Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss face a tall task in trying to stop Harold Perkins Jr. on Saturday. The 3-1 Rebels welcome the 3-1 LSU Tigers to Oxford for a game with crucial implications in the SEC West.
Ole Miss must win to keep its SEC Championship hopes alive. A second loss in the division, after losing to Alabama last week, would all-but end that possibility.
To reach the point of success, Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weiss Jr.’s offense needs to play better. Play-calling was questionable down the stretch of last weekend’s game in Tuscaloosa, Jaxson Dart struggled to find open receivers down field, and the run game fell flat at that line of scrimmage.
Fortunately, the LSU secondary has shown signs of weakness. There is a real opportunity to pound the rock early, which should open up some passing lanes as the game goes on.
However, there is one key player on the Tigers defense who could ruin everything. At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, Perkins flies around like a banshee and causes mayhem week-in and week-out.
The true sophomore linebacker has been a menace in recent weeks, just as he was last year. The key to his success is simple: just let Harold Perkins cook!
LSU tried to use Perkins in a more traditional linebacker role against Florida State and his impact was minimal in comparison. That has not been the case in the last three weeks.
The Tigers staff allowed Perkins to be a more free-flowing, position-less player like they did last year. It has proved to be far more effective than trying to rein him in.
Lane Kiffin wishes that LSU would go back to Week 1.
Kiffin cracked himself up while talking about Perkins. Ole Miss’ 48-year-old head coach pointed to the difference in scheme over the last few weeks and jokingly asked LSU to use their star linebacker in the lesser-effective role in Oxford this weekend.
It is unlikely that the Tigers will turn back to its defensive scheme from Week 1. Perkins was not rendered useless in that game, a loss to Florida State, but he was far less effective than last season and the team made adjustments accordingly.
Kiffin wishes that Perkins would go back to the box!