LSU renews their rivalry with Ole Miss in NCAA Week 5 action on TSN
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Ranked rivals in the SEC square off as No. 13 LSU battles No. 20 Ole Miss, a pair of Big 12 newcomers compete with Cincinnati taking on BYU and the Texas Longhorns look to keep rolling with Kansas State visiting. Here's a look at the weekend slate of NCAA action on TSN.
Cincinnati vs. Brigham Young University, Friday, Sept 29 at 10:15pm ET / 7:15pm PT on TSN+ - The Cincinnati Bearcats and BYU Cougars are two of the four new additions to the Big 12 this season, and meet for the first time as conference foes. The two schools have played twice previously, with BYU winning both matchups. Cincinnati has only played one road game this season, which was a short trip to Pittsburgh in Week 2 - a game they won 27-21. The Bearcats received a rude introduction to Big 12 conference play a week ago, with a 20-6 drubbing at the hands of Oklahoma on their home turf. "We're disappointed in a loss, obviously we're trying to come out here and get a win, we just didn't get it done," said head coach Scott Satterfield. BYU also seek their first victory in their new conference, after Kansas continued their undefeated start to the season by beating the Cougars 38-27 a week ago. The running game will be the key storyline: Cincinnati struggled on the ground against Oklahoma, while the BYU run defence was gashed repeatedly in their loss against Kansas, allowing over 200 yards of rushing offence. Whichever unit steps up in this matchup will be a key factor in deciding which Big 12 newcomer gets their first conference victory on Friday.
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Florida (22) vs. Kentucky, Saturday, Sept 30 at 12pm ET / 9am PT on TSN2 - The Florida Gators have won three straight, including a big 29-16 victory over SEC rivals Tennessee in Week 3, to climb back into the top 25. They travel to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats in their second SEC contest of the young season. This matchup favoured Kentucky once upon a time, but has been decidedly in favour of the Gators in the past four decades. The two schools met for the first time in 1917, and Kentucky won nine of the first 11 contests, but since 1980 the Gators have won 39 of 44 battles - including a stretch of 31 straight from November 1987 - September 2017. Florida has to overcome their struggles on the road that have persisted for the past few campaigns - they are stuck in a 1-6 slump outside of Gainesville in conference, and are 2-14 in their last 16 road games overall. “I do think there are challenges that come with going on the road and playing in this league,” head coach Billy Napier said. “You’ve got to have that road-warrior mentality,” quarterback Graham Mertz added. Running back Trevor Etienne carried the load in Florida's upset over Tennessee two weeks ago, with 179 yards rushing and a touchdown - the Gators would benefit greatly from a similar attack on Saturday.
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Kansas (24) vs. Texas (3), Saturday, Sept 30 at 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT on TSN+ - A marquee Big 12 matchup pits No. 24 Kansas against the No. 3 Texas Longhorns, with both teams entering play a perfect 4-0 through the first four weeks of the college season. This will be the final matchup as conference foes, as Texas will join the SEC next season. Texas has controlled this matchup since their first meeting in 1996, with a record of 17-4 in 21 games. Kansas shocked Texas in 2021 with a thrilling 57-56 victory in overtime in a forgettable season for both schools - the game pushed Kansas to 2-8 and dropped Texas to 4-6. Steve Sarkisian looks back at the game favourably now, as the win sparked a program turnaround that continues to this day. "The game didn’t go our way, but in a weird way, I’m kind of glad that happened," said Sarkisian. "Not all storms come to cause issues in your life. Some storms come to clear the path, and I felt like that storm cleared a path for us on what we needed to do.” Texas' current rank of 3 is the highest for the school since 2009 - thanks in large part to their 34-24 upset victory over SEC stalwarts Alabama back in Week 2. They opened conference play with a 38-6 victory over Baylor a week ago.
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LSU (13) vs. Ole Miss (20), Saturday, Sept 30 at 6pm ET / 3pm PT on TSN+ - SEC competition anchors an evening of action in Week 5 of the NCAA season, with No. 13 LSU travelling to Mississippi to take on No. 20 Ole Miss. LSU has the upper hand in this storied rivalry, with a record of 65-41-4 in 110 games played, including wins in six of their last seven matchups. This is LSU's second game against a ranked opponent of the season - they opened their campaign with a 45-24 loss to No. 5 Florida State. Ole Miss opened conference play with a game against No. 12 Alabama a week ago, a game they lost 24-10 to drop to 3-1 on the year. “Excited to play LSU,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “These guys are an extremely talented, phenomenal looking team. Great O-line, great receivers.” LSU head coach Brian Kelly is just excited to be finally getting healthy after key contributors on both sides of the ball missed games in September: linebacker Omar Speights missed two games, and tight end Mason Taylor was out last week.
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TSN's full slate of NCAA games can be found here