OXFORD – If anyone understands how important the Ole Miss-LSU matchup can be, it’s senior safety Sage Ryan.
Ryan, a Lafayette, Louisiana, native, played his first four seasons at LSU – about an hour away from his hometown. Ryan, rated a five-star recruit by 247Sports Composite in the 2021 class, racked up 103 total tackles in his Tigers career and started 21 games, including nine a season ago. In four career starts against the Rebels, Ryan made 20 tackles, nearly a fifth of his career total.
While LSU holds a 66-42-4 edge all-time against Ole Miss, the last two matchups between the teams have been thrillers. Ole Miss won the 2023 meeting 55-49 in Oxford on a late Tre Harris touchdown catch, and the Tigers won the 2024 matchup in Baton Rouge 29-26 in overtime, a game Ole Miss did not trail in until the final play in overtime.
Ryan has seen the best of the matchup firsthand.
“I’ve been playing Ole Miss for a while now. It brings a different energy and atmosphere to the fans that’s watching,” Ryan said. “ … It’s electric, I would say.”
Ryan entered the transfer portal in December and committed to Ole Miss just over a week later. While it was admittedly hard to leave LSU, Ryan said he had to make a “family decision” and restart his career elsewhere. He said he took particular interest in what Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding did schematically and that the defense provided an opportunity to “make a lot of plays.”
“Sometimes you have to do what’s best for you and your family, and ultimately that’s what I had to do,” Ryan said. “LSU was home, that was home, and I was only 45 minutes away … It was a tough decision to make that I just had to make it, for me and my family.”
Ole Miss returns just two full-time starters from the No. 2 scoring defense in college football a year ago – linebackers TJ Dottery and Suntarine Perkins. The Rebels reloaded in the transfer portal once again, bringing in established talent at all three defensive levels, including seven new members in the secondary.
While he didn’t get to watch Ole Miss’ defense specifically during last year’s matchup – he was, of course, focused on the opposing offense – Ryan did take notice of how well the Rebels played against LSU’s high-powered offense for stretches of the game. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed a season-low 43.1% of his passes in the game, and Ole Miss held the Tigers to 84 rushing yards, more than 30 yards below their season average.
“LSU had a pretty good offense last year, and (Ole Miss) was getting stops in Death Valley,” Ryan said. “ … When I was in the transfer portal, I was like, ‘Man, I sure hope Ole Miss sends me an offer. I’m going to go visit there, because I like the things they’re doing.’”
Ryan is quick to note there is no bad blood between himself and his former college. He is, nonetheless, looking forward to the Sept. 27 matchup between the Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss has three former LSU players on its 2025 roster – Ryan, junior defensive end Da’Shawn Womack and senior running back Logan Diggs.
“It’s all love. I’m just ready to compete against them,” Ryan said.
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