By CODY WORSHAM | Tiger Rag Editor
STOCK UP: Guice and Key
On Saturday, Derrius Guice looked like Derrius Guice, and Arden Key looked like Arden Key. As a result, LSU looked like LSU. Guice finished with 276 rushing yards and became the first player in SEC history to register three career games of 250+ rushing yards. The junior tailback looked healthy for the first time all season, cutting sharply and exploding violently into space. Key, meanwhile, is down 20 pounds in four weeks and picked up two sacks, two tackles for loss, and forced a fumble. Having its two stars back at their best gives LSU a puncher’s chance in two weeks against Alabama. Maybe.
STOCK UP: O and Canada
No one could’ve enjoyed LSU’s win over Ole Miss more than Ed Orgeron, fired as the Rebels’ head coach 10 years ago and back for the first time as a head coach. More than the Tigers’ dominant display over a reeling Rebel squad, though, Orgeron has seen his team improve with each week since losing to Troy in September, and they now head into November with all their title hopes intact. Matt Canada’s offense, meanwhile, continues to produce, racking up 593 yards despite youth and depth issues at offensive line and wide receiver. If Canada ever gets a full complement of playmakers at his disposal at LSU, watch out.
STOCK DOWN: Rush D
Giving up 153 rushing yards is no crime, but LSU would’ve expected to do better against an Ole Miss offense far more predicated on the pass than the run. Dave Aranda’s men looked vulnerable at times in the run game, giving up 5.5 yards per carry on the ground. Adjusted for sack yardage, Ole Miss actually picked up 172 yards on 6.9 yards per carry. It wasn’t enough to break LSU’s back against the Rebels, but you can bet Alabama will dissect the film to find the holes in LSU’s defense it will look to exploit in Tuscaloosa in two weeks.
STOCK DOWN: Wide Receivers Receiving
As effective as LSU’s offense was on Saturday, a clear issue was its play at wide receiver. Of the Tigers’ 200 receiving yards, zero came courtesy of receivers. The Tigers have now won two SEC road games in a row while managing just a single catch from a wide out. Stephen Sullivan had a chance at a touchdown grab but couldn’t hold on, and Russell Gage shortly after dropped a third down conversion. Danny Etling was able to dink and dunk Ole Miss to death using running backs, H-backs, and tight ends, but he’ll need receivers to produce in November for the offense to take a step forward.
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