Ole Miss Football: Previewing The Ole Miss/Louisiana Game

NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Mark Hudspeth of the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns reacts during the second half of a game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 17, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Mark Hudspeth of the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns reacts during the second half of a game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 17, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Ole Miss football is coming back to Oxford after winning in Lexington. Today they get to take on the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Ole Miss is returning home today to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. The Rebels are looking to even their record to 5 and 5 while the Cajuns hope to ink out a win to build on their 4-4 record.

Louisiana out of the Sun Belt conference is a well coached team. Head coach Mark Hudspeth has continued to build a good football team in Lafayette. The Cajuns are talented on both sides of the ball and could prove to be a tough test early for the Rebels. Let’s look at them and see how the Rebels match-up.

The Cajuns Offense

Ole Miss Rebels Football
Ole Miss Rebels Football /

Ole Miss Rebels Football

There has been an obvious quarterback controversy in Lafayette this season. There have been three QBs to start games for the Cajuns thus far this season. Which one starts today? Coach Mark Hudspeth may be the only person who can answer at this point.

This past week against South Alabama the starter was freshman Levi Lewis. He is a true dual threat QB and showed what he could do. Lewis had 18 carries for 129 yards rushing while completing 8 of 15 passes for 110 yards and 2 TDs.

I’m sure Ole Miss football fans can expect to see plenty of Lewis today with Hudspeth knowing about the porous rush defense of the Rebels. Of course, the Cajuns also have a bevy of talented running-backs who could see a lot of touches against the Rebels defense.

The Cajuns Defense

Don’t let their record fool you. This is a Cajuns defense which thrives on chaos. The Cajuns don’t seem to generate a lot of turnovers based simply on havoc alone. However, they do create big stops and that’s really all that matters on Saturday. Despite being 4-4, they are 3-2 in the Sun Belt conference and much of this success comes from a very stingy defense.

When the Rebels have the ball we can expect to see them bring some twists on defense. However, they will find Jordan Ta’amu hard defend against. When the Cajuns bring pressure the Rebels will have the opportunity to finally put up some big rushing yards. Of course, if they let Ta’amu sit back and throw the ball we may see a few Ole Miss receivers have huge games. The Cajuns seriously have their work cut out for them today on defense.

Next: Things We Want to See!

Of course, any given Saturday any team can best another. Today we will find out if the Cajuns have what it takes to best the Rebels. My money is on the Rebels. Kickoff in Oxford from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is set for 11am CT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network. Hotty Toddy!