PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Scottie Phillips was one of the few bright spots for Ole Miss in Baton Rouge. Phillips rushed 16 times for 96 yards and scored the Rebels’ only touchdown on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter.
The first-year junior college transfer has been a consistent performer. He currently leads the SEC with 7.2 yards per carry and is tied for second in rushing touchdowns with six.
Calls for Phillips to be featured more in the offense grew louder amid the dysfunction of the passing game against LSU. He’s averaging fewer than 16 carries per game.
–WR Braylon Sanders has a hard time getting on the field behind the Ole Miss starters. That’s not likely to change even though the first team struggled against LSU. For now, their struggles are an isolated incident and not a trend.
Sanders, though, has made big catches when given the chance, and his grab on a third-and-long on a crossing pattering went for 19 yards. The resulting first down kept alive an Ole Miss drive that ended with a field goal and gave the Rebels a brief lead. He’s averaging 23.6 yards on nine catches.
–LB Mohamed Sanogo had 12 tackles and forced a fumble against the Tigers. It’s been a revolving door at linebacker as Ole Miss coaches have worked to find their best players at what has been their weakest position. Sanogo has brought a degree of stability to the position.
–DT Benito Jones continues to play at less than full strength. When healthy he gives the Rebels a solid presence in the middle, but he managed just one tackle in Baton Rouge, and his biggest impact came when he was drawn off-sides on fourth-and-short. Jones bit on the hard count, and LSU kept a scoring drive alive.
SERIES HISTORY: Ole Miss leads Louisiana-Monroe 3-0 and has won the games by a combined margin of 149-17.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “A lot of people have passion for Ole Miss football. I’m one of those people. We are working really, really hard every single day to put a product on the field. We will continue to work, and we need to all be pulling in the same direction.” — Ole Miss coach Matt Luke