By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
Would the real Ole Miss please stand up?
Tigers and Rebels fans might feel like they are seeing double when the LSU and Ole Miss offenses take the field on Saturday night.
LSU coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. brought their offense from Ole Miss to LSU, and through the first two games of this season, it already looks a lot like their Ole Miss system to those who knew it best.
Sam Hutchens, who covers Ole Miss football for the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, told Tiger Rag Radio on Tuesday night that the Tigers’ offense looks more like Ole Miss than the Rebels do under new offensive coordinator John David Baker, who was East Carolina’s OC the previous two seasons. He replaced Weis, who was Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator under head coach Lane Kiffin from 2022-25.
“What I’ve noticed the most is that offense, the purple and gold offense, looks so similar to what the guys in blue and white were doing that I watched every year,” Hutchens said. “It was like they swapped jerseys. So, I’ve been really impressed with how much Lane and Charlie, who’s a big part of that, have been able to carry that over.”
The Tigers have scored 51 and 45 points in their first two games. The offense is averaging 359 passing yards and 228 rushing yards a game and has scored nine total touchdowns. It has featured Kiffin and Weis’ trademark quick pace, creative blocking schemes, pre-snap motion and use of the quarterback in space.
“I just can’t see this defense letting Kewan Lacy run the ball down their throat.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 16, 2026
-former LSU linebacker Darry Beckwith on Tiger Rag Radio:https://t.co/TdvQEmmc2u
Hutchens even said that he recognized some specific plays from last year, and so did current Ole Miss wide receiver Deuce Alexander, who made 44 catches for 684 yards and two scores under Kiffin last season.
“It’s same plays I see there, like the play Winnie (Watkins) scored on,” Alexander said of wide receiver Winnie Watkins’ 32-yard touchdown catch against Clemson in the season opener.
“I knew exactly the play call, the motion,” Alexander said Tuesday, “It’s similar. They didn’t change much, but they have a few tweaks just like we do. I can definitely tell some of the things they run.”
Ole Miss, meanwhile, welcomed back Baker to replace Weis as coordinator. He was the Rebels’ tight ends coach under Kiffin from 2021-2023 and was co-coordinator with Weis in 2022-2023. The last two seasons, he led an East Carolina offense that ranked No. 15 in total offense (460.4 yards per game), and No. 31 in scoring offense (32.7 points per game) last year.
Hutchens said the transition under Baker has not been totally smooth, even though Baker inherited a pair of Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy. The Rebels put up 41 points against both No. 24 Louisville and Charlotte. But they started slowly versus Louisville with just 10 points in the first half after gaining 148 total yards with two turnovers.
Against Charlotte, the Rebels were as dominant as one would expect a Southeastern Conference team to be against an American Conference foe. But Hutchens said the statistics were limited by how much clock the 49ers ate running the ball. Ole Miss scored on seven of its 10 possessions.
“He hasn’t been perfect,” Hutchens said of Baker. “But I think it has been the look that, especially once he settles in, has everything you want with getting Trinidad out in space and getting Kewan into rushing lanes and playing up-tempo. It does look very familiar to what I saw last year.”
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