No. 9 Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1 SEC) and No. 13 LSU (4-1, 1-0) are twin flames, whether they realize it or not. There's a lot of shared history between the two Magnolia Bowl foes, well beyond what will be their 113th meeting in Week 7.
Especially in recent years, during the Lane Kiffin and Brian Kelly eras. To call what each team has accomplished since 2022 a disappointment would be disingenuous. Ole Miss and LSU have identical 24-8 records since Kelly left Notre Dame for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ahead of the 2022 season.
The Tigers actually have an SEC Championship Game appearance in that span, and produced a Heisman Trophy winner in former quarterback Jayden Daniels, while Kiffin has led Ole Miss to both its first 10-win regular season and its first 11-win season in program history in the past few years.
Amid all the noteworthy achievements, though, there's the sense that both teams have left a lot on the table. LSU won just nine regular-season games in 2023 -- Daniels' Heisman season -- thanks to a putrid defense that severely handicapped its ceiling. Kiffin's done great things at Ole Miss, but he has yet to show that he can compete on the same level as conference powerhouses Georgia and Alabama; two constant thorns in the Rebels' side during their modern renaissance.
Now, ahead of Saturday's clash on a day filled with potentially monumental games, both teams are behind the eight ball. LSU still hasn't climbed back into the top 10 of the AP Poll following its Week 1 loss to a now 3-2 USC squad, dropping Kelly to 0-3 in season openers with the Tigers.
Ole Miss didn't plummet quite as far when it lost at home as double-digit favorites to an unranked Kentucky team in Week 5 -- the same Kentucky that opened SEC play with a 31-6 loss to South Carolina, the same South Carolina that Ole Miss just beat 27-3 in Week 6 (college football is funny like that) -- but that result did take some luster off of the preseason darling Rebels.
With the 12-team College Football Playoff serving as a backdrop, and the elimination of divisions opening a path to the SEC Championship Game for either team, the Magnolia Bowl stakes have rarely been higher. The current playoff format is forgiving, so a loss isn't a death sentence, but that doesn't detract from the must-win feeling of such a contest.
Magnolia Bowl matchup
| | Ole Miss | LSU |
|---|---|---|
| Overall record | 5-1 | 4-1 |
| SEC record | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| AP ranking | 9 | 13 |
| Scoring offense (national ranking) | 44.0 ppg (10) | 35.2 ppg (31) |
| Scoring defense (national ranking) | 7.5 ppg (3) | 21.6 ppg (48) |
| Total offense (national ranking) | 576.8 ypg (2) | 468.2 ypg (16) |
| Total defense (national ranking) | 267.5 (12) | 353.6 ypg (66) |
Whichever team walks out of Tiger Stadium with a loss will face major pressure and scrutiny, especially given the weekly rigors of an SEC schedule. Ole Miss still has to play two ranked teams after LSU, while LSU has three top-20 opponents on the docket, including a road trip to a Texas A&M team that just beat No. 9 Missouri 41-10.
Two losses are damaging, and will likely leave either team's postseason fate up to the whims of the College Football Playoff selection committee -- just ask Florida State about how unenviable a position that is. Three losses are damning.
The winner can navigate the rest of its schedule with some comfort and a cushion. The loser has no margin for error, and whatever it does after Saturday may still not be enough -- especially if Ole Miss drops to 1-2 in early conference play.
The Magnolia Bowl is always important to both sides, but it wouldn't have such stakes without the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. That opportunity makes LSU versus Ole Miss as important as No. 2 Ohio State's trip to No. 3 Oregon, or No. 1 Texas' clash against No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, even if those are the billed marquee matchups.
Whatever happens Saturday won't just be contained to the annals of rivalry lore. It will reverberate through the season's end, and set the tone in a playoff race that has dominated national conversations thus far.