LSU-Ole Miss game 'an awesome opportunity' for Rebels

There’s a case to be made that LSU at Ole Miss is the most important game in the SEC this week.

“To play at home and for first place in the SEC, and to play a top-three team in the country in LSU is an awesome opportunity,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said.

A check of the SEC standings proved Kiffin correct — the Rebels will indeed be in first place with a win over the Tigers by virtue of having the most wins in the league (3) with no losses.

A look at the AP Top 25 poll also makes the case that LSU-Ole Miss could be considered the SEC’s marquee matchup on Saturday — not Alabama at Georgia — when one considers the four teams’ rankings and records:

• No. 4 LSU (4-0, 1-0 SEC)

• No. 5 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

• No. 13 Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0 SEC)

• No. 17 Alabama (2-1, 0-0 SEC)

The Alabama at Georgia game has added flair because of the recent history of the teams, as they have won the past five SEC championships between them, and 10 of the past 11.

The SEC might once again run through Athens — home of the defending league champion Bulldogs — but it’s fair to consider the LSU-Ole Miss outcome could ultimately hold more weight depending on how the season shakes out.

The SEC revealed this week that LSU and Ole Miss will continue to face one another annually moving forward in a new schedule model that features each league program playing three set teams each season, while rotating the other six games in a nine-game league schedule.

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Kiffin said he understands the Rebels keeping LSU and Mississippi State as annual opponents, but he didn’t hold back on the SEC office assigning Oklahoma as the Rebels’ third annual opponent.

“Oklahoma’s really disappointing, you know, we don’t have anything in common with them, or our fans,” Kiffin said. “So that doesn’t make any sense at all, and so that’s unfortunate with so many great teams that we played for a long time here.”

Here’s a look at this week’s games involving SEC teams, and how and when to watch them:

Notre Dame -4.5 at Arkansas, noon ABC

Utah State at Vanderbilt -23.5, 12:45 p.m., SEC Network

LSU at Ole Miss -1.5, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Auburn at Texas A&M -6.5, 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Tennessee -7.5 at Mississippi State, 4:15 p.m., SEC Network

Alabama at Georgia -3.5, 7:30 p.m., ABC

UMass at Missouri -43.5, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

Kentucky at South Carolina -5.5, 7:45 p.m. SEC Network

Odds to win the SEC, per DraftKings.com on Sept. 25:

Georgia +290

Texas +360