It was circled as one of the most challenging games on the Ole Miss schedule during preseason. A night game against LSU in Baton Rouge is as tough as they come. Still, it offers an opportunity to keep momentum after the South Carolina road win.
The news from Lane Kiffin's Monday press conference is that they may have to do it without one of their more important offensive players. Is Kiffin bluffing, or is it a genuine concern?
Ole Miss preparing to be without wide receiver Tre Harris
Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris did not return to the game against South Carolina in the second quarter after an injury knocked him out. Head coach Lane Kiffin confirmed he was not close to putting him back in the game and told Harris that at halftime.
Lane Kiffin addressed the media as usual on Monday and was asked about Tre Harris. He gave a worrying update on his potential status for the game against LSU in Week 7.
""He certainly wouldn't be playing today, so we got to get the other guys ready and perform better than we did without him (against South Carolina). We are preparing to play without him.""Lane Kiffin at press conference
Now we know that Lane Kiffin loves playing mind games, and this could be a ploy to make LSU believe Harris may miss the game. The SEC injury reports may tell us a little more starting Wednesday, but the likelihood is that Harris will be questionable on each report until at least Friday.
Harris is the clear No. 1 in the wide receiver room, already at 885 receiving yards through 6 games, on track to break A.J. Brown's current season record of 1,320 receiving yards in 2018. It would be a blow for Kiffin, but they have a group of wide receivers who can get the job done if they all step up.
Players on the defensive front stepped up this past weekend when an injury forced starting defensive end Princely Umanmielen to miss the game. It's a common theme for teams during the season, so Ole Miss must find a way to win with or without Harris.