Brian Kelly's comments on Ole Miss suggest LSU is prepared to take away key advantages in Week 7 SEC matchup

The LSU Tigers have bounced back in a huge way after losing their first game of the season to USC this year. They've won four games in a row, showing key improvements in all phases. Their defense is vastly improved thanks to stars like Bradyn Swinson and Greg Penn. They have an emerging star at running back pushing for one of the best seasons ever for a true freshman. But they're going to need every last player performing at peak levels against Ole Miss this weekend if they want to stay in College Football Playoff discussions.

When Brian Kelly joined Paul Finebaum this week he talked about a handful of key areas where LSU is going to have to be prepared if they want to find sufficient success and ultimately win against Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss. First up? Slowing down Jaxson Dart, the driving force of the Ole Miss offense and a top five passer in the nation by most meaningful measures.

"Lane Kiffin has done a great job at Ole Miss. Jaxson Dart, returning quarterback, three-year starter. If we've seen one thing happen this past week, [it's] that the quarterback is driving this. Whether it's at Miami or Vanderbilt, or any of the programs that are successful right now, the quarterback is central to driving these programs. And make no mistake about it Jaxson Dart is driving this Ole Miss offense."

There is no doubt about that. Jaxson Dart is having such an incredibly fast-paced efficient season for Ole Miss that he's about to break all-time records held by Eli Manning.

Brian Kelly went on to talk through stopping wide receiver Tre Harris and the offensive system makes Ole Miss so tough to defend, but he specifically talked through the pace, and the importance of handling that as the Rebels' key strength to get defenses out of position.

"If you get too complicated, if you try to do too much you can't get your guys lined up...The structure of this offense is such that they're trying to get you not to be lined up, not to get your cleats in the ground, not to communicate effectively. So [this week] it's absolutely crucial that from our standpoint that we get lined up, get our calls in, and play fundamentally sound football...The rest of it now? You're going to have to mix some things up. Because if you give them just basic reads every single time they're going to go up and down the field."

Outside of the game against Kentucky, almost every team has had to throw a wide variety of defensive looks at Ole Miss to slow them down at all. And Kelly emphasized on multiple occasions throughout the interview that the team has been more honed in on fundamentals, communication, and slowing down the Rebels' absurdly fast attack all week long. Because just as Brian Kelly said in his quote below, nobody wants to get into a shootout against Ole Miss.

The good news? Garrett Nussmeier and the emerging offensive weapons at LSU have looked good enough to cash in on opportunities.

"I don't know that there's any coach that's going to come on your show and say, 'Hey look, I want to get into a shootout with Ole Miss.' That's not a recipe for a long life in this business. You want to keep the points down...If you can keep their offense off the field with some sustained drives, fine, but you have to cash in on your opportunities and score points. Garrett Nussmeier has done a really good job of being opportunistic, converting on third down, and utilizing the weapons that he has. He's got an outstanding trio of wide receivers, an outstanding tight end, a really good offensive line, and a running back that is emerging in Caden Durham."

Garrett Nussmeier, despite his lack of experience coming into this season, was a bit more of a known quantity coming in as a truly talented player. However, the emergence of Kyren Lacy, Aaron Anderson, CJ Daniels, and Mason Taylor's career year have been what's allowed LSU to mix, match, and mold to each opponent's weaknesses, consistently cashing in with huge scores.

Perhaps even more critical than the emerging pass-game weapons is the fact that LSU now looks like they have a real answer at running back with Caden Durham. If they want to play any amount of keep away from Ole Miss, which was the only way Kentucky kept their game close, Durham is going to have to continue his dominance. Through his four games he already has nearly 400 yards from scrimmage. If LSU has him ready to go again? The Tigers could actually pull off what will be one of their toughest wins of the entire season.

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And if you'd like to see the full interview with Brian Kelly on the Paul Finebaum show you can find that in the video below!