LSU is 6-2 straight up over its last eight meetings with Magnolia Bowl rival Mississippi (2-0 both SU and against the spread the last two seasons). Who's the smart bet for the 107th meeting between the Tigers and the Rebels on Saturday night down in Death Valley?

College football point spread: The Tigers opened as 13.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

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Why the Ole Miss Rebels can cover the spread

Ole Miss just bounced back from that bad loss at Alabama two weeks ago to defeat Kent State last week 38-17. The Rebels drove their opening possession of the game 77 yards to a touchdown, pushed their lead to 21-10 in the third quarter, let the Flashes get within 21-17 then closed the game with a 17-0 run.

On the day, the Rebels racked up 651 yards of offense, 209 on the ground and 442 through the air.

Ole Miss opened this season with a 47-27 victory at Texas Tech, a win that looks even better now with the Red Raiders having won their last three games, including a somewhat shocking 41-17 upset victory at Oklahoma State last week that helped earn them a spot in this week's AP poll.

Why the LSU Tigers can cover the spread

LSU is off to a 4-0 start to this season, with a pair of victory/covers over Top 20 teams already. The Tigers opened this season with a 33-17 win over Miami, and two weeks ago, they upset Auburn on the road 22-21.

Last week, LSU defeated Louisiana Tech 38-21. The Tigers pounced out to a 24-0 lead, let the Bulldogs get within 24-21 early in the fourth quarter but immediately drove 70 yards to an insurance touchdown and later tacked on one more for good measure.

On the night, LSU outrushed Louisiana Tech 218-87.

Two weeks ago, Louisiana State outgained Auburn 370-328 and held a 35/25 time of possession advantage. And in that season opener, the Tigers led the Hurricanes 33-3 before allowing a couple of meaningless fourth-quarter scores. So LSU is 2-0 SU and ATS against its two toughest opponents so far.

Smart betting pick

The Tigers have won the last two meetings in this rivalry by scores of 38-21 and 40-24, and there's not much reason to believe Saturday's result will be much different. Smart money here gives the points with the better defense and LSU.

College football betting trends

Ole Miss is 4-12 SU in its last 16 games vs LSU.

The total has gone under in four of Ole Miss's last five games vs LSU.

LSU is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games.