One of the biggest SEC matchups on deck for Week 5 is a massive top-25 clash between the No. 4 LSU Tigers and the No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels at The Grove down in Oxford, a game with massive SEC Championship and College Football Playoff implications.
These 2 longstanding conference rivals have met annually for the past 74 seasons in what has been dubbed the Magnolia Bowl, and 2025 looks to be shaping up to be an all-time classic between the two neighboring programs.
ESPN analyst and SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt sat down on Thursday to discuss the matchup during his weekly “Thursday Night Winners” segment, where he broke down the current odds on the heavyweight SEC tilt and made his prediction for the game.
It may be a bit risky, but SVP is a man who likes to live on the edge, and that’s why he picked the Rebels to both win and cover the 1.5-point spread (via bet365) against the Bayou Bengals in what would be a ranking upset.
“Laying points to LSU feels absolutely reckless,” Van Pelt said. “But if you want to hang with the Rebs in Oxford, you’re going to need to score a bunch, and I like Ole Miss to score just a little bit more.”
SVP has made his pick, now the rest of the SEC will have to wait and see whether or not his prediction ends up becoming a reality on Saturday afternoon.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
