College Football Spread - LSU Tigers at Ole Miss Running Rebels
by Dave D
Saturday, November 21st – 3:30 PM ET
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
College Football Spread: Ole Miss -4
LSU: The Week That Was
There’s a reason why SEC programs schedule the way they do. The week after LSU’s bruising and bone-crushing battle with a very physical Alabama squad, the Tigers scheduled a home game against Louisiana Tech.
With starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson and starting running back Charles Scott both out with injuries, and other defensive starters dinged up as well, the Bayou Bengals needed to play a lower-caliber opponent. LSU merely muddled along and did just enough to grind out a 24-16 win over the visiting Bulldogs in Baton Rouge, La. LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee – who is the backup on this team for a reason – completed only seven of his 22 passes for a meager 105 yards.
The Tigers converted just two of their nine third-down plays, and were flat from start to finish. But they won, and they rested their injured starters for another SEC West encounter.
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Ole Miss: The Week That Was
The Rebels, in their tenth game, finally showed why they were a preseason top 10 pick in the eyes of so many pundits and scribes. Yet, a dominating 42-17 win over a distracted Tennessee team only showed how much this team has underachieved in a very disappointing 2009 season.
The biggest lesson learned in Mississippi’s 25-point trouncing of the vexed and vanquished Volunteers was that Houston Nutt, the Rebels’ coach, has done a terrible job this year. Nutt has tried to win games by relying on quarterback Jevan Snead, but he should have turned to running back Dexter McCluster instead. Nutt and the rest of the Ole Miss staff have tried to pass the ball in 2009, when they should have been giving McCluster far more touches. McCluster rolled for 282 yards against the Vols on only 25 carries. Yes, that’s an average of 11.3 yards per carry.
The Week That Is:
So, will Houston Nutt finally trust Dexter McCluster in a game of appreciable significance? History suggests that Nutt, the former Arkansas coach, does his best work in seasons when little to nothing is expected from his team. In years when his teams carry a big burden and outsized portions of pressure, the Ole Miss boss turns into a Nutt-job on the sidelines. His handling of Mississippi’s offense and play calling in a September loss to South Carolina was nothing short of comical in its ineptitude. Snead has been a complete bust this season, and yet it took 10 games for Nutt to finally make McCluster – easily the best player on the Rebels – the main meal ticket for a struggling offense.
Logic suggests that McCluster will be featured in this game, but history indicates that Nutt will go back to Jevan Snead. Moreover, LSU possesses the speed on defense to keep Ole Miss in check. Moreover, Jordan Jefferson should return to the lineup as the Tigers’ starting quarterback. Improved health, combined with the coaching matchup, will lift LSU on the road in Oxford, Miss.
Football Betting Pick: LSU +4
