BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron has deflected questions about his past at Mississippi this week.Hes dismissed story lines revolving around his opportunity to beat the program that gave him his first head coaching job in the Southeastern Conference, and which fired him after three losing seasons.Thats the furthest from my mind, Orgeron insisted as 25th-ranked LSU prepared to host No. 23 Ole Miss on Saturday night. This is about the LSU Tigers.Orgeron coached the Rebels from 2005-2007, when he hired an assistant named Hugh Freeze, who is now Ole Miss head coach.That was a long time ago, Orgeron said. Thats far from my memory, I promise you.Be that as it may, it doesnt change the fact that Orgeron, a Louisiana native, cant really afford a loss to Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2 SEC) if he wants to keep a job he has long coveted.Fortunately for Orgeron, LSU (4-2, 2-1) has ample talent and seems to have hit its stride in the two games since he took over for Les Miles, who was fired in late September. The Tigers trounced Missouri 42-7 and demolished Southern Mississippi 45-10. Odds makers have listed LSU as the favorite by nearly a touchdown.They have, in the last few weeks, offensively put up a lot of big numbers, Freeze said. We are playing one of the better teams in the country this Saturday night and it is a great opportunity.Led by quarterback Chad Kelly, whose 308.2 yards passing per game leads the SEC, Ole Miss hasnt had trouble scoring. But the Rebels defense has struggled at times, giving up 34 or more points in all three losses.They are not as stout as theyve been in the past, Orgeron said. But I know this is a game theyre going to want to be playing very well.While three losses makes Ole Miss a long shot to get back into the SEC title race, Kelly asserted that the Rebels remain highly motivated.Were playing to win every single game regardless of the outcome of the game before, Kelly said. I hate to lose and so do those guys in the locker room.---LSU and Ole Miss have played 104 times since first meeting in 1894. Here are some of the sub plots of their 105th clash.FOURNETTES FORM: LSU running back Leonard Fournette practiced this week for the first time since aggravating his left ankle injury on Sept. 24 and looks ready to play again. But LSU doesnt want Fournettes return to marginalize Derrius Guice, who has rushed for at least 155 yards in each of his three starts in place of Fournette. We want to rotate our guys, we want them to keep fresh. It might be a possibility of putting them both in the backfield at the same time, Orgeron said. Theyre both outstanding.TOUGH SCHEDULE: Ole Miss has played one of the most difficult schedules in the nation this season, which is a big reason the program is still in the national rankings despite a 3-3 record. LSU is the fifth nationally-ranked opponent the Rebels have faced in seven games. The Rebels had a 1/3 record against ranked opponents, losing to Alabama, Florida State and Arkansas and beating Georgia.STINGY DEFENSE: Under first year coordinator Dave Aranda, LSUs defense has allowed only six touchdowns this season. Theyre athletic, they can run, they can hit. They do a lot of good things. Thats what theyre known for: their defense, Kelly said. Weve just got to stick to what we do: Go fast.THE BOUNCE BACK: Ole Miss has a 7-1 record over the past three seasons when bouncing back from a loss, including a 2-0 mark so far this season. Freeze on trying to win against LSU after losing to Arkansas last week: It wont be done just because I come to work and say we are fixing to bow up and get it done. It is going got take a collaborative effort from a lot of people and a lot of kids.HARDWARE: Since 2008, the winner of this border state rivalry game has been presented with the Magnolia Bowl trophy, with each team winning it four times. Mississippi won it at home in Oxford last season.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Custom Cincinnati Bengals Jerseys . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. 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AMES, Iowa -- On paper, a trip to Iowa State would seem to be exactly what Texas Tech needs to get its wobbly season on track.In reality, playing the Cyclones on the road might not be that easy.Texas Tech (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) has lost five of its last six games, including a heartbreaker to Oklahoma State last week, and needs to win out to earn a bowl bid.But while Iowa State (2-8, 1-6) has also struggled in the Big 12, the matchups and the weather could give the Cyclones an edge.Iowa State rediscovered its running game in last weeks 31-24 win over the Jayhawks, rushing for a season-high 234 yards, and the Red Raiders have the worst rush defense in the league.Texas Tech also leans as much on its passing game as any team in the country, leading the Big 12 with 580 yards a game despite ranking last with just 105 of those on the ground.The reasons that might be such a big deal?The forecast for Saturday doesnt look promising, with temperatures in the low 40s and winds gusting up to 30 mph.Youve got to be ready to play wherever they place the ball down at whatever time. Youve got to be kind of trained for whatever. And whatever we end up, whatever the weather ends up doing, be ready to compete, Texas Techs Luke Stice said.Here are some of the main keys to follow as Tech looks to stay in the postseason picture:MAHOMES VS. THE CLONESTexas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 4,247 yards, far and away tops in the nation. But Iowa State ranks second in the Big 12 in passing defense, although to be fair part of that is because its also allowing 5.1 yards per carry. Still, only Baylor and Oklahoma have fewer yards per completion than the Cyclones in the league. When you look at their reecord its not indicative of how good a team they are.ddddddddddddI think you look at the scores, theyve had teams beat and lost some close, tough games, Red Raiders coach Kliff Kingsbury said.IOWA STATES IMPROVEMENTChanging Iowa States culture has always been more of an emphasis in 2016 than winning and losing for first-year coach Matt Campbell. But after dropping four Big 12 games by 10 points or fewer, the Cyclones were finally able to see their hard work pay off with a win last week. I still dont think weve played 60 minutes of our best football, Campbell said. I know its never going to be perfect. But there are things we can continue to control and continue to get better at, and we need too.HARGERS MOMENTFifth-year senior Mitchell Harger, a walk-on, unexpectedly spent a series as Iowa States lead back and rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Itll likely be the highlight of Hargers career after five years spent largely in the background. Just to have that moment, the touchdown...Id do it a million times over again, Harger said.THE SERIESIowa State and Texas Tech became new rivals when the Big 12 formed two decades ago. Its been a relatively lopsided series, with the Red Raiders coming out on top in 11 of 14 meetings. But the Cyclones beat Tech and Kingsbury, then the Red Raiders quarterback, 31-17 in 2002.HE SAID ITYou want to get to a bowl game. You dont want these two weeks to be your last two weeks of the season. I mean, we went through a lot together on this team, Mahomes said.---More college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '