College Football

No. 5 LSU's defense, Ole Miss offense prepare for clash

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:17 p.m. ET

LSU's defense looked like a formidable force during the first three games of the season.

Then came Louisiana Tech and suddenly the Tigers — especially in the secondary — looked surprisingly vulnerable.

No. 5 LSU still beat the Bulldogs 38-21 last weekend , but some of the numbers were not impressive — at least not for the Tigers. Louisiana Tech quarterback J'Mar Smith threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns while receiver Adrian Hardy caught 10 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

Next up for LSU's defense: An Ole Miss offense that's known for putting up huge numbers through the air. The Rebels (3-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) travel to face LSU (4-0, 1-0) on Saturday in Baton Rouge.

"These guys are going to be challenged. They know it," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. "There will be no more extra motivation needed for this week. Just turn on the film."

Ole Miss quarterback Jordan Ta'amu has thrown for 1,359 yards and 10 touchdowns through four games this season. He threw for 442 yards in last week's win over Kent State, becoming the first quarterback in program history to have three 400-yard passing games in his career.

His favorite targets are A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf, who are both widely considered high-level NFL prospects. Brown has caught 26 passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns so far this season while Metcalf has 18 catches for 368 yards and four touchdowns, including a spectacular, one-handed touchdown grab against Kent State.

LSU's players say the Ole Miss offense has their complete attention, especially after their shaky performance against Louisiana Tech. Orgeron said Monday's film study showed it wasn't just the secondary that had a rough night.

"It was a good thing we played Louisiana Tech last week," LSU linebacker Jacob Phillips said. "It prepared us for Ole Miss. We have to put pressure on the quarterback to help our secondary out. Everybody has to win one-on-ones to get to the quarterback."

Extra pressure on Ta'amu would certainly help, but LSU cornerback Greedy Williams said the secondary is the last line of defense that must hold up.

"We have to play them tight. It was a bad game for the back end last week," Williams said. "We all made mistakes. In the game of football, things like that happen. It is how you bounce back. Our guys have to practice more focused."

The Ole Miss offense is out to prove its offense can work against an elite opponent. The Rebels scored a touchdown on their first offensive play against No. 1 Alabama, but were then almost completely shut down in a 62-7 loss two weeks ago .

Brown said LSU's defense will provide a similar challenge.

"I respect each and every one of them, especially Greedy Williams," Brown said. "Those are some great players we're going to be matched up with."

In the Alabama game, the Tide's defense did a good job at disrupting Ta'amu's timing and batting down passes at the line of scrimmage. Ta'amu completed just 7 of 22 passes for 133 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, which were easily his worst stats of the season.

Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said the Alabama and LSU defenses have different strengths and different strategies, but he doesn't expect things to be any easier this Saturday.

"LSU is very, very talented at all three levels. That's what I see when I watch the tape," Luke said. "They're very good up front, really fast at linebacker and they're long at corner."