Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Week 5
- Has the luck of the Irish already run out?
- Is there a leak in the Beavers' dam?
- What could we learn from the Magnolia Bowl?
By John Buhler
2. LSU Tigers
Opponent: at No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels | Time: Saturday, Sept. 30, 6:00 p.m. ET (ESPN) | Spread: LSU -2.5
For all intents and purposes, this year's Magnolia Bowl is a College Football Playoff elimination game. Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers got the best of Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels a year ago. That game helped propel LSU to Atlanta and prevented Ole Miss from winning its first division title ... ever! With both SEC West teams having suffered a Power Five loss in September, this feels like a loser-leaves-town match.
No. 13 LSU will be laying 2.5 points to No. 20 Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway. The winner of this game could conceivably emerge as the No. 3 team in the SEC after Georgia and whoever emerges as the Dawgs' biggest challenger. However, the loser will have to face an especially critical southeastern media. "Lane's done lost it, PAWL?!" "I told you Brian Kelly ain't one of us. He don't even like po' boys!"
The reasons why I think Ole Miss has a pretty good shot at the slight upset special here are three-fold. One, this is a big rivalry game for both schools. All parties involved will get up for it. Two, this year's installment of the Magnolia Bowl will be in Oxford. That favors the Rebels considerably. And three, Ole Miss is coming off a tough loss to Alabama in Tuscaloosa. They should be ready to play.
The spread feels largely inconsequential, like a pick 'em to me, and I am feeling so Hotty Toddy, y'all!