Have you ever been to a really good steak restaurant? You know, the one with leather seats, dim lighting, and a faint hint of decades-old cigar smoke? At the best steakhouses, you're treated like royalty at every stage of the meal, from the pouring of wine, to the warm bread covered with a napkin, to the bisque and ice cream wedge, which, as you'll discover, counts as a salad. That's all great, but you're not here for the soup and leaves. You're here for the meat.
Friends, we now come to the meat of the SEC schedule. This here, now, is like a moment in a steakhouse – vegetarians, bear with us, but you also know the feeling – when the waiter approaches with a perfectly cooked main course. You smell the aroma, hear the butter sizzle, feel the warmth of the plate. It's almost time to start carving.
The heavyweights of the conference are now in a full-throttle battle, and virtually every week from this point forward will have major implications for the conference title and the playoffs… starting with Saturday night in the swamp.
In the latest installment of the Magnolia Bowl, No. 9 Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1 in conference) takes on LSU (4-1, 1-0) with huge stakes for both schools. Unless this is an elimination game for Ole Miss, which already has a loss to Kentucky, this will be a good enough game until another one comes along. For LSU, this game gives the Tigers a chance to get into the conference conversation. It may not be a playoff game, but it's within sight.
Both teams bring big-game playmakers into the matchup, and for LSU coach Brian Kelly, that's essential. “If we saw something happen last week, the quarterback is responsible for it,” Kelly told Paul Finebaum earlier this week, “whether it happens at Miami, at Vanderbilt, or wherever from programs that are currently successful. “The quarterback is essential to running these programs.”
He knows from personal experience what Mississippi's Jaxson Dart can do; last year, Dart threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-49 win over the Tigers in Oxford. And the guy who was sending signals for LSU that day now works in Washington on Sundays. However, Jayden Daniels' replacement, Garrett Nussmeier, is doing his job admirably, leading the SEC in attempts, completions and touchdowns this season.
“Like all LSU teams, regardless of who the head coach is, they are extremely talented,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said earlier this week. “Really explosive in attack. I think Nussmeier is really talented, really good. He has a good release.”
Like all long-standing SEC rivalries – these two teams have played 112 games together – the Ole Miss-LSU game is rife with drama, from mysteriously malfunctioning game clocks to season-ruining upsets. Ole Miss enters this year's version with a reputation for suffering sudden, catastrophic injuries at precisely the point in the game where Ole Miss would benefit from a timeout (“The timing of some of the injuries – that's a really bad look for college football and not that's what this game is about, if what it looks like is accurate,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said last week after Ole Miss players fell like dominoes at key moments in their game.)
Kelly sidestepped the issue of fake injuries in a way that placed the responsibility for monitoring them in the SEC's lap. “The commissioner has implemented a sportsmanship policy,” he said earlier this week, “and if an injury is successfully feigned as a result of an intentional act, the SEC will take appropriate action. I can leave it to the SEC and let them evaluate it.”
Meanwhile, Kiffin faces one of the most important games in his four-plus years at Ole Miss. His offensive praise and portal magic are unquestionable; his ability to win The Big One on the road remains an open question. A victory in Death Valley wouldn't necessarily make the playoffs any easier – Ole Miss still has No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 5 Georgia still ahead – but it would help solidify the Rebels as a legitimate threat to dismantle the Texas-Georgia/Alabama trifecta at the top of the SEC.
For Ole Miss, a win over LSU would also go a long way to obliterating that ugly loss to Kentucky. “When you lose, in games or in life, you learn a lot about yourself or your team,” Kiffin said. “It can be very defining. (Losses) can (work) both ways. They don't always work. They can spiral.”
Just like grilling a small piece of meat, the team can't hide their weaknesses. Your skills are your game, and the heat will expose your flaws. It doesn't get any warmer at night than Death Valley.
