get ready for an LSU team that is super talented.”
Ole Miss is coming off a 34-30 loss to Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Arkansas (5-2, 1-2) scored in the final two minutes to seal its third-straight win in the series.
Freeze said miscommunication hurt the Rebels on a couple of possessions in the red zone. With little time to reflect, all thoughts are on LSU and a chance to keep the hopes of a winning season and bowl bid headed in the right direction.
“(LSU has) in the last few weeks put up a lot of big numbers, 600 and something yards, 400 or so in the other and I think just 44 plays,” Freeze said. “We all know the talent they have at receiver, and they are utilizing that now. At running back, they are always special there. Offensive line wise, they are good and the quarterback is making great decisions. They are doing a really nice job there defensively, and they have always been one of the best in the country and continue to be that.
“I think we are playing one of the better teams in the country. We will have to show a lot of resolve with the way the world works now around athletic programs that are this magnitude where the expectations are high. There are always a lot of things you have to handle and manage that have a direct impact on the way your kids prepare and perform. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and resolve will be tested and shown.”
The game will be special for another reason. Ed Orgeron is the interim head coach at LSU. The Tigers have won twice so far under his leadership. Orgeron was the Ole Miss head coach from 2005-07. Freeze spent time at Ole Miss as an assistant on Orgeron’s staff.
“I have reached out to him several times (while he was at) USC when he got the interim there and then here when he did,” Freeze said. “We spoke last week actually about some things that were going on and everyone comes up with their own opinions, but I am so indebted to coach Orgeron. I have great respect for him and everything he has meant to my career. He gave me an opportunity just to come here and be in an off-the-field position, and to learn from him in recruiting and the things I watched him do and how persistent, and how he did his things with great passion.
“I learned a lot from him. … I really don’t know my career does what it does without the opportunity he gave me. The opportunities he has had at USC and then here, I think he has approached it differently. When I talked to him he seems a bit different about his approach, and I think it is working for him. It was no surprise the kids are playing well under him.”
LSU is coming off a 45-10 victory against Southern Mississippi. LSU beat Missouri in Orgeron’s debut.
“They are playing with great passion, and that is not something they haven’t done I don’t think, but offensively they are different,” Freeze said. “They are very multiple. They give you a lot of different sets, staying balanced, using the skill at receiver; whether it is through speed sweeps or quick throws or shots down the field. Their run game has always been good and still is, but defensively they are what they have been.
“A little different system with a different coordinator, but athletically they have been the same they have always been. I know what I hear and read. I can’t speak because I am not in their offices day to day, but he has shortened practices and their kids are looking like they are having a lot of fun. Whatever he is doing is working. They have played two games and looked really good in them.”
n In related news, Ole Miss’ game against Auburn on Oct. 29 in Oxford will kick off at 6:15 p.m., the Southeastern Conference office announced Monday.
The game will be televised by ESPN, ESPN2, or SEC Network. The TV designation will be determined after Saturday’s games.
It will be the Rebels’ fourth-straight night game.
No. 21 Auburn (4-2, 2-1) will play host to No. 17 Arkansas on Saturday.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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