Ten years ago, Ed Orgeron was on the visiting sideline at Tiger Stadium while coaching Ole Miss when the 27-point underdog Rebels nearly upset No. 9 LSU.
The Tigers rallied to win 23-20 in overtime after trailing 20-7 in the teams' 2006 matchup.
"I remember looking across the field, and it looked liked we were playing the Green Bay Packers, the Tigers looked so big," Orgeron said. "But we were ready to play that night.
"Our guys gave their best effort, but eventually LSU's talent won over."
Saturday night Orgeron will be on the home sideline in Tiger Stadium going against Ole Miss as LSU's coach.
The Rebels come into the game ranked No. 23 with LSU No. 25.
"Times have changed," Orgeron said. "They've recruited better there. They have a better football team. This is going to be a battle."
Next call, please
Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops probably needs to get a new screener for fans who call into his radio show.
Stoops has fielded two calls this season where he was asked about being replaced by another coach.
Earlier in the season, a caller told Stoops he'd love to see Camden native Tommy Tuberville -- the former Ole Miss and Auburn coach now at Cincinnati -- take over as the Wildcats' coach.
This week with Kentucky preparing to play Mississippi State, a caller wondered whether Bulldogs Coach Dan Mullen could replace Stoops.
The show went to a break after that comment, and Stoops didn't answer it directly, but he referenced the call later when asked how his players on defense react when they're being critiqued by coaches during review of game films.
"You've got to have thick skin," Stoops said. "Much like this radio show."
S-E-C! S-E-C!
Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, a fourth-round draft pick from Mississippi State, gave the SEC a nice plug during an interview with Fox Sports' Erin Andrews on Sunday after the Cowboys won 30-16 at Green Bay.
Andrews asked Prescott about not being intimidated by playing on such a big stage as Lambeau Field.
"I played in the SEC," Prescott said. "So I was prepared for this."
Underdog Aggies
Texas A&M is ranked No. 6, but after No. 1 Alabama won 49-10 at Tennessee -- which took the Aggies to two overtimes at Kyle Field before losing 45-38 a week earlier -- the Crimson Tide have been installed as heavy favorites at home against Texas A&M.
Oddsmakers currently favor Alabama by 18 points.
"We all see it. We're all aware of it," Aggies receiver Christian Kirk said of the point spread. "It adds fuel to your fire. It adds a chip on your shoulder.
"It gives you more of a reason to go out there and play harder on Saturday because, still, we sit here 6-0 and we're ranked sixth in the country, but no one's giving us respect, and we know that."
Second-half blues
Maybe Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen needs to find new material for his halftime talks.
Going into this season, the Bulldogs were 50-1 under Mullen when leading at halftime. The only time they had failed to win when leading at the half was in 2010 against Arkansas when the Razorbacks pulled out a 38-31 victory in overtime at Starkville, Miss., after trailing 21-17 at halftime.
Mississippi State already has lost twice this season after leading at halftime.
South Alabama came back to win 21-20 at Mississippi State to open the season after the Bulldogs led 17-0 at halftime. BYU beat Mississippi State 28-21 in double overtime last week to overcome the Bulldogs' 14-7 halftime lead.
Commodore salute
Vanderbilt senior linebacker Zach Cunningham was named national defensive player of the week by the Football Writers Association of America after he had 19 tackles in the Commodores' 17-16 victory at Georgia, including stopping the Bulldogs' Isaiah McKenzie for no gain on a fourth-and-1 run with 56 seconds left.
Cunningham leads the SEC and ranks third nationally with 81 tackles. He's the only player in the top 10 national tacklers who plays for a Power Five conference teams.
QB carousel
True freshman Jake Bentley is being prepped this week to be South Carolina's fifth starting quarterback over the past two seasons, The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., reported.
Bentley is expected to start Saturday against Massachusetts, according to The State, which cited two anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation.
Several South Carolina players told the media Tuesday that Bentley's practice repetitions have been increased, but no one confirmed whether he'll start.
Gamecocks Coach Will Muschamp didn't name a starter, either.
"We have a good plan heading into Saturday," Muschamp said. "Obviously, we are not going to disclose that until Saturday."
Senior Perry Orth and true freshman Brandon McIlwain have started at quarterback for South Carolina this season.
"We are not going to make a change for sake of making a change," Muschamp said. "That doesn't make any sense. We are going to make a change if we feel like it's going to help benefit our football team. Those are the decisions we have to make as a staff."
Orth, Connor Mitch and Lorenzo Nunez started at quarterback for the Gamecocks last season.
Bentley, a four-star recruit from Opelika, Ala., was supposed to be a high school senior this year, but he graduated early and enrolled at South Carolina this fall after his father, Bobby, was hired to be the Gamecocks' running backs coach.
Two-minute drill
• Alabama has scored 57 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including 11 this season, since Nick Saban became coach in 2007.
• LSU All-American tailback Leonard Fournette will play against Ole Miss after missing the previous two games against Missouri and Southern Mississippi because of an ankle injury.
• Alabama's 49-10 victory at Tennessee was its largest margin of victory over the Vols since the Tide beat them 51-0 in 1906.
• Missouri has lost nine consecutive SEC games since beating South Carolina 24-10 last season.
• Vanderbilt Coach Derek Mason got his first SEC road victory in 10 tries when the Commodores won 17-16 at Georgia.
• Alabama Coach Nick Saban will go for his 100th SEC victory in Saturday's game against Texas A&M. In 15 seasons at LSU and Alabama, Saban has a 99-26 record against SEC opponents.
Sports on 10/20/2016