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Brian Kelly reveals the toughest challenge against the Ole Miss offense

On3 imageby: Andrew Graham10/21/22AndrewEdGraham
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BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 24: LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly during a game between the LSU Tigers and the New Mexico Lobos on September 24, 2022, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. (Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

By the end of Saturday, LSU will have faced two of the best offenses in the SEC, albeit ones diametrically opposed: Ole Miss and Tennessee. While no one airs it out quite like the Vols, the Rebels feature one of the best rushing offenses in the country and LSU head coach Brian Kelly knows the Tigers need to come correct on defense.

To stymie the Ole Miss and it’s third-ranked rushing offense that racks up 271.4 yards per game, Kelly had a pretty simple solution. It’s one easier desired than executed.

“But clearly this is going to be about how we tackle,” Kelly said. “Especially on the perimeter. I think that’s going to be a big part of how we slow them down. Because they’re obviously a very good offense.”

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If LSU does manage to gum up the Rebels ability to run and force them to pass to win, the Tigers might well hand Ole Miss its first loss. They’d also be the first team that has really, truly shut down the Ole Miss offense and its duo of running backs.

Freshman running back Quinshon Judkins is No. 11 nationally in rushing yards, junior TCU transfer Zach Evans is No. 26 nationally. Even quarterback Jaxson Dart has shown he’s an adept runner, coming in No. 110 nationally — the 11th-best mark for a quarterback.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of versatility. It’s very creative. But I think it starts with, if you look at it, they clearly have the ability to run the football and push the ball down the field,” Kelly said. “The quarterback, as I mentioned, is a dual threat. He can run it, he can throw it. So you have to be able — you can’t take away everything. So you have to be sound, defensively.”