Written by Chris Abshire at Bloguin
Even since our case study about LSU’s November swoon on Tuesday, the heat on Les Miles has ratcheted up considerably, with the Baton Rouge paper claiming he’s “coaching for his job” Saturday in Oxford.
Like the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry needed any more fire.
Championship aspirations are (likely) out the window for both teams on Saturday, but this is a game far more acrimonious than most around the country understand. There’s a deep history to the series, whether it was Billy Cannon clinching LSU’s only Heisman on Halloween night in 1959, or Archie Manning cementing his collegiate legacy by spoiling an undefeated Tigers’ season a decade later.
For years, the LSU student paper’s annual front-page headline on the Friday prior to the game was “Geaux To Hell, Ole Miss.” Rebel fans return the favor, always chanting “Go To Hell, LSU” during the national anthem.
The series’ modern era has been far more competitive than LSU’s 9-3 record in the past dozen meetings would suggest. Some truly mediocre Ole Miss teams pushed 10-win LSU teams to the brink with regularity. (See: 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2012.)
Last season’s 10-7 LSU win in Tiger Stadium was a defensive slugfest which sent the Rebels spiraling a bit down the stretch. It was also one of the highest-leverage games you will ever see, embodying the pressure-cooker atmosphere this rivalry often produces.
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