Ole Miss vs LSU
Game played Sep 19, 2026 · Published September 19, 2026 at 10:36 AM · 17 pages
Projected score, total and win probability for Ole Miss vs LSU, priced against the betting line — with injuries, form and the key statistical mismatches.
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A F P L N A C O L L E G E F O O T B A L L M A T C H U P R E P O R T V S Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers 2026 Season G E N E R A T E D S E P T E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 2 6 1 0 : 2 7 A M I N T H I S R E P O R T 01 Matchup Overview 02 Visual Analytics 03 SP Ratings 04 ELO Ratings 05 FPI Ratings 06 SRS Ratings 07 Advanced Team Stats 08 Returning Production 09 Team Talent 10 Team PPA 11 Player PPA 12 Team Season Stats 13 Adjusted Team Metrics 14 Ole Miss Rebels Injury Updates 15 LSU Tigers Injury Updates 16 Key Player Matchups 17 Ole Miss Rebels Roster Updates 18 LSU Tigers Roster Updates 19 Ole Miss Rebels Practice and Scrimmage Updates 20 LSU Tigers Practice and Scrimmage Updates 21 Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers Media Matchup Analysis 22 Game Conditions and Betting Context 23 Final Prediction
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01 MATCHUP OVERVIEW This section sets the stage for a top-10 SEC collision in Oxford: who these teams are, what is at stake, and the real series history of this specific meeting. Ole Miss (2-0) hosts LSU (2-0) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in a Week 3 SEC opener broadcast on ABC, the first top-10 Magnolia Bowl since 1962. 146 The Rebels survived Louisville 41-38 in Atlanta, then handled Charlotte 41-9; the Tigers opened by wrecking Clemson 51-10 and followed with a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech. 1 Lane Kiffin’s return to the program he left — now on the opposite sideline from successor Pete Golding — is the gravitational center of the weekend, with Oxford bracing for a hostile, high-security night and College GameDay on site. 4866 Both clubs are unbeaten. Only one leaves Oxford with a clean SEC ledger. The all-time series is not close: LSU leads 64-41-4. 1 The last ten meetings run LSU, LSU, LSU, LSU, LSU, Ole Miss, LSU, Ole Miss, LSU, Ole Miss — a 7-3 Tiger edge that still includes three Rebel wins in the last five, including last year’s 24-19 home decision in 2025. 1 Recent scores have been either blowouts (LSU 45-16 in 2018, 58-37 in 2019, 45-20 in 2022) or track meets (53-48 in 2020, 55-49 in 2023). 1 The 2024 game in Baton Rouge was a 29-26 grind. This one has the ingredients of both: two 40-point offenses, one historically stingy early-season defense, and a coaching grudge that does not need inventing. What is at stake is the first serious data point of the SEC season. Ole Miss’s remaining slate is brutal — Florida, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Texas, Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma, Mississippi State — and FPI already ranks that remaining strength of schedule third nationally. 1 LSU’s path is only slightly gentler. A home loss here does not end Golding’s debut year, and he has said as much, but it would put the Rebels in a hole they cannot easily climb with that calendar. 65 A road win would announce that Kiffin’s rebuilt Tigers are a playoff problem, not a seven-win hangover. 02 VISUAL ANALYTICS Generated directly from the CollegeFootballData feeds for this matchup. The same visuals appear on every report, so numbers can be compared like- for-like from one game to the next. GAME CONDITIONS · The forecast and the ground it will be played on: temperature, wind and precipitation beside the stadium's surface, roof, capacity and elevation. Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 2 of 17
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POWER RATING DASHBOARD · SP+, FPI and Elo side by side. SP+ and FPI are points-above-average ratings; the SP+ defensive rating counts down, so a lower bar is the better defense. Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 3 of 17
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EFFICIENCY PROFILE · Every advanced metric converted to a national percentile against all FBS teams, so the outer ring is always the better number regardless of which way the raw stat runs. Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 4 of 17
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MISMATCH MATRIX · Each offense measured directly against the defense it will face. Bars show the percentile gap; the longer the bar, the wider that specific unit-vs-unit edge. SEASON FORM TREND · Week-by-week predicted points added. This is where you see a team trending up or falling apart, which season averages hide. Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 5 of 17
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TOP INDIVIDUAL IMPACT · The players who have actually moved the needle, ranked by total PPA. Cross-reference this against the injury and roster sections. ROSTER CONTINUITY & TALENT · How much production each team returned from last season, alongside the recruiting talent composite. Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 6 of 17
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PROJECTED MARGIN BY SYSTEM · What each rating system independently projects, plus the market line and the blended consensus used as the model's anchor. WIN PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION · The consensus margin spread across the historical error distribution for college football projections. The shaded area on each side is that team's win probability. 03 SP RATINGS SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted efficiency rating expressed as points above (or below) average; a lower defensive number is better. TEAM OVERALL OFFENSE DEFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS Ole Miss 15.2 35.4 20.8 0.6 LSU 24.1 34.8 10.9 0.2 FBS average 0.8 26.4 25.6 0.0 LSU holds an 8.9-point overall edge, which the Power Rating Dashboard will show as the widest of the three primary systems. 1 Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 7 of 17
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The offenses are effectively tied — Ole Miss 35.4, LSU 34.8, both roughly nine points better than the FBS mean — so the entire SP+ gap lives on the other side of the ball. LSU’s 10.9 defensive rating is elite; Ole Miss’s 20.8 is merely good, still 4.8 points better than average but a full 9.9 points worse than the unit it will face. Special teams are a wash, with a slight Rebel nod (0.6 vs. 0.2). That defensive chasm is the game. SP+ already bakes in opponent quality, so LSU’s number is not just Louisiana Tech residue: the Tigers also posted it after a 51-10 dismantling of Clemson. 1 Ole Miss’s offense is strong enough on paper to hang 30 on most SEC defenses; it is not strong enough, in this rating, to hang 30 on a 10.9. Add the listed 2.4-point home-field adjustment and SP+ still has LSU by 6.5 in Oxford, the most pessimistic view of the Rebels among the systems that produced a number. If this game follows the rating rather than the narrative, it is because LSU’s front seven wins early downs and Ole Miss’s high-success, low-explosion attack never gets to play the game it wants. 04 ELO RATINGS Elo is a head-to-head power rating that updates from wins, losses and margin; it does not know scheme, it only knows results. TEAM ELO Ole Miss 1851 LSU 1794 Ole Miss holds a 57-point Elo lead. 1 Converted at 25 Elo points per point of scoring margin, that is roughly 2.3 points on a neutral field and 4.7 points once the 2.4-point home-field factor is applied — the only major system that prefers the Rebels. Elo is doing what Elo does: rewarding Ole Miss for beating a real Louisville team in Week 1 (even in a 41-38 scramble) and carrying forward the residual of a 13-win 2025, while LSU’s 2025 was a seven-win year that this rating has not fully forgiven after two September blowouts. The gap implies a coin-flip that slightly leans home, and it is the rating that creates the disagreement the other systems do not share. Elo cannot see that LSU has allowed 16 first downs and 37 rushing yards in two games, or that Ole Miss’s Week 1 win required 41 points and still needed a one-score finish. 1 It can see two 2-0 teams and a Rebel program that has been better, longer, in the recent ledger. Treat Elo as the home-and-resume argument. Treat it as a warning not to bury Ole Miss. Do not treat it as a reason to fade a 10.9 SP+ defense on the road. 05 FPI RATINGS FPI (Football Power Index) estimates how many points a team would be expected to outscore an average opponent by, with additional resume and efficiency context. | Team | FPI | Overall Eff. | Off. Eff. | Def. Eff. | ST Eff. | |---|---|---|---|---| | Ole Miss | 15.47 | 74.6 | 74.3 | 64.2 | 60.2 | | LSU | 22.59 | 89.8 | 59.0 | 99.4 | 56.7 | LSU’s 22.59 to 15.47 advantage is 7.1 points before home field, 4.7 after it — in the same direction as SP+, smaller in magnitude. 1 The efficiency splits explain why. Ole Miss is the better offensive football team in FPI’s framework (74.3 vs. 59.0). LSU’s defense sits at 99.4, essentially the ceiling of the metric, while Ole Miss’s defense is a 64. Resume ranks add a second layer: Ole Miss has the better strength of record (5th vs. 12th) and a vicious remaining schedule (3rd vs. 9th), which is why FPI is less bullish on the Tigers than raw SP+ even as it still prefers them this week. The FPI story of this game is strength-on-strength with a defensive veto. Ole Miss’s offense (74th percentile efficiency) runs into the most efficient defense in the country; LSU’s offense (only 59th) runs into a Rebel defense that FPI does not love (64th). 1 That is a recipe for a game that is closer in score than in control — LSU dictating downs, Ole Miss needing explosives it has not shown (31st-percentile explosiveness) to keep pace. FPI’s remaining-schedule flags also matter beyond Saturday: the Rebels cannot afford to drop this and then walk into Florida, Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma. LSU can survive a loss easier. That does not help Golding cover a kickoff. 06 SRS RATINGS No data was available for this section. 07 ADVANCED TEAM STATS These are play-by-play efficiency numbers — success rate (staying on schedule), explosiveness (how big the successful plays are), PPA per play (expected points added), line yards (OL/DL work on runs), havoc (stuffs, TFLs, PBUs, turnovers) and points per scoring opportunity — placed in national percentile context by the Efficiency Profile. Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 8 of 17
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METRIC OLE MISS PCT LSU PCT Off. PPA/play 0.277 71.7 0.206 58.7 Off. success rate 54.3% 88.4 50.0% 71.0 Off. explosiveness 1.14 31.2 1.30 64.5 Off. line yards 3.04 44.2 2.91 31.9 Off. pts/opportunity 5.36 87.7 3.90 41.3 Def. PPA/play 0.138 22.5 -0.464 100.0 Def. success rate 40.3% 41.3 18.9% 100.0 Def. explosiveness 1.28 34.8 1.00 90.6 Def. line yards 2.32 79.0 1.70 95.7 Def. havoc 15.5% 46.4 30.2% 97.8 Ole Miss is a high-success, low-explosion offense that finishes drives. A 54.3% success rate (88th percentile) and 5.36 points per scoring opportunity (88th) are the signatures of a team that does not beat itself on early downs and punches once it reaches the red area. 1 The problem is the other column: 31st-percentile explosiveness. This attack lives on staying ahead of the chains, not on chunk plays. LSU’s defense is built to murder that profile. A 18.9% opponent success rate, -0.464 PPA per play, 30.2% havoc rate and 2.83 points allowed per scoring opportunity are 100th/100th/98th-percentile work. 1 The Mismatch Matrix will show the widest bars on Ole Miss’s offense against LSU’s defense, particularly on success rate and havoc. When you cannot explode and the defense is generating a negative play on three of every ten snaps, drives die. LSU’s offense is the less impressive unit, and the percentiles admit it. Offensive PPA (58th), line yards (32nd) and points per opportunity (41st) are not championship-offense numbers; explosiveness (65th) is the one offensive trait LSU holds over Ole Miss. 1 What keeps the Tigers dangerous is that Ole Miss’s defense has not earned the right to cash that mediocrity. Rebel defensive PPA sits in the 22nd percentile, success rate in the 41st, and they have already allowed 38 points to Louisville. LSU has rushed for 456 yards and eight rushing touchdowns in two games while allowing 37 rushing yards the other way. 1 If this becomes a field- position game — and LSU’s havoc plus Ole Miss’s 3 turnovers in two games say it might — the Tigers’ defense is the unit that can win it without their offense needing to be special. 08 RETURNING PRODUCTION Returning production measures how much of last season’s predicted points added (and snap usage) came back, a continuity check the Roster Continuity & Talent chart will pair with recruiting. | Team | % of PPA returned | Usage returned | Pass PPA | Rush PPA | Rec. PPA | |---|---|---|---|---| | Ole Miss | 50.3% | 67.9% | 79.1% | 83.8% | 19.4% | | LSU | 21.2% | 26.9% | 13.2% | 40.2% | 20.3% | Ole Miss brought back half of last year’s production and two-thirds of the usage, including 79% of passing PPA and 84% of rushing PPA. 1 That is a veteran offensive spine — Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy are not new ideas — with a rebuilt receiving room (only 19% of receiving PPA returned, which is why the portal wrinkle of Horatio Fields, Darrell Gill Jr. and Johntay Cook II exists). LSU returned a fifth of last year’s PPA and a quarter of the usage, with almost no passing production coming back (13%). This is a new team on purpose: Sam Leavitt, Trey'Dez Green’s expanded role, and a receiver room restocked from Florida, Kansas State, Hawai'i and, pointedly, Ole Miss. Continuity vs. reconstruction is the philosophical split. Golding inherited a machine that still has its quarterback and running back; Kiffin inherited a seven-win roster and replaced the engine. Two weeks in, the reconstruction is winning the eye test and the defensive metrics, which is not how returning-production charts usually age. 1 The risk for LSU is September sample size on a roster that has not been together. The risk for Ole Miss is that returning 50% of PPA does not help if the 50% you returned is about to run into a 100th-percentile defense that was not on last year’s tape. Continuity is a real advantage in Week 3. It is not a trump card against a front seven generating havoc on 30% of snaps. 09 TEAM TALENT The 247Sports composite talent score is the recruiting base sitting under the roster — not this year’s production, the inventory. TEAM TALENT COMPOSITE Ole Miss 885.72 LSU 931.76 LSU holds a 46-point talent edge, the kind of gap that usually shows up as more blue-chip depth on the lines and in the Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 9 of 17
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secondary. 1 That tracks with how these rosters were built this cycle: LSU landed 5-stars at quarterback (Sam Leavitt), tackle (Jordan Seaton) and edge (Princewill Umanmielen), while Ole Miss’s portal haul was heavy on 4-stars and a volume of 3-stars. Talent is not destiny in Week 3, but it is the reason LSU can lose a leading tackler (TJ Dottery, questionable) and still roll out Whit Weeks, Tylen Singleton and Davhon Keys without the floor falling in. 2324 Ole Miss is not a talent-poor program — 886 is still a high-major roster — but the Rebels are the team that has to win with scheme, finishing, and the Chambliss-Lacy battery rather than by lining up and pointing at the higher-rated guy. 1 The Roster Continuity & Talent chart will show Ole Miss ahead on returning production and behind on the recruiting composite, which is the entire Golding bet: keep the production, fill the holes, and hope Oxford plus continuity offsets Baton Rouge’s inventory. Over 12 games that bet can work. On a 93-degree Saturday against Umanmielen and a 99th-percentile FPI defense, inventory gets a vote. 10 TEAM PPA Team PPA is predicted points added per play, split by week, offense and defense — the Season Form Trend, not the season average. TEAM WEEK OPPONENT OFF. PPA DEF. PPA Ole Miss 1 Louisville 0.23 0.28 Ole Miss 2 Charlotte 0.34 -0.02 LSU 1 Clemson 0.38 -0.30 LSU 2 Louisiana Tech 0.02 -0.61 Ole Miss’s offense is trending up (0.23 to 0.34) and the defense flipped from a liability against Louisville (0.28, meaning the Cardinals added points) to competent against Charlotte (-0.02). 1 That is the shape of a team that cleaned up after a messy opener, which is exactly what Golding said he wanted. It is also the shape of a team whose Week 2 opponent was Charlotte. The Louisville defensive number is the one that travels: if LSU’s offense plays like Louisville’s, Ole Miss will be in a 40-point night they cannot win against LSU’s defense. LSU’s trend is inverted and more interesting. The offense cratered from 0.38 against Clemson to 0.02 against Louisiana Tech, while the defense went from great (-0.30) to video-game (-0.61). 1 That Week 2 offensive PPA is a warning that this unit is not a 48-ppg juggernaut so much as a defense that creates short fields and an offense that feasted on a cupcake. The Clemson tape is still the best data point either team has. If Leavitt’s back spasms leave any residue, that 0.02 is the floor, and Ole Miss’s pass rush (4 sacks in two games, Will Echoles inside) is built to find it. 2245 The Season Form Trend does not say LSU is falling apart. It says the Tigers’ identity is the defense, and the offense is along for the ride. 11 PLAYER PPA Player PPA isolates the individuals who have actually moved the needle, ranked by total predicted points added — the Top Individual Impact chart. PLAYER TEAM POS TOTAL PPA AVG PPA PASS RUSH Trinidad Chambliss Ole Miss QB 36.6 0.49 32.4 4.9 Sam Leavitt LSU QB 28.1 0.32 14.5 13.6 Trey'Dez Green LSU TE 20.2 1.26 18.7 1.5 Deuce Alexander Ole Miss WR 16.5 1.18 16.5 — Landen Clark LSU QB 13.0 0.77 6.4 6.6 Kewan Lacy Ole Miss RB 10.9 0.28 -1.6 12.5 Winston Watkins LSU WR 10.1 0.48 9.1 1.0 Horatio Fields Ole Miss WR 8.5 0.85 8.5 — Chambliss is the most productive player in the game, and it is not particularly close: 36.6 total PPA, 0.52 passing, a second-down average of 1.03 that says the offense is at its best when he can play off a successful first down. 1 Alexander (1.18 per play) and Fields (0.85) are the downfield answers; Lacy’s value is almost entirely on the ground (12.5 rushing PPA, negative as a receiver). That distribution is the Rebel offense in one chart: a quarterback who tilts every down, a WR1 who wins 1-on-1s, and a back who has scored a rushing touchdown in 11 straight games. 44 If LSU takes away Alexander and stuffs Lacy, Chambliss has to beat a 30% havoc defense by himself. Leavitt’s 28.1 total PPA is split almost evenly between pass (14.5) and rush (13.6), which is the dual-threat problem Ole Miss spent the week talking about. 146 Green is the second-most valuable Tiger and the most efficient skill player on either roster at Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 10 of 17
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1.26 per play — a 6-foot-7 mismatch who already has a 104-yard, one-score game against Louisiana Tech. 45 Watkins, the former Rebel, is already a 10-PPA contributor in purple. Clark’s 13.0 PPA in backup snaps is the reason LSU’s week of Leavitt drama never fully panicked the building: the next man up has produced. The Top Individual Impact ranking is Chambliss, then Leavitt, then Green. If Green wins his matchup against Ole Miss linebackers and safeties, LSU does not need Leavitt to be perfect. If Alexander wins his, Ole Miss has a chance to outrun a defense that does not usually allow that. 12 TEAM SEASON STATS These are the raw counting numbers after two games — useful as a sanity check on whether the advanced metrics are lying. STAT OLE MISS LSU Points per game 41.0 48.0 Points allowed 23.5 12.0 Total yards 908 1,172 Yards allowed 791 285 Rush yards (TD) 279 (5) 456 (8) Rush yards allowed (TD) 305 (2) 37 (1) Pass yards (TD) 629 (5) 716 (3) Sacks 4 11 TFL 14 22 Turnovers (forced) 3 (1) 5 (4) 3rd down 7/20 19/33 Opponent 3rd down 10/30 4/27 Time of possession 31:08 42:18 The counting stats agree with the advanced numbers on the thing that matters: LSU’s defense is a different sport. Eleven sacks, 22 tackles for loss, 4-of-27 opponent third downs, 37 rushing yards allowed, 16 first downs allowed, 285 total yards allowed. 1 Ole Miss has been fine — 4 sacks, 14 TFL, 41 points a night — and also leaky, giving up 305 rush yards and 38 points to Louisville. Third down is a tell: the Rebels are 7-of-20 and have allowed 10-of-30; the Tigers are 19-of-33 and have allowed 4-of-27. That is not a small-sample quirk. That is a havoc defense putting offenses behind the chains and an LSU offense that, whatever its PPA dip in Week 2, stays on the field. Where the counting stats disagree with the eye test is Ole Miss’s scoring. Forty-one points twice looks like a track-meet team. Look closer: 3 turnovers, 7-of-20 on third down, and a 5.36 points-per-opportunity rate that is elite only when the opportunities keep coming. 1 LSU has allowed 6 scoring opportunities in two games. If that rate holds, Ole Miss’s finishing skill never gets enough at-bats. LSU’s own finishing (3.90 points per opportunity, 41st percentile) is the one counting-to-advanced disagreement that should worry Kiffin — they have scored 48 a night because they have had 21 opportunities, not because they are surgical. Ole Miss will not give them 21. The Tigers will have to be more efficient than they have been, or let the defense win it 24-17. 13 ADJUSTED TEAM METRICS No data was available for this section. 14 OLE MISS REBELS INJURY UPDATES Medical availability only, from two separate inputs. Live web research: Sharif Denson (S) is set to make his Ole Miss debut against LSU after recovering from a prior issue; Pete Golding said he “for sure will” play and Denson practiced this week. 3 Antonio Kite (CB) is expected to return after leaving the Louisville game early. 3 Kewan Lacy (RB) is healthy and was not listed after a thigh bruise/hip pointer in Week 1; he ran 13 times for 87 yards and two scores against Charlotte. 4 Makhi Frazier (RB) opened the week questionable and was upgraded to probable. 421 Tommy Kinsler (OT) remains questionable after missing Charlotte. 4 Keaton Thomas (LB) and Cedrick Beavers (CB) are probable. 4 Victor Lincoln Jr. (CB) and Emanuel Faulkner (OL) are out. 4 The secondary is the unit that actually improved this week. Denson’s debut plus Kite’s return, with Beavers probable, is a real snap-count injection against a Tiger passing game that just lost Phillip Wright III. 37 Lincoln being out trims the corner depth those additions just created. Up front, Faulkner’s absence and Kinsler’s questionable tag are the more dangerous medical stories, Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 11 of 17
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because LSU’s pass rush (11 sacks, Umanmielen leading the country) is the mismatch that does not need help. 446 Lacy being full- go is the best offensive news Golding has; Frazier’s probable tag keeps the committee intact if LSU’s front seven wears the lead back down in 93-degree heat. Injury feed: The stored feed tracks the same current board and the Week 1 origin story behind it. Deuce Alexander cramped, took IV fluids, and returned in the Louisville fourth quarter; he is available. 213 Lacy’s thigh injury was never serious, X-rays negative, and he was expected back even before the Charlotte tape confirmed it. 215 Thomas’s foot MRI was negative (soft-tissue ankle); Kinsler and Delano Townsend were soft-tissue; Kam Franklin was cleated with negative X-rays. 21617 Golding said after Louisville that X-rays on everyone were negative and nothing was long-term. 218 Caleb Cunningham was managing camp soft- tissue and had a limited Week 1 role. 2 Frazier’s upgrade to probable, Lincoln and Faulkner remaining out, Kinsler remaining questionable, and Denson/Kite unlisted (available) are the feed’s current snapshot as of Friday. 221 Net for Saturday: the skill players Golding needs — Chambliss, Alexander, Lacy, Frazier — are in. The offensive line is not fully in. The secondary is healthier than it was seven days ago and still without Lincoln. Against this opponent, the OL question is the one that scores. 15 LSU TIGERS INJURY UPDATES Medical availability only, from two separate inputs. Live web research: Sam Leavitt (QB) was doubtful Wednesday, questionable Thursday, then removed entirely from Friday’s SEC availability report and is on track to start. 56722 He missed Wednesday practice with back/shoulder issues; Landen Clark was the next man up if needed. 22 TJ Dottery (LB), the leading tackler, remains questionable for a third straight report. 2339 Phillip Wright III (WR), Jaiden Braker (LB) and Raycine Guillory Jr. (RB) are out. 7 Tylen Singleton (LB), Davhon Keys (LB) and Aliou Bah (OL) are probable. 24 Trey'Dez Green (TE) and Whit Weeks (LB) are off the report and available. 4061 The only status that would have rewritten this preview was Leavitt, and that status resolved in LSU’s favor. 522 Dottery is the remaining live question: if he sits, Ole Miss’s Lacy-Frazier committee gets a cleaner look at a front seven that is still very good (Weeks is available, Singleton and Keys probable) but no longer at full linebacker strength. 2339 Wright’s absence is rotational, not structural, with Watkins, Jackson Harris and Eugene Wilson still on the board. Green being available is a quiet hammer — 20.2 total PPA, 1.26 per play — because Ole Miss has to decide whether to put a linebacker or a safety on a 6-foot-7 tight end who already posted 104 yards in Week 2. 4045 Injury feed: The stored feed confirms Leavitt as available as of September 19 after the Friday removal, with the back-spasm timeline attached. 25 Weeks is available; Green is available; Dottery is questionable; Wright, Braker and Guillory are out; Singleton, Keys and Bah are probable. 2 Season-ending items that do not affect this game but sit on the roster: Aidan Anding (CB, torn Achilles) and Gabriel Reliford (DE, shoulder). 23132 Older feed entries on Braelin Moore, Destyn Hill, West Weeks, Garrett Nussmeier and others are from prior weeks and are not the current availability board for Oxford. 2 Net for Saturday: starting quarterback in, starting tight end in, leading tackler in doubt, one rotational receiver out. That is a winning medical sheet on the road. The only way it becomes a problem is if Leavitt’s back is well enough to be unlisted and not well enough to scramble, because 13.6 of his 28.1 PPA has come with his legs. 1 16 KEY PLAYER MATCHUPS The individual battles that will decide this game, tied back to PPA and the unit numbers. Deuce Alexander against LSU’s corners is the first argument. Alexander has 16.5 total PPA and 1.18 per play, the most efficient wideout on either roster, and SI and And The Valley Shook both frame him as the WR1 who will see either DJ Pickett (6-foot-5, LSU’s lone interception) or PJ Woodland (2 catches for 29 yards allowed). 14243 Pickett is a former Rebel facing a former teammate; Woodland is the shutdown option moving onto the opponent’s top target. 49 Ole Miss’s offense is 31st-percentile in explosiveness. If Alexander does not win this, the explosives do not exist. Chambliss’s 0.55 PPA on passing downs needs someone to actually get open on them. Kewan Lacy against Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery is the run-game hinge. Lacy’s 12.5 rushing PPA and 11-game rushing-TD streak are the reason Ole Miss can stay in successful first downs; Weeks is available and Dottery is questionable against his former team. 144 LSU has allowed 37 rushing yards in two games and a 22.9% opponent rush success rate. 1 That is not a “contain Lacy” assignment, it is a “erase the run so Chambliss has to beat havoc on passing downs” assignment. If Dottery sits, the edge in this matchup narrows; it does not flip. Weeks plus a 95th-percentile line-yards defense is still a bad at-bat for a back whose receiving PPA is negative. Princewill Umanmielen against Terez Davis and whoever plays right tackle — Tommy Kinsler (questionable) or Connor Howes — is the trench mismatch Kiffin imported from Oxford. Umanmielen, a 5-star portal steal from this very program, has 5 sacks already and fronts an 11-sack, 22-TFL Tiger rush. 46 Davis graded 50.7 in pass protection against Louisville; Kinsler left that game and missed Charlotte; Faulkner is out. 43 Chambliss’s 36.6 PPA assumes he has time. A 30.2% havoc defense with a former teammate coming off the edge is how that number goes to zero. Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 12 of 17
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Will Echoles against LSU’s interior offensive line is the counter. Echoles is the preseason All-SEC tackle tasked with wrecking Leavitt’s launch point and a Tiger run game that already slumped against Louisiana Tech. 4550 Leavitt’s rushing PPA (13.6) dies if the pocket collapses inside; Trey'Dez Green’s 1.26 per-play efficiency dies if Echoles is sitting on play-action. Ole Miss’s defensive line yards (79th percentile) are actually a strength. 1 This is the one Rebel unit that can make LSU’s offense look like its 0.02 Week 2 PPA rather than its 0.38 Week 1. Trey'Dez Green against Ole Miss’s linebackers and safeties is the mismatch Golding has to scheme. Green is too big for the backers and too athletic for the DBs, and 8.1 of his 20.2 PPA has come on third down. 145 Denson’s debut helps the back end; it does not give Ole Miss a 6-foot-7 answer. 347 If LSU lives in 12 personnel, the Rebels either leave Green on a linebacker or take a safety out of the Alexander/Watkins conversation. That is how a 41st-percentile points-per-opportunity offense still scores 30. 17 OLE MISS REBELS ROSTER UPDATES Non-injury roster news only. Verified transfer portal: Ole Miss’s incoming class is a volume 4-star rebuild: Darrell Gill Jr. (WR, Syracuse, 4★, 0.94), Carius Curne (OT, LSU, 4★, 0.94), Deuce Knight (QB, Auburn, 4★, 0.94), Jay Crawford (CB, Auburn, 4★, 0.93), Blake Purchase (EDGE, Oregon, 4★, 0.93), Edwin Joseph (S, Florida State, 4★, 0.92), Jordan Renaud (EDGE, Alabama, 4★, 0.92), Michai Boireau (DL, Florida, 4★, 0.92), Luke Ferrelli (LB, California, 4★, 0.90) and Horatio Fields (WR, Auburn, 4★, 0.90), plus a long 3-star list that includes Makhi Frazier, Sharif Denson, Keaton Thomas, Johntay Cook II, JT Lindsey (from LSU) and Tommy Kinsler. 1 The outgoing list is the scar tissue of the Kiffin exit: Princewill Umanmielen (EDGE, 5★, to LSU), Devin Harper (IOL, 4★, to LSU), Winston Watkins (WR, 4★, to LSU), TJ Dottery (LB, 4★, to LSU), Dae'Quan Wright (TE, 4★, to LSU) and Zxavian Harris (DL, 4★, to LSU), plus Austin Simmons (QB, 4★, Missouri) and Da'Shawn Womack (EDGE, 4★, Auburn). 1 That is not a normal portal cycle. It is a roster divorce. Ole Miss restocked the skill room (Fields already has 8.5 PPA; Gill, Cook and Knight are on the two-deep) and the front seven (Renaud, Purchase, Boireau), and even poached Curne and Lindsey back the other way. 1 What it could not replace in one winter is a 5-star edge rusher and a 4-star linebacker who now know this building’s tells. The Rebels’ 50% returning-PPA figure lives alongside a defensive identity that had to be rebuilt after the people who played it left for Baton Rouge. Curne at tackle is the most karmic incoming move on a weekend when Ole Miss’s tackle play is the weak point Umanmielen was hired to attack. Live web research: Sharif Denson, the Florida transfer, is slated to make his Rebels debut against LSU, adding a fall-camp standout to a secondary that has been chasing missed tackles and broken coverages for two weeks. 3 That is a depth-chart event, not just a medical one: Denson had not appeared in a game, and Golding is inserting him into a top-10 matchup because the tape on the current group demanded it. No other non-injury roster moves, suspensions, or starter announcements were reported in the last two weeks. 18 LSU TIGERS ROSTER UPDATES Non-injury roster news only. Verified transfer portal: LSU’s incoming board is a 5-star shopping spree plus an Ole Miss raid. Jordan Seaton (OT, Colorado, 5★, 0.98), Sam Leavitt (QB, Arizona State, 5★, 0.98) and Princewill Umanmielen (EDGE, Ole Miss, 5★, 0.98) headline it, with Ty Benefield (S, Boise State, 4★), Jordan Ross (EDGE, Tennessee, 4★), Eugene Wilson III (WR, Florida, 4★), Husan Longstreet (QB, USC, 4★), Jayce Brown (WR, Kansas State, 4★), Aliou Bah (IOL, Maryland, 4★), Devin Harper (IOL, Ole Miss, 4★), Stephiylan Green (DL, Clemson, 4★), Winston Watkins (WR, Ole Miss, 4★) and TJ Dottery (LB, Ole Miss, 4★) behind them. 1 Outgoing: Carius Curne (OT, to Ole Miss, 4★), Walter Mathis Jr. (DL, Auburn), a long list of 3-star attrition, and JT Lindsey (RB, to Ole Miss). 1 This is how you turn a seven-win roster into a 24.1 SP+ team in one offseason. Leavitt is already the second-most productive player in this game. Umanmielen already leads the country in sacks. Watkins already has 10.1 PPA against the program he just left. Dottery is the leading tackler, injury tag and all. 146 Harper and Seaton/Bah are the interior reason LSU can even contemplate blocking Echoles. The Tigers did not “reload.” They harvested a rival’s defense and bought a quarterback. Three former Rebels — Umanmielen, Dottery, Watkins — are statistical leaders in LSU’s first two games, which is the subplot Golding has to coach through without turning it into a revenge cartoon. 65 Live web research: No additional non-injury roster news was available for this section. 19 OLE MISS REBELS PRACTICE AND SCRIMMAGE UPDATES Practice participation, official reports, and camp-week messaging. Ole Miss’s official LSU-week practice report had Golding, Lacy, Echoles and Alexander in front of the microphones, and the message was deliberately dull: fix the secondary’s repeated coverage mistakes from the Charlotte tape, trust the offensive line depth, and “block all the outside noise.” 58 Golding praised Connor Howes’ growth in Kinsler’s absence, which is either a vote of confidence or a tell that Kinsler is not a full-go. 58 Lacy said the staff changed the game plan because LSU’s coaches know last Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 13 of 17
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year’s scheme: “Everything can't be the same.” 54 That is the most useful practice-week sentence anyone offered. Kiffin’s people have seen this offense. Weis Jr. is changing the answers behind the same formations. Availability-week practice notes line up with the medical board: Lacy unlisted and working, Frazier upgraded and in the mix, Denson back at practice and slated to debut, Kite trending toward return, Kinsler expected back at practice but still questionable, Thomas already in the rotation after 32 snaps against Charlotte. 421 Golding’s closer was the only bit of theater: if players cannot get up for this one, he does not know why they play. 48 The rest was a team trying not to play Kiffin’s game. In Oxford, with GameDay in town, that is the correct practice week. Whether a secondary that needed two reinforcements and a public scolding can actually clean the Charlotte mistakes against Watkins, Green and Harris is the only question the report did not answer. 20 LSU TIGERS PRACTICE AND SCRIMMAGE UPDATES Practice participation, simulated environment, and the Leavitt timeline. Leavitt missed parts of Wednesday with back spasms, returned for a Thursday walk-through, was upgraded from doubtful to questionable, then came off Friday’s report entirely — available, expected to start. 4148 Weeks and Green came off the report after Wednesday questionable tags; Dottery stayed questionable through Friday and will be a 90-minutes-before-kickoff decision. 4161 Wright, Braker and Guillory did not practice their way onto the field. Bah, Keys and Singleton are probable and expected to be available. 41 If Leavitt were to flare up, Clark has taken 32 backup snaps to Longstreet’s seven and is the dual-threat facsimile. 45 That contingency is now a footnote, not the lead. Kiffin ran the theatrical practice of the week: LSU students and “fraternity bros” brought in to heckle the Tigers and hold up signs, a simulated Vaught-Hemingway, as reported via Pat McAfee. 59 The coach’s actual message was drier than the stunt. Play on execution, not emotion; let Ole Miss ride the crowd because emotion “will go up and down.” 60 Whit Weeks added the scouting detail that matters more than the hecklers: Ole Miss is showing the same formations and running different plays, a Weis Jr. problem that burned LSU in camp walk-throughs. 54 That is a defense spending the week on recognition, not revenge. Combined with Leavitt’s return to full availability, it is a professional road-week from a staff that knows this building too well to be surprised by it. 21 OLE MISS REBELS VS LSU TIGERS MEDIA MATCHUP ANALYSIS What national and local media, analysts and coaches are actually saying about this game. The dominant media frame is Kiffin’s return, and Kiffin has been feeding it. He told his team the pressure is on Ole Miss — “We won seven games last year. They won 13.” — called Chambliss the best-playing quarterback in the country last year, and stacked Lacy and kicker Lucas Carnero into the same compliment pile. 4854 Golding refused the trap: the season “does not begin or end” with this game, even if it is the one everybody wants to talk about. 65 CBS’s pick is LSU -2.5, citing Kiffin’s familiarity with Golding’s defense and the holes Louisville punched in the Rebel secondary. 62 ESPN’s preview is more skeptical of Ole Miss’s counting stats (dinged by a real Week 1 opponent) and more impressed by LSU’s defense, “the most efficient in the country,” while noting SP+ has LSU by 6.3 and FPI by 5.3 against a line that sat around -2.5/-3. 63 The Leavitt listing was treated as gamesmanship almost immediately. SI’s staff picks framed Ole Miss as viewing the doubtful tag as Kiffin flouting SEC rules; And The Valley Shook said most people suspect gamesmanship but also that Leavitt did miss Wednesday and only lightly walked through Thursday, so something real was there. 764 The line ticked from LSU -2.5 to -3 when he reappeared Thursday, then did not blow out Friday when he came off the report entirely — ESPN called the lack of movement telling. 5463 Local color filled the rest: enhanced law enforcement in Oxford, Umanmielen served with Ole Miss’s breach-of-contract lawsuit at the LSU complex, three former Rebels now leading LSU statistically, and Echoles comparing Leavitt to LaNorris Sellers and stressing rush lanes. 46636566 The media consensus is not “LSU blows Ole Miss out.” It is “Kiffin knows this place, LSU’s defense is the best unit, and the line is too tight if you believe the ratings.” That is also the analytical consensus. The disagreement is how much Oxford and Chambliss get to tax it. 22 GAME CONDITIONS AND BETTING CONTEXT Forecast, venue, and the market against the statistical baseline — as the Game Conditions chart lays out. Vaught-Hemingway is open-air grass, capacity 64,038, elevation 147 meters, built in 1915. 1 Saturday’s forecast is Fair, 93 degrees, 40% humidity, dew point 65.1, zero precipitation, wind 2.7 mph from 283 degrees (west-northwest). It is not a dome, so the forecast counts. The wind does not. At 2.7 mph nobody’s deep ball is dying; Alexander and Watkins still get their shots. The heat does. Ninety-three at a 6:30 p.m. CT kick on grass, in a hostile 64,000, with a 30% havoc defense on one side, is a total- suppressor and a late-down-leg-cramp environment. It slightly favors the better front seven and the team that can run — LSU’s 456 rush yards and Ole Miss’s Lacy committee — over 40 pass attempts. Elevation is irrelevant at 147 meters. The crowd is not: this is as loud as Oxford gets, and Kiffin spent a practice trying to fake it. 59 Ole Miss is 0-2 against the spread with an average cover margin of -8; LSU is 1-1 ATS with an average cover of +13.5. 1 The Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 14 of 17
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market has LSU -3 (home margin -3.0) with a total of 58.5 at Bovada and DraftKings, and a 41.8% pregame win probability on the home side. 1 The statistical baseline — a 50/50 blend of the ratings consensus (-2.18) and that market line — sits at LSU by 2.59, projected 31.5-28.9, 42.4% Rebel win probability, 60.4 total. Market and model agree this is a field goal. The Projected Margin by System chart will show why the guts of the model are less tied than the blend: SP+ wants LSU by 6.5, FPI by 4.7, Elo wants Ole Miss by 4.7. The 93-degree Fair evening does not create a passing-game tax, but it does argue the 58.5 is high if LSU’s defense is real, because havoc plus heat plus a 31st-percentile explosion offense is how 41-ppg teams score 24. 23 FINAL PREDICTION LSU beats Ole Miss in Oxford. The baseline consensus is LSU by 2.59 (31.5-28.9, 50% ratings / 50% market). I am moving off it, to LSU 31, Ole Miss 26 — Tigers by 5. That is a 2.4-point shift toward LSU, inside the space between FPI (LSU by 4.7) and SP+ (LSU by 6.5), and a rejection of Elo’s Rebel lean. The move is not a fade of Oxford. It is a price on a 100th-percentile defense against a 31st-percentile explosion offense, with the starting quarterback confirmed in. The market is LSU -3 / 58.5. Projecting LSU by 5 means laying the favorite: take LSU -3. Projecting 57 combined means the under 58.5. Ole Miss has not covered in two tries; LSU’s ATS profile is noisy after a Clemson wrecking and a cupcake. The number I care about is not last week’s cover, it is whether Chambliss can stay on schedule against 30% havoc in 93-degree heat. I do not think he can, not for four quarters. Three reasons. First, the mismatch is structural, not narrative: Ole Miss succeeds (88th-percentile success rate, 5.36 points per opportunity) and does not explode, and LSU’s defense is the national leader in the things that kill that style — success rate allowed, PPA, havoc, line yards. 1 Second, the people Kiffin took with him are the people who win this game: Umanmielen against a tackle rotation that is already compromised (Kinsler questionable, Faulkner out), Watkins with 10.1 PPA against his old locker room, Green at 1.26 per play with no Rebel physical matchup. 44546 Leavitt coming off the report removes the only injury-based discount the Tigers had. 522 Third, the conditions and the form agree with the under and with LSU’s front: 93 and Fair on grass, a Rebel offense that turns it over, a Tiger defense that just held Clemson to 10 and the rest of the world to 37 rushing yards. Oxford will be loud. Execution travels. Havoc travels farther. THE VERDICT · The projected final score, win probability, the model's spread set against the market and the pick that comparison implies — the report's bottom line in one card. SOURCES 1. College Football Data API (CollegeFootballData) https://collegefootballdata.com 34. Whit Weeks Makes Surprise Appearance On LSU Injury Report With Ankle Injury | TigerRag.com (TigerRag.com) https://www.tigerrag.com/whit-weeks-makes-surprise-appearance-on-lsu-injury- Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 15 of 17
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2. College football injury feed (Injury feed) https://www.rotowire.com/cfootball/news.php 3. Ole Miss safety Sharif Denson set for debut vs LSU (ClutchPoints) https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-football/ole-miss-football-news-rebels-huge-boost- secondary-injury-update-lsu-blockbuster 4. Kewan Lacy good to go for LSU after thigh bruise recovery (The Rebel Walk) https://therebelwalk.com/2026/09/wednesday-ole-miss-lsu-injury-report-tigers-qb- sam-leavitt-listed-doubtful-rebels-get-encouraging-news-ahead-of-top-10-clash/ 5. LSU QB Sam Leavitt off availability report for Ole Miss showdown | Reuters (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/sports/lsu-qb-sam-leavitt-off-availability-report-ole-miss- showdown--flm-2026-09-19/ 6. LSU QB Sam Leavitt not listed on SEC availability report - ESPN https://www.espn.in/college-football/story/_/id/49976012/lsu-qb-sam-leavitt-not- listed-sec-availability-report 7. Friday’s LSU and Ole Miss injury report: Leavitt removed entirely | And The Valley Shook (And The Valley Shook) https://www.andthevalleyshook.com/lsu-tigers-news/53151/fridays-lsu-and-ole-miss- injury-report-leavitt-removed-entirely 8. LSU QB Sam Leavitt's Status in Doubt Ahead of Ole Miss Showdown https://www.si.com/college/olemiss/football/sec-releases-initial-availability-report-for- lsu-at-ole-miss 9. LSU QB Sam Leavitt upgraded to questionable vs. Ole Miss | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/sports/lsu-qb-sam-leavitt-upgraded-questionable-vs-ole- miss--flm-2026-09-18/ 10. LSU QB Sam Leavitt upgraded to 'questionable' on the SEC injury report for the Mississippi game https://www.wsls.com/sports/2026/09/18/lsu-qb-sam-leavitt-upgraded-to- questionable-on-the-sec-injury-report-for-the-mississippi-game/ 11. New Reality Emerges on Sam Leavitt’s Availability for LSU-Ole Miss - Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/new-reality-emerges-on-sam-leavitts- availability-for-lsu-ole-miss-12458034 12. Thursday’s LSU and Ole Miss injury report: Leavitt upgraded to questionable | And The Valley Shook https://www.andthevalleyshook.com/lsu-tigers-news/53098/thursdays-lsu-and-ole- miss-injury-report-leavitt-upgraded-to-questionable 13. Deuce Alexander returned after cramping, IV fluids (USA Today) https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2026/09/06/deuce-alexander- injury-update-locker-room-ole-miss-td/91646510007/ 14. Antonio Kite reportedly injured, status unclear (EssentiallySports) https://www.essentiallysports.com/ncaa-college-football-news-ole-miss-pete-golding- suffers-major-setback-in-head-coaching-debut-as-five-players-leave-game-with- injuries-ole-miss-football-pete-golding-keaton-thomas/ 15. Kewan Lacy injury not serious, expected to return (TigerRag.com) https://www.tigerrag.com/ole-miss-running-back-kewan-lacys-injury-from-rebels-win- over-louisville-not-anything-serious/ 16. Keaton Thomas foot MRI negative, ankle soft‑tissue issue (HottyToddy.com) https://www.hottyToddy.com/2026/09/07/everything-pete-golding-said-after- louisville-win/ 17. Tommy Kinsler leg issue soft‑tissue, expected back (HottyToddy.com) https://www.hottyToddy.com/2026/09/07/ole-miss-injury-update-louisville/ 18. Pete Golding provides positive injury update after Louisville win (HottyToddy.com) https://www.hottytoddy.com/2026/09/08/pete-golding-ole-miss-charlotte-week-two/ 19. Pete Golding Announces Kewan Lacy Injury Update for Ole Miss (Sports Illustrated) https://www.si.com/college/olemiss/football/pete-golding-announces-kewan-lacy- injury-update-for-ole-miss 20. Mississippi coach Pete Golding aims to eradicate erratic play in Week 2 against Charlotte (WTOP News) https://wtop.com/college-sports/2026/09/mississippi-coach-pete-golding-aims-to- eradicate-erratic-play-in-week-2-against-charlotte/ 21. Makhi Frazier upgraded to Probable on SEC's Thursday availability report (The Rebel Walk) https://therebelwalk.com/2026/09/thursday-sec-availability-report-ole-miss-rb- fraziers-status-upgraded-lsu-qb-moved-up-to-questionable/ 22. LSU QB Sam Leavitt not listed on Friday SEC availability report, on track to start vs Ole Miss (NOLA.com) https://www.nola.com/sports/lsu/sam-leavitt-injury-update-lsu-football-ole-miss-lane- kiffin/article_4cc0bcc9-56ac-435d-b7cf-f2c5077323e0.html 23. LSU leading tackler TJ Dottery remains questionable vs Ole Miss (ESPN) https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49976012/lsu-qb-sam-leavitt-not- listed-sec-availability-report 24. LSU LB Tylen Singleton listed as probable vs Ole Miss (TigerDroppings) https://www.tigerdroppings.com/lsu-football/latest-sam-leavitt-update-arrives-on- fridays-lsu-ole-miss-injury-report/124863458/ 25. LSU QB Sam Leavitt off availability report for Ole Miss showdown | 99.9 Radio USA https://radiousa.com/2026/09/18/lsu-qb-sam-leavitt-off-availability-report-for-ole- miss-showdown/ 26. LSU Tigers vs. Ole Miss Rebels Live Score and Stats - September 19, 2026 Gametracker - CBS Sports https://www.cbssports.com/college- football/gametracker/playbyplay/NCAAF_20260919_LSU@MISS/ 27. LSU Injury Report 2026: Ole Miss Availability Tracker | TigerHype https://www.tigerhype.com/post/lsu-football-injury-tracker-2026-availability-report report-with-recurring-ankle-injury/ 35. Garrett Nussmeier's injury impacts play calls, says Brian Kelly | Sporting News (Sporting News) https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/lsu/news/garrett-nussmeiers- injury-impacts-play-calls-says-brian-kelly/a953bd907f61d398a7a3bdf9 36. Reason why Garrett Nussmeier was not on availability reports | LSU | nola.com (nola.com) https://www.nola.com/sports/lsu/lsu-sec-availability-report-garrett-nussmeier- torso-injury-brian-kelly/article_cc976ad1-cb5b-4edd-89c4-efca5006c148.html 37. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier Enjoying Best Week Of Practice Amid Abdomen/Torso Injury (TigerRag.com) https://www.tigerrag.com/lsu-qb-garrett-nussmeier-enjoying-best-week-of- practice-amid-abdomen-torso-injury/ 38. The Final Injury Report: LSU Football vs. Southeastern Louisiana Lions in Week 4 (SI.com) https://www.si.com/college/lsu/football/the-final-injury-report-lsu-football-vs- southeastern-louisiana-lions-in-week-4-01k5m8wbg815 39. LB TJ Dottery remains questionable for third straight report (Louisiana Sports) https://www.louisianasports.net/2026/09/18/injury-report-leavitt-ready-dottery- questionable-for-saturday/lsu-sports/ 40. TE Trey'Dez Green off injury report, available (Death Valley Voice) https://deathvalleyvoice.com/final-sec-availability-report-provides-the-sam-leavitt- news-every-lsu-fan-needed-to-hear 41. WR Phillip Wright III ruled out (TigerRag.com) https://www.tigerrag.com/sam-leavitt-expected-to-play-against-ole-miss/ 42. DJ Pickett likely to shadow Deuce Alexander in top-10 Magnolia Bowl (Sports Illustrated - Ole Miss) https://www.si.com/college/olemiss/football/3-matchups-that-will-decide-ole-miss- week-3-game-against-lsu 43. PJ Woodland vs Deuce Alexander billed as pivotal CB-WR1 battle (And The Valley Shook) https://www.andthevalleyshook.com/lsu-tigers-football/53105/eye-of-the-tiger- pivotal-position-matchups-vs-ole-miss 44. Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery key to containing Kewan Lacy (LouisianaSports.net) https://www.louisianasports.net/2026/09/17/lsu-ole-miss-three-matchups-to- watch/lsu-sports/lsu-football/ 45. Will Echoles poses stiff test for LSU interior offensive line (TigerRag.com) https://www.tigerrag.com/lsu-ole-miss-scouting-report-what-happens-to-tigers-if- sam-leavitt-cant-play/ 46. LSU edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen faces former team, leads nation in sacks (WLBT) https://www.wlbt.com/2026/09/18/no-8-ole-miss-no-7-lsu-meet-first-top-10- magnolia-bowl-since-1962/ 47. Ole Miss secondary expects return of Sharif Denson to help vs LSU receivers (The Daily Mississippian) https://thedmonline.com/heres-how-ole-miss-and-lsu-stack-up-position-to-position/ 48. Sam Leavitt upgraded to questionable, then removed from availability report (CBS Sports) https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/lane-kiffin-leads-no-7-lsu- against-no-8-ole-miss-in-oxford/ 49. Deuce Alexander vs DJ Pickett rematch from last year's game (Yahoo Sports) https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ole-miss-vs-lsu-matchups-221500929.html 50. LSU's defensive line vs Ole Miss interior OL is key trench battle (Fantasy Nerds) https://www.fantasynerds.com/news/story/2026/09/18/lsus-interior-o-line-faces- stiff-test-against-ole-miss-defensive-tackles-1626644 51. LSU vs Ole Miss: 21 players to watch in Lane Kiffin's Oxford return https://lsutigerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/lsu/football/2026/09/17/lsu- football-ole-miss-game-lane-kiffin-trinidad-chambliss-ole-miss/91795700007/ 52. The Sam Leavitt injury report is starting to look awfully predictable - HottyToddy.com - Ole Miss Sports, Oxford Entertainment, Dining & More https://www.hottytoddy.com/2026/09/18/sam-leavitt-questionable-ole-miss-lsu/ 53. Ole Miss Coach Got a Text From Lane Kiffin About LSU’s Injury Report. What He Said Next Was Priceless. https://www.si.com/college-football/ole-miss-coach-text-from-lane-kiffin-lsu-injury- report-priceless 54. After months of hype, sniping and a week of drama, it’s almost time for LSU-Ole Miss collision | Shreveport-Bossier Journal (Shreveport-Bossier Journal) https://shreveportbossierjournal.com/2026/09/18/after-months-of-hype-sniping- and-a-week-of-drama-its-almost-time-for-lsu-ole-miss-collision/ 55. How 3 Former Ole Miss Players Will Help LSU Takedown The Rebels https://www.si.com/college/lsu/football/how-3-former-ole-miss-players-will-help- lsu-takedown-the-rebels 56. Sam Leavitt status with injury update for LSU vs. Ole Miss https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/09/18/sam-leavitt-status-injury- update-lane-kiffin-lsu-ole-miss/91822666007/ 57. Who is LSU's backup QB? Two options with Sam Leavitt 'doubtful' to play vs. Ole Miss - CBS Sports https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/lsu-backup-qb-sam-leavitt- doubtful-ole-miss/ 58. Ole Miss preaches 'blocking out noise' ahead of LSU in official practice report (Ole Miss Athletics - Hotty Toddy) https://olemisssports.com/news/2026/9/16/football-vs-lsu-practice-report Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 16 of 17
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28. Is Leavitt's injury status truly a cause for concern? - Louisiana Sports https://www.louisianasports.net/2026/09/17/lsu-injury-report/lsu-sports/lsu-football/ 29. LSU QB Sam Leavitt healthy and cleared for season opener after ankle surgery recovery (Sports Illustrated (SI.com) - LSU) https://www.si.com/college/lsu/football/lsu-week-1-injury-report-latest-updates-and- practice-status 30. Braelin Moore day-to-day, questionable for Florida with ankle sprain (TigerRag.com) https://www.tigerrag.com/brian-kelly-gives-good-news-on-injuries-to-braelin-moore- and-treydez-green/ 31. Aidan Anding added to roster but out for season with torn Achilles (USA TODAY Sports) https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/09/08/lsu-daequan-wright- zxavian-harris-roster-football/91667776007/ 32. Gabriel Reliford added to roster but out for season with shoulder injury (LouisianaSports.net) https://www.louisianasports.net/2026/09/08/report-lsu-to-fill-roster-leave-wright- harris-off/lsu-sports/ 33. Wednesday availability report for No. 10 LSU and No. 17 Vandy (247Sports) https://247sports.com/college/lsu/article/lsu-football-wednesday-availability-report- versus-vanderbilt-257079671/ 59. Lane Kiffin brings in students to heckle LSU before Ole Miss | Football | nola.com (NOLA.com) https://www.nola.com/sports/lsu/football/lane-kiffin-ole-miss-students-heckling- practice/article_08484972-2d2e-431d-87cf-31a9fd2cea3b.html 60. Kiffin says LSU is focused on execution over emotion for Ole Miss (WAFB) https://www.wafb.com/2026/09/18/lane-kiffin-stays-quiet-leavitts-status-ahead- top-10-showdown-with-ole-miss/ 61. Whit Weeks and Trey'Dez Green off Thursday injury report after questionable tags (Louisiana Sports) https://www.louisianasports.net/2026/09/17/injury-update-leavitt-upgraded-to- questionable-for-ole-miss/lsu-sports/ 62. LSU vs. Ole Miss prediction: CBS picks LSU -2.5 (CBS Sports) https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/lsu-ole-miss-prediction-picks- odds-spread-where-to-watch-live-lane-kiffin/ 63. ESPN preview: Ole Miss' stats 'dinged' by real Week 1 opponent ahead of LSU game (ESPN) https://www.espn.com.sg/college-football/story/_/id/49965321/college-football- week-3-preview-ole-miss-revenge-lsu 64. SI staff picks: Ole Miss views Leavitt injury listing as gamesmanship (Sports Illustrated) https://www.si.com/college-football/ole-miss-vs-lsu-picks-sports-illustrated-staff- predicting-final-score-lane-kiffin-return-oxford 65. Golding: Season 'does not begin or end' with LSU game; ex-Rebels star in key LSU roles (Magnolia Tribune) https://magnoliatribune.com/2026/09/18/kiffins-return-to-face-the-program-he- spurned-looms-over-no-7-lsus-visit-to-no-8-ole-miss/ 66. Oxford braces for 'shockwave' of Lane Kiffin's return (CBS Sports) https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/oxford-impact-lane-kiffin-college- football/ Ole Miss Rebels vs LSU Tigers · 2026 · Matchup Report Page 17 of 17
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