Pat McAfee confidently picks winner of Ole Miss-LSU game

ESPN analyst Pat McAfee took his shot at one of the biggest games of Week 5 on College GameDay. No. 4 LSU travels to No. 13 Ole Miss for a mid-afternoon showdown that will likely impact both the SEC and CFP races, and McAfee weighed in on his take, picking the home Rebels to move to 5-0.

McAfee's take

McAfee opened by praising QB Trinidad Chambliss, who has starred after a minor injury to initial starter Austin Simmons gave him a chance to show his skills. Chambliss is a transfer from Division II Ferris State, where he won a national championship while racking up amazing stats. He's now rolling up big stats in Lane Kiffin's offense.

They're going to spin it, they're going to run it. Obviously, this week, we had a Lane Kiffin documentary. We've obviously learned a lot about his daughter's dating life. We know everything about him. This feels like a moment where Lane wants to legitimize this Ole Miss team. Maybe this is a game they would normally lose. This week they win it. That is a huge deal for Lane, I think.
Pat McAfee

Indeed, it has been a media frenzy for Kiffin, with ESPN's release of The Many Live of Lane Kiffin. Additionally, a massive publicity spike came with the revelation that Kiffin's daughter, Landy, is dating LSU linebacker Whit Weeks.

On top of that, Kiffin's teams have historically had trouble with top opponents. That said, a season ago, Ole Miss took down No. 2 Georgia in their only game against a top 10 foe of the regular season. Kiffin also bested a then-top 10 Kentucky team in 2022. A season ago, Ole Miss fell at No. 13 LSU in overtime.

This Rebels team is 12th in the nation in scoring offense at 44.8 points per game. Chambliss has thrown for 719 yards and four scores in just 64 pass attempts. But LSU has the No. 9 national scoring defense (9.3 ppg allowed) and has six interceptions against just three touchdowns allowed. McAfee is bullish on the Rebels, who are the slightest of home favorites.