OXFORD, Miss.-LSU's Ed Orgeron will return to Oxford, Miss., as a head coach for the first time in nearly 10 years.
This time, he'll try to leave a winner.
Orgeron had a rough tenure as the head coach at Ole Miss from 2005-07, finishing with a 10-25 record, including a 3-21 mark in the Southeastern Conference. Nearly a decade later, the Louisiana native will try to lead No. 24 LSU (5-2, 2-1 SEC) to its third straight win when it travels to face Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2) today.
Ole Miss interim coach Matt Luke knows Orgeron well, working for him in Oxford in 2005. He said he's got a lot of respect for his former boss and it's easy to see why LSU has had success over the past few weeks in wins over Florida and Auburn.
"They did a good job getting off the field defensively," Luke said. "That's been the difference in their wins. Offensively, they give you a lot of schematic problems with their shifts and motions trying to out-leverage and out-flank you. They have a lot of good players."
LSU is concerned with Ole Miss' prolific passing attack. The Rebels lead the SEC in yards passing by a wide margin and sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson has thrown for 2,143 yards, 17 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
"Shea is a gunslinger," LSU defensive end Christian LaCouture. "The ball comes so fast out of his hand. He does a lot of great things and you have to contain him."
Today's SEC Games
11 a.m.-Idaho at Missouri, SEC Network
2:30 p.m.-Tennessee at Alabama, CBS
3 p.m.-Kentucky at Mississippi State, SEC Network
6:15 p.m.-LSU at Ole Miss, ESPN
6:30 p.m.-Auburn at Arkansas, SEC Network