OXFORD — It appears Houston Nutt has finally run out of magic.
The embattled 54-year-old coach has one last chance at a truly signature victory when Mississippi (2-8, 0-6 SEC) hosts No. 1 LSU (10-0, 6-0) on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. But considering Nutt’s lame duck status and that the Rebels are coming off an embarrassing 27-7 loss to Louisiana Tech on homecoming, the odds are incredibly long.
“It’s always been a physical, tough game,” Nutt said. LSU is “riding on a big high. They’ve got things going for them right now and they know they’re fighting for a national title. We’re on the flip side of that. But the bottom line is we’ve got an opportunity. We’ve got an opportunity to play the best in the country in our last home game for the seniors. We’ve got a lot to play for.”
Nutt is known for his creative game plans and out-of-nowhere victories in the past, a trait that’s helped him to keep a job in the Southeastern Conference for 10 seasons at Arkansas and four more at Mississippi.
But the wins — unexpected or otherwise — haven’t happened lately. That’s why Ole Miss already announced last week that Nutt won’t return for a fifth season after 12 straight conference losses.
Nutt said the Rebels would continue to fight. Then came a 20-point home loss to Louisiana Tech — a team from the Western Athletic Conference on Saturday. Now there’s even more questions about the team’s motivation heading into back-to-back rivalry games against the Tigers and Mississippi State next week.
Senior Brandon Bolden was adamant no one had given up. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound running back is one of the many Rebels who has had a disappointing season, with 389 rushing yards and four touchdowns despite entering the season as the team’s No. 1 back.
“We don’t know the word quit,” Bolden said. “Everybody’s out there fighting. Everybody.”
Though LSU is a huge favorite, recent history has Tigers’ coach Les Miles in a cautious mood. Ole Miss has won two out of the past three games against LSU, and the games have traditionally been close, even when one of the teams appears much more talented than the other.
“I recognize that Houston Nutt’s their coach and they’ve won a lot of games under him and he’s won a lot of games in his career,” Miles said. “I’m certain that they’ll be prepared. I know they’ll do the right things.”
Miles has pushed that caution onto his players, who say there’s plenty to study in the film room.
“They’re going to pull out all the stops,” LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “You’ve got to work on everything, double reverses … all kinds of stuff, so we’ve just got to be focused and do all our assignments.”
But trickery can only get a team so far and Ole Miss has serious problems — especially on offense.
Quarterback Randall Mackey has regressed over the past month, completing just 6 of 18 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown against Louisiana Tech. Backup Zack Stoudt wasn’t any better, completing 8 of 19 passes for 73 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
The Rebels are averaging just 18.9 points per game, which ranks next to last in the SEC. They’ve also been flagged for 72 penalties for an SEC-high 618 yards.
It’s a bad combination. And Nutt says it’s a recipe for another bad night against LSU unless the Rebels can change things.
“You can’t be a team that continues to stop yourself,” Nutt said. “That’s where we haven’t done a good enough job of getting across to (the offense). The team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win, especially when yards are so precious. We’re just not a big, explosive team this year. We’ve always been able to score points but this year’s been different. We haven’t been able to put points on the board consistently and it’s hurt us.”
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