0:00  Cold open, intro and both topics

0:48  Chapter 1

2:49  Chapter 2

Exactly three chapter lines plus the Kalshi read at 2:15.

Ole Miss announced Jack Borris at the end of August. His background is 11-plus years at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, plus a master's in sports administration from Boston College. Not a scout. Not a former player. A finance guy.

His remit: athlete finance strategy, cap management, revenue share, NIL and roster construction — a job description that did not exist five years ago.

In July the SEC and Big Ten both voted to support the Protect College Sports Act, which moves the cap from $21.3 million to $48.8 million. More than double, and somebody has to decide where it goes. Look at what this roster already is: only three of nine defensive backs returned.

Segment two is the other structural bet. Pete Golding is in his first full season running the program and is still calling the defense himself — the opposite of what a first-year head coach normally does.

On3 reported this week that Golding is the first coach in modern college football history to open a head coaching career against four ranked opponents in his first four games, and that he is 3-1 in them.

The honest counterweight: that is On3's research rather than a record book, and it is not a one-man job either. Bryan Brown is the defensive coordinator of record and sits in the box, and Todd Cooley runs the practice structure that frees Golding up to call it at all.

What does he owe that defense on Saturday? Tell me in the comments.

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On Wednesday, Ole Miss published one. The line that matters is the right side of the offensive line: Tommy Kinsler IV is listed as the starting right tackle with Connor Howes behind him. Kinsler is the player who went down against Louisville; Howes is the one who replaced him — and Ole Miss did not give up a sack in that game with a backup right tackle finishing it.

The honest counterweight: a depth chart in Week 2 is a formality. The word "OR" appears all over this one — at end, strong safety, corner and tight end — and Pete Golding has named rooms rather than players all season.

In segment two — the name that is not on the chart at all. Samari Reed was voted the most improved player on the team coming out of camp, a team award rather than media chatter, and he does not appear anywhere on the first two-deep. A camp award is a reward for August. A depth chart is a decision about September.

Who plays their way onto it by October? Tell me in the comments.

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CHAPTERS (measured from word counts)

0:00  The first depth chart of the season

0:49  What it settles at right tackle

2:12  Kalshi

2:46  The camp award that isn't on the chart

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By Wednesday the SEC's case had come apart. The federal hearing in Birmingham was continued with no new date — "the court will reset the hearing by separate order" — meaning the conference asked for a restraining order and did not get one. Greg Sankey said the presidents would meet with a "revised agenda," and Ross Dellenger reported expulsion is no longer expected to be on it.

The honest counterweight: WBRZ in Baton Rouge reported the opposite, that expulsion remains on the agenda. The SEC has confirmed nothing, and no time for the meeting has been published anywhere.

In segment two — the letter. LSU President Wade Rousse wrote to Sankey: "The roster is now locked for the season. LSU complied with SEC rules. This issue is moot." Inside it is a claim about dates: Rousse says he told Sankey on September 4 that LSU would not roster the two players, and submitted a roster without them that evening. The SEC amended its complaint on September 8. Either LSU blinked Tuesday with a vote hanging over it, or the conference sought emergency relief four days after the emergency ended.

Which version do you believe? Tell me in the comments.

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CHAPTERS (measured from word counts)

0:00  LSU folded — or the fight was already over

0:48  The roster move that ended the emergency

2:14  Kalshi

2:48  The letter that says it was over on the 4th

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0:00  Cold open and today's menu

0:50  The play-caller question

2:13  Kalshi

2:47  The faceless week

DESCRIPTION

Asked Tuesday whether a head coach should still call his own defense, Pete Golding said he definitely feels comfortable doing both, that he never once felt unprepared or a step behind, and that it was probably the most comfortable he had been in his four games as a head coach. All four came against ranked teams.

In the same press conference he gave the numbers: 19 missed tackles, and 12 explosive plays for 324 yards — about 80 percent of Louisville's total offense.

He did not blame the calls. He said they were Day 1 camp calls that were not communicated, with no motion to create them, and described it as an open-book test: ten of eleven are doing it right and you are not.

Then the Charlotte week. Golding said the timing was the best thing that happened to him, called Charlotte "faceless" and "nameless," and said everything on the fix list is opponent-proof — block destruction, tackling angles, stopping your feet on contact, pad level. He was explicit it was never a lack of effort. Ole Miss goes live with the scout team on Tuesdays all year.

The honest counterweight: a coach who calls the defense and then grades it is grading his own paper, September is when every coach in America says the word execution, and a 47-point favorite can fix nothing and still win by 40.

What do you want to see against Charlotte? Tell me in the comments.

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0:00  Cold open and today's menu

0:52  What the SEC actually filed

2:17  Kalshi

2:51  Ole Miss already paid for this rule

DESCRIPTION

The SEC amended its federal complaint in Birmingham and asked for a restraining order so nobody can block, delay or interfere with a special meeting of the conference's presidents — a meeting whose stated purpose is deciding whether to terminate LSU under Section 3.1.5 of the SEC constitution.

Three things in that filing matter more than the word expulsion. The conference told the court the meeting happens even if LSU abandons its plan to add former professional players. It argued that removing a member is not a penalty but an independent right the presidents already hold. And it invoked the First Amendment right of expressive association — the claim that the SEC cannot be forced to associate with a member.

The honest counterweight: ESPN's Pete Thamel reports expulsion is not expected, and this may be leverage.

Then the Ole Miss half nobody is running. The two players named in the complaint, Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright, were Rebels last season and started all 15 games — Harris with 58 tackles, 9 for loss and 3 sacks; Wright with 39 catches for 635 yards and 5 touchdowns, per WAFB. They were available to Ole Miss too. Pete Golding said some of the players who had become available did not fit a need.

Ole Miss followed a rule that cost it a 15-game starting defensive tackle and a 15-game starting tight end, out of a receiving group that had already lost five of six. Thursday decides whether that restraint was principle or naivety.

Would you have signed them? Tell me in the comments.

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2:10  Kalshi

2:44  Segment two

DESCRIPTION:

Pete Golding on the Ole Miss offensive line after the Louisville game, per HottyToddy's full session: "I never felt like they were an issue." Sports Illustrated's Monday report card gave that unit a C-minus and called the grade generous — the line "struggled throughout the game," and Trinidad Chambliss avoided sacks through elite pocket presence rather than protection. Jaydon Koss: he "won in spite of his offensive line, not because of it."

Both of those cannot be true. Ole Miss started two brand new tackles because both 2025 starters are in the NFL, and by the end of the night Tommy Kinsler had left hurt and Delano Townsend was out at guard.

The honest counterweight: the offense still put up 488 yards, the run game got 152, and Golding has the film. But LSU has a front that does not need help, and 11 days is not long enough to build a line.

Segment two — the backfield. Kewan Lacy left late in the third and Golding said "I don't think it's anything serious," which is the only official word there is. The broadcast said leg, the AP said thigh, the radio network said the wind was knocked out of him. No diagnosis exists. What does exist: 7 carries for Makhi Frazier and 6 for JT Lindsey, both in a one-score game against a ranked opponent on national television. That is a staff that already trusts three backs.

What should the carry split be against Charlotte? Comments.

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2:12  Kalshi

2:46  Segment two

DESCRIPTION:

Seven Ole Miss players either left the Louisville game or never played it. Kewan Lacy left late in the third. Rick Cleveland of Mississippi Today reported Kam Franklin, Keaton Thomas, Delano Townsend and Tommy Kinsler all left, and that "the nature and extent of their injuries are not known." The Daily Mississippian added that Antonio Kite went out early and Sharif Denson never played.

There is no availability report. No depth chart. No captains. No jersey release. Eleven days into the season, the only official word on any of it is Pete Golding saying he does not think Lacy's injury is anything serious.

The honest counterweight: the conference does not require an injury report the way the NFL does, and Golding is not obligated to hand LSU a medical chart. That is a real competitive reason. But there is a difference between not helping LSU and telling your own audience nothing.

Segment two: Lucas Carneiro was named a co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday — 48 to win it with no time left, a 43 earlier, 5-for-5 on PATs, 11 points. And per the Ole Miss release, it was his third career field goal of 45+ yards inside the final 15 seconds of regulation, the most by any kicker in the country in the last 30 years. He is at 160 career points, 14th in school history.

What is a kicker like that actually worth? Comments.

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Put that next to what we know. Three of nine defensive backs return. Golding teaches Lion, Free and Ram as interchangeable back-end spots — a system that depends entirely on people talking. Safety Sharif Denson, same report, says the chemistry is good "at the moment" and they build it day by day.

The honest counterweight: a closed scrimmage is exactly where you want that to surface, and a coach who tells you about it is not hiding it. Louisville has its own version with a first-time defensive play caller.

Then: the best defender on this roster has not been named in a single preview of this game, ours included. Suntarine Perkins — 2026 Chucky Mullins Courage Award winner, 81 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks last season.

That matters Sunday because Louisville's answer to a rebuilt offensive line is to run it and shorten the game. A run blueprint dies on second-and-twelve.

Who is the Ole Miss defender you are actually watching? Tell me in the comments.

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CHAPTERS 

0:00 — Twelve days, no right tackle

2:12 — Kalshi

2:46 — The back, not the quarterback

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The Ole Miss angle nobody is writing: three of the former Rebels — Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams Jr. — are inside the underlying eligibility case. Ole Miss could have brought any of them back and declined. Pete Golding: "some of these guys who have become available don't necessarily fit a need."

Commissioner Greg Sankey testified the same day in East Baton Rouge Parish. His affidavit says league presidents voted 15-0 for the new rules with LSU abstaining.

The honest counterweight: LSU is the defendant, not Ole Miss, and the accounts of what the judge actually did Thursday do not yet agree with one another. No ruling is stated here.

Then: the most useful thing said about Ole Miss this week came from a national voice who is not putting them in the Playoff — new OC, a head coach in his first full year, a harder schedule. He is describing risk, not decline, and that is why it is worth hearing.

Does that scare you or motivate you? Tell me in the comments.

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CHAPTERS — 

0:00 — The Baton Rouge hearing is an Ole Miss story

2:17 — Kalshi

2:51 — Two Heisman campaigns, one trophy

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That was eleven days ago. Since then: no depth chart, no injury report, no captains, no jersey numbers. HottyToddy previewed a Monday depth chart release on Aug. 31 and nobody has reported one ever came out.

The tell: On3's beat writers were still publishing projected depth charts on Wednesday. You don't project a depth chart that exists. Kinsler is the Miami transfer, No. 61; Carius Curne is the LSU transfer, No. 57. Both of last year's starting tackles are in the NFL.

The honest counterweight: Ole Miss plays Sunday, not Saturday, so every release slides a day — and Golding hasn't run a normal release calendar all season.

Then later: everybody has spent the week on Louisville's unknown quarterback. Isaac Brown is the one with the tape. Golding on Wednesday: “This kid is special. He's explosive on tape and really good in space.” Brown ran for 884 yards at 8.8 a carry last season, and 1,173 with 13 scores as a true freshman.

Against a run defense that finished 69th nationally at 4.2 yards a carry. The counterweight: that number belonged to a different front — Echoles, Boireau and Oatis are all in this one.

Do you trust this front more than last year's? Comments below.

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Law Commentary puts the plaintiff group at 33 athletes. The conference says it is prepared to contest the allegations at Thursday morning's hearing and defend its rights as a voluntary association.

Every version of this story is written as LSU against the SEC. Three of the players inside it are former Rebels: Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams Jr.

A correction we owe: Junior Tuihalamaka is NOT a former Ole Miss player. He came out of Notre Dame and was grouped in because all of them are LSU-bound.

The part nobody is covering: Ole Miss could have brought those three back and didn't. Golding: some of these guys who have become available don't necessarily fit a need.

Then later: Ole Miss is running Heisman campaigns for Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy at the same time — Times Square, the Sphere, both players. The Heisman rewards one story. Promoting two doesn't double the odds; it splits the narrative.

Would you rather have two candidates or one winner? Comments below.

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Offensive coordinator John David Baker, on Aug. 10: I don't want him to carry that ball that much. And the reason — running it that many times between the tackles, you're going to break. And he did. He had shoulder surgery in the offseason after being hurt against Tulane in the first round of the playoff. Baker's pitch: carries down, touches level.

Then on Monday, asked directly whether the deeper room means he won't carry it 300 times again, Lacy said: we'll just see how the game goes, we just got to go 1-0. That is not a man buying in.

The honest counterweight: Baker's carries-vs-touches distinction is real, and the room behind Lacy is good — Makhi Frazier from Michigan State and Joshua Dye, who put up 1,831 yards and 28 touchdowns at the FCS level.

Then later: Ole Miss isn't rotating three defensive tackles. It's five. Next to Will Echoles — first-team All-SEC, 26 pressures, most of any Power Four DT, and a new national NIL deal with SeatGeek — the competition is Jehiem Oatis, Michai Boireau, Andrew Maddox, Jamarious Brown and Kamron Beavers. Golding named three of the five; the back half has almost no SEC snaps.

Does Lacy carry it 25 times on Sunday? And who's the second-best defensive tackle on this roster? Comments.

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That's the right answer for a quarterback four days out. Here's the part he doesn't have to say: these are two different cases and they are not close. Chambliss was enrolled and had signed nothing. He came up from Division II, the NCAA denied his waiver, Tom Mars took it to court, and in February a judge found the association had breached its duty of good faith. The Mississippi Supreme Court refused the appeal in March.

Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris are former Ole Miss players who left for the NFL. Wright signed with Philadelphia, was released, signed with Cleveland, then won a court order restoring college eligibility. He began practicing at LSU on Monday. Both situations involve a court order — that is the entire overlap.

Then later: Ole Miss hired Jack Borris off Wall Street this week and almost nobody covered it. Eleven-plus years at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, plus a master's in sports administration from Boston College. The job: athlete finance strategy, cap management, revenue share, NIL and roster construction.

The honest counterweight: this is the correct move, every serious program is building a front office, and Ole Miss is late rather than early. A front office never wins a game by itself — but it decides which roster Pete Golding gets to coach in 2027.

Does a front office make you more comfortable or less? Comments below.

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One: Louisville opens with a first-time defensive play caller, and Brohm volunteered that communication will be critical and that it has hurt them in years past when they were not on the same page — in the same breath as saying Ole Miss will challenge them with tempo.

Two: asked about the middle of his defensive line, he said there is inexperience there and that the strength is on the outside. Everyone has spent two weeks on Louisville's edges.

Three: it is game week and Louisville has not named a kicker or a punter. Meanwhile Golding has two specialists he trusts and says four-down territory is not what it used to be.

The honest counterweight: Brohm likes his offensive line, has about six he can rotate, and expects the interior to play well. He is not conceding anything — he just answered the questions.

Where does this game actually turn? Tell us in the comments.

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CHAPTERS (derived from the measured word counts above plus the 20-second read):

0:00 — Cold open, intro and the menu

0:51 — Louisville's first-time defensive play caller

3:22 — Where Louisville is actually soft

Presented by Kalshi

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On the table: expulsion, membership probation, schools refusing to take the field against a team carrying a player the conference says is ineligible, and a federal lawsuit by the conference against one of its own members.

The SEC bylaws run 48 pages and the word expulsion is not in them. But Section 4.12 lets the presidents impose probation, bar a member from the championship, bar it from league competition — and impose any other penalty they consider appropriate. LSU comes to Oxford in 18 days.

Then the other half: Pete Golding kept the defensive headset for his first opener as a head coach, met both staffs in the same day, and told on his own defense — Saturday's mock game gave up explosive plays to communication, not scheme. You cannot do that and win against a top 25 team.

And in 23 minutes, nobody in the room asked him about the right tackle.

Strategy, or a man who won't let go of the wheel? Tell us in the comments.

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CHAPTERS 

0:00 — Cold open, intro and the menu

0:51 — Fifteen schools and Section 4.12

3:33 — Golding kept the headset — and told on his own defense

Presented by Kalshi

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▪  0:00  —  Cold open and the menu

▪  0:25  —  Nine days, still no right tackle

▪  2:44  —  Perkins at 97

DESCRIPTION:

On Aug. 24 Pete Golding said: "We have this week to decide that, and then we'll probably make that decision next week." That week came and went. Camp closed Aug. 22. It is Aug. 31, six days from kickoff, and Ole Miss still has no announced starting right tackle.

The competition is Tommy Kinsler IV (Miami) against Carius Curne (LSU). Golding said Kinsler "has probably flashed the most consistently up to this point" but must keep getting in shape for the snap volume the job carries at Ole Miss's tempo; Curne "falls into that consistency category," and Ole Miss on SI reported Friday he has been working back from spring surgery on limited reps. Both 2025 starting tackles are now in the NFL.

The take: the silence is the information. A staff sitting on a clear answer names it, because naming it buys that tackle six days of first-team reps beside the other four starters. You do not build offensive line chemistry out of a depth chart. And do not solve it by sliding Patrick Kutas to right tackle - you do not fix one hole by opening another.

Then later - Caleb Cunningham. Five of six pass catchers are gone: 185 catches and 19 touchdowns out the door. The true freshman landed on the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year watch list on Aug. 26, and Golding said he is "finally healthy again" and gives them "a different presence." That matters because John David Baker throws between the hash marks - between the hashes you need someone who wins in traffic, not a boundary burner.

Honest counterweight on both: not naming a right tackle is not the same as not knowing, and Louisville gets no free week of film either. And "finally healthy again" tells you plainly that Cunningham has not been - true freshman receivers in this league are usually a November story, not a September one.

Who is your bet for the leading receiver on this team? Drop a name.

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▪  0:00  —  Cold open and the menu

▪  0:28  —  A Sunday opener and a six-day week

▪  2:40  —  The job Golding almost said no to

DESCRIPTION:

Every headline in America says the SEC got humiliated in court. Here is the contrarian read, and it comes from the best possible source for an Ole Miss audience.

What happened: Thursday, Dallas County judge Martin Hoffman issued a temporary restraining order naming the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey personally. Friday, Baton Rouge judge William Jorden amended his order to add the conference and Sankey, blocking the SEC from imposing the penalties it had just voted in - a half-season head-coach suspension, a fine equal to half of a sport's annual operating budget, and loss of voting rights. Saturday, the SEC told opposing counsel it would comply.

Tom Mars - the attorney who won Trinidad Chambliss his year of eligibility - posted that the conferences will ultimately prevail. His reasoning: every state-court win against the NCAA rests on breach of the implied covenant of good faith, and a player can only bring that claim as a third-party beneficiary of the NCAA's contract with its member schools. Mars argues nothing in a conference constitution or bylaws makes players third-party beneficiaries, and that the new conference rules have not been applied inconsistently, arbitrarily or in bad faith the way the NCAA's were.

The Ole Miss receipt: in February, Judge Robert Whitwell granted Chambliss his injunction and found the NCAA had breached its duty of good faith and acted in bad faith. Same lawyer, same doctrine, opposite answer. A restraining order is temporary - complying costs the SEC nothing it cannot reclaim at Thursday's preliminary injunction hearing, in federal court, or at trial.

Then later - the six days nobody has counted. Ole Miss opens SUNDAY Sept. 6 vs Louisville in Nashville, then plays Charlotte on Saturday Sept. 12. Six days between game one and game two while everyone else gets seven.

Honest counterweight: Mars is not a neutral party. He sued Ole Miss on behalf of Houston Nutt in 2017 and won a settlement and a public apology. And his analysis is a post on his own account, not sworn testimony.

Did the SEC fold, or did it wait? Make your case in the comments.

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Deuce Alexander wears No. 1 — a number that is given at Ole Miss, not chosen. Last season he caught 44 passes for 684 yards and 2 touchdowns in 15 games, set a school record with an 88-yard touchdown catch against Mississippi State, and had a career-high seven catches in a playoff game against Tulane. He also carried it 19 times for 122 yards.

You cannot rank a quarterback sixth in America and in the same document decide nobody will catch what he throws. And this is not a list that discounts receivers: Jeremiah Smith is No. 1 overall, Malachi Toney is 5th and Cam Coleman is 7th — three of the top seven.

Then later: Johntay Cook II led Syracuse in receiving last season with 45 catches for 549 yards in 12 games, including six for 113 against Clemson. He was a five-star out of DeSoto, Texas — No. 38 nationally and the No. 7 receiver in his class. He is not on the list either. We have said on this show that Cook will be one of the two leading receivers on this team, so the list and this show now disagree in public.

Being fair: nobody in that room has produced at a top-100 level yet, 199 catches and 3,015 yards genuinely left in December, and 45 catches at Syracuse is not 45 catches in the SEC. A prediction is not production.

Does Cook finish top two on this team in catches? Tell us in the comments.

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CHAPTERS 

0:00   Cold open and the menu

0:25   Deuce Alexander

2:44   Johntay Cook Ii

IG / TIKTOK CAPTION

Locked On's Top 100 has Trinidad Chambliss 6th and not a single Ole Miss receiver anywhere in the hundred. Three of the top seven players in America are wideouts. Explain that.

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Ohio State has one player in the top eight. Notre Dame, Oregon and Miami have one each. Texas has two. Ole Miss has two. And there is a difference: Texas's two are an edge rusher and a receiver, while Ole Miss's two are the quarterback and the running back. No other program in America has a top-eight QB and a top-eight RB on this list.

Nine months ago the head coach left for LSU, half the staff went with him and five of six pass catchers were gone. The national read was that Ole Miss was about to pay for its best season ever. Instead the two players everything runs through both came back.

Then later — the shape of those four. Six, eight, 22, and then a 75-spot cliff to 97. Texas's five sit at 2, 7, 9, 12 and 33. Georgia's five are 19, 26, 54, 70 and 88. Mississippi State put two players on this list at 48 and 86, and both rank ahead of the fourth-best Rebel.

Being fair: a hundred names out of roughly ten thousand scholarship players is a brutally small window, and depth by definition does not show up on a list like this. Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Texas Tech each placed five.

Four names or five — which team would you rather have? Tell us in the comments.

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CHAPTERS 

0:00   Cold open and the menu

0:27   Two Of The Top Eight

2:39   Six, Eight, Twenty-Two, Ninety-Seven

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Look at what he actually said: Tommy Kinsler has flashed the most consistently and played really well for about 30 to 35 snaps in the second scrimmage, and the open item on him is conditioning — with the tempo Ole Miss plays at and the number of snaps that position has to play, they have to keep getting him in shape. That is a coach with an answer and a conditioning question, not a coach without an answer. Carius Curne got healthy for multiple weeks running and has flashed.

The honest counterweight: there is a real cost. John Garrison's line needs live reps together, and every day you split first-team snaps is a day five men are not building one thing.

But Ole Miss opens on ABC on a Sunday night against a ranked team that has to build a pass-rush plan this week. Making Louisville prepare for two right tackles costs nothing.

Then the linebackers — the room nobody previews. Every Ole Miss defensive preview is about Will Echoles and Suntarine Perkins. Golding named seven players at the second level on Monday and the starting three are still not obvious. Ole Miss gave up 4.2 yards per carry last season, 69th nationally, and that number does not get fixed by a defensive tackle.

Who is your starting three? Comments.

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CHAPTERS (derived from the measured word counts above at 155 wpm plus the 20-second ad):

00:00 The Right Tackle Silence

2:24 Sponsor break — Poncho

2:44 The Room Nobody Previews  

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Per Yahoo Sports, the SEC statement says college athletes, not former professional athletes, have been at the heart of the conference. The Big Ten version carries a coach suspension of half a season plus an institutional fine. The SEC granted commissioner Greg Sankey full and unlimited authority, up to and including suspending a school from competition.

The honest counterweight: Kiffin is right that nobody told these players in December that a fifth year was coming, and that is unfair to them. That grievance belongs to the NCAA, not to the two leagues closing the hole.

Then the view from inside Ole Miss. Three former Rebels — Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams — were granted a fifth year by a Louisiana court and entered the portal on August 20. LSU is recruiting them. Ole Miss declined, and Golding's reason was a roster list, not a sermon: the available players did not fit a need, and the rooms that actually got thin in camp were cornerback and offensive line.

The version where this gets hard: if Wright played corner, it is a different call entirely.

Would you have taken him anyway? Comments.

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CHAPTERS (derived from the measured word counts above at 155 wpm plus the 20-second ad):

00:00 The Sec Already Voted

2:31 Sponsor break — Kalshi

2:51 Ole Miss Said No 

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He said they want to be 'the aggressor' and called it an 'attack and react' team. But most people hear aggressive and think blitz, and that is not what he said. Stems and disguises matter just as much as pressure - moving the front, showing one thing and playing another, making a quarterback wrong before the snap.

Then the line that tells you everything: if you can rush three and get there, why rush five. That is not conservative, it is arithmetic. Every man you do not send is a man in coverage, and Will Echoles had 26 pressures last season - the most of any defensive tackle in the Power Four.

The honest counterweight: the whole theory rests on the front winning alone, and last season it did not. This defense gave up 4.2 yards a carry and finished 69th nationally against the run. Rushing three is a luxury you earn in September, not a plan you announce in August.

Then later: Golding said, unprompted, that freshman Jayden Curtis is 'the steal of that class,' and praised Landon Barnes and Carmelow Reed in the same answer. Five days earlier, fifth-year senior Jonathan Maldonado volunteered the same three names without being asked - 'they're some dogs,' and 'it looks like they're not even freshmen.' Which freshman actually plays in Nashville? Tell us in the comments.

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Here is the part getting skipped. Dellenger reported last week that the language in the Louisiana order covers SEC rules too, because league bylaws are a derivation of NCAA policy. OutKick's read of the order goes further: a school that takes one of these protected athletes cannot be punished by the NCAA or by its conference.

An attorney told Dellenger that enforcing a conference bylaw would end up back in the same Louisiana courtroom, in front of the same judge, with the same result - and that these league rules may simply make the conferences the defendant instead of the NCAA.

The honest counterweight: writing the rule is still the right move. A league that does nothing has no argument at all when it gets to court, and the calendar may accomplish what the bylaw cannot, because the season starts in 11 days and lawsuits are slow.

Then later: Deuce Knight. A five-star on On3's board, the No. 6 quarterback in the 2025 class, who threw for 239 and ran for 162 with six total touchdowns in his only college start. Ole Miss signed him when Trinidad Chambliss's eligibility was in real doubt. How comfortable are you with him, 1 to 10? Tell us in the comments.

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The receipt: Ole Miss went 13-2 last season, 7-1 in the SEC, beat Georgia 39-34 in the Sugar Bowl and reached a national semifinal. Tiger Rag's Glenn Guilbeau, who covers LSU, pushed back on the quote in his own column.

The honest counterweight: before Kiffin arrived, 7-5 genuinely was a normal Ole Miss season. He is the reason that sentence sounds insulting now. He built the standard he is mocking, and that deserves saying out loud.

Then later: the coaches' preseason All-SEC teams named eight Ole Miss spots and, across the entire conference, zero transfer portal players on any of the three teams. Ole Miss alone signed the nation's No. 2 portal class with 29 additions and replaced almost an entire secondary.

Does Kiffin get booed or ignored on September 19? Comments.

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0:00 — Cold open: the waiver was never the hard part

0:28 — Take one: the SEC ruling and Aug. 31 are the real gates

2:52 — Take two: Louisville is telling you the plan, aimed at the run defense

DESCRIPTION

Cleveland waived former Ole Miss tight end Dae'Quan Wright on Sunday, and by Monday afternoon he was through the NFL side of a move to LSU. The whole sport treated that like the finish line. It is not.

Two gates are left, and they are the hard ones. The SEC has not ruled: Ole Miss to LSU is an intraconference transfer, and Greg Sankey put it in writing on Aug. 13 that those rules stand until waived or changed. Wright's attorney Ryan Downton told FootballScoop the side has “reached out to the SEC to discuss” — which tells you they know it is a real obstacle.

The second gate is Aug. 31. Ross Dellenger reported the Louisiana judge set the injunction hearing for that day, five days before LSU plays Clemson. Everything Wright holds is a temporary restraining order, and the 10th Circuit already stayed the Colorado ruling on Friday.

The honest counterweight: CBS Sports reported multiple SEC schools privately believe the intraconference ban would not survive a court challenge, and the conference declined to say whether it would. Downton may be right on the law.

But right is not the same as cleared. Wright can enroll at LSU and still not be eligible to play Ole Miss in September, and that is the part that matters.

Then later: Louisville's staff has told everyone the plan. New starter Lincoln Kienholz ran for 1,435 yards and 24 touchdowns as a high school senior, and offensive coordinator Brian Brohm says they intend to use him in the QB run game. Ole Miss gave up 4.2 yards a carry last season, 69th nationally — and Pete Golding calls this defense himself.

Which worries you more, the courtroom or the read option? Comments.

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The honest counterweight is substantial. Louisville went 9-4 last year, Jeff Brohm's third straight season at nine wins or better, and they finished it with a bowl win. It is a neutral site, not Vaught-Hemingway. Ole Miss has a first-year head coach who is also calling the defense.

Then take two. North Dakota State is laying that exact same number on Saturday against Jacksonville State — in the first FBS game in the history of the program. This take says out loud why that is arithmetic rather than disrespect, and then hands you the number that actually is a verdict: FanDuel has Ole Miss at 7.5 regular-season wins, tied for sixth in the SEC with Oklahoma.

For contrast on that same board, Florida State is laying 30.5 and USC is laying 38.5. That is what a sportsbook saying it does not believe the opponent belongs on the field looks like. Nobody is saying that about Louisville — and nobody is saying it about Ole Miss either.

CHAPTERS

0:00 — The first real number of the season

0:25 — Ole Miss -6.5, 55.5, -250: what that price actually says

2:47 — The Week 0 board, North Dakota State, and the 7.5 win total

Locked On Ole Miss Hits — quick takes on Ole Miss football and Rebel athletics every weekday, from the Locked On Podcast Network. Hosted by Steven Willis.

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Odds referenced were accurate at the time of recording and move constantly. Nothing in this video is betting advice.

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This is not a conspiracy take, and the show says so out loud. Awful Announcing, which wrote the toughest version of this story, concluded that ESPN does not have a Jimmy Sexton problem — it has a disclosure problem. That is the argument here, and it is the one that actually holds up.

Then take two. On January 1, that same panel filed its picks for the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal. Saban picked Georgia. Herbstreit picked Georgia. Desmond Howard picked Georgia. Pat McAfee picked Georgia. Ole Miss won 39-34.

On September 19, that set comes to the Grove.

CHAPTERS

0:00 — The segment nobody disclosed

0:33 — Nov. 29: two CAA clients lobby for a third

3:28 — Jan. 1: four picks, zero Rebels, 39-34

Locked On Ole Miss Hits — quick takes on Ole Miss football and Rebel athletics every weekday, from the Locked On Podcast Network. Hosted by Steven Willis.

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The door he walked through is a temporary restraining order out of Louisiana. Thirty-three athletes sued the NCAA over the five-year eligibility clock; sixteen are football players. The order lets men in NFL training camps return to college if they're released before September 1 — four days after NFL rosters cut to 53.

The most damning thing said about it came from the man who cut him. Browns head coach Todd Monken said he wondered why Lane Kiffin had reached out a week earlier. Now he knows. He didn't call back, and he guesses he should have. A head coach in the SEC called a head coach in the NFL about a player on an NFL roster.

Then take two: three former Rebels got that same court order — Wright, Zxavian Harris, Wydett Williams. Ole Miss brought back zero, and Pete Golding explained why. The segment reads his answer honestly rather than flattering it: that was roster math, not a moral stand. And it concedes the other side too — LSU is breaking no rule, and a court said the man is eligible.

And then the argument, stated plainly as opinion: LSU is a rogue program, and until somebody treats them like one they will keep leaning on every limit in this sport until there is nothing left of college athletics to push on. The presidents have to take control. If a professional football player takes one snap for LSU this season, vote them out of the SEC and hand the seat to Tulane.

And the part that should tell you something on its own: you only go shopping on an NFL waiver wire in the last week of August if you are not happy with your own roster. Ole Miss looked at its room and stood pat.

The one part worth being proud of: Pete Golding didn't do it.

CHAPTERS

0:00 — Cut Sunday, committed to LSU by Monday

0:27 — The Louisiana order, the NFL cut window, and the Monken quote

2:41 — Why Ole Miss passed, and why the presidents have to act

Locked On Ole Miss Hits — quick takes on Ole Miss football and Rebel athletics every weekday, from the Locked On Podcast Network. Hosted by Steven Willis.

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Calling LSU a rogue program, and the proposal to remove them and seat Tulane, are the host's stated opinion and are labeled as such in the video. Everything else is sourced reporting.

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Keegan Croucher made his first start for Baylor after transferring in from Cheshire Academy: 172 passing yards and a 39-yard touchdown to Antwaun Adams (MaxPreps). Baylor head coach Erik Kimrey afterward: "I thought that Keegan Croucher made some incredible plays." On the other sideline, Crews Jenkins threw for 230 yards and two scores — 67 yards to Lexton Baskin, 80 to Kesean Bowman.

The conflict is with the twenty-year-old book on this program that Ole Miss cannot recruit a quarterback. Croucher picked the Rebels last October over Oregon and Penn State. Georgia and Kentucky both worked on him this spring, per Chad Simmons of Rivals. Jenkins committed in May knowing Croucher was already in the class.

The honest counterweight: Croucher's ranking has moved — top five at the position in the Rivals300, closer to tenth in the industry composite. These are not equivalent prospects, and an August commitment in a senior year is not a signature.

Then: sixteen days from Louisville, Ole Miss still has not named a right tackle. Tommy Kinsler IV from Miami against Carius Curne from LSU, per Sports Illustrated's Tanner Shapiro. Four of five spots are settled. This is the fifth.

Which tackle do you want on that edge in Nashville? Tell us in the comments.

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Three former Ole Miss starters are in that group: tight end Dae’Quan Wright (Cleveland Browns), safety Wydett Williams Jr. (Arizona Cardinals) and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, waived by New Orleans on Aug. 8.

The honest counterweight, and it is Pete Golding’s own: he already made the calls. On Aug. 6 he said "there was conversations with a couple of those guys from 22 that are in other camps," framed entirely as injury insurance — if someone got hurt in camp, "you would have a body to go to that has actually been in this system." If Ole Miss loses a player at a thin spot this week, that call is the right move.

But in the same answer Golding said there are "no new additions and umbrella like they did in Covid." No expanded roster, no exemption. The House settlement cap and roster limits still apply. Ole Miss is 17 days from a ranked opener with 50 new players — Golding’s number — still learning each other. This is roster math, not an argument about three players.

Then later: both starting quarterbacks in tonight’s ESPN2 high school game are committed to Ole Miss. Baylor School hosts Brentwood Academy in Chattanooga at 8 p.m. ET — MaxPreps has them No. 12 and No. 13 nationally. Keegan Croucher, a four-star and a top-five QB in the Rivals300, quarterbacks Baylor. Crews Jenkins, who threw for about 1,800 yards and 22 touchdowns last fall, quarterbacks Brentwood. Jenkins committed in May knowing Croucher was already in the class.

The counterweight there: Georgia, Kentucky and Indiana all pushed to flip Croucher this spring, per Chad Simmons of Rivals. Croucher said in April he is locked in with Ole Miss. An August commitment is still not a signature.

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0:00 — Deuce Knight stopped being a one-read quarterback

2:49 — Bryan Brown won't claim this defense beats 2024

4:44 — Closing

DESCRIPTION

Two takes out of Ole Miss fall camp, and both of them come from people who were actually in the building.

First: Deuce Knight. Trinidad Chambliss was in for about one series in Sunday’s scrimmage, and Harry Harrison of the Ole Miss Radio Network called Knight the star of the day. What makes it matter is the before-and-after. Harrison watched Knight in the spring and called him tentative, a one-hit wonder who threw to the first receiver whether he was open or not. Sunday, Knight found the hot receiver against pressure, worked progressions and threw down the field.

John David Baker said on Aug. 10 that Knight is a sponge who rarely puts the ball in the wrong spot. 247Sports had him No. 56 overall in the 2025 class, the No. 6 quarterback, before he redshirted at Auburn. The counterweight: Will Echoles and Suntarine Perkins were held out, and this was a second and third-team defense. The second scrimmage this weekend is the real test.

Second: Bryan Brown was asked whether this defense can be more elite than the 2024 unit and refused the easy yes. That 2024 group allowed 14.4 points and 80.5 rushing yards per game, both second nationally, led the country in tackles for loss and sacks per game, and set school records with 52 sacks and 120 tackles for loss, per HottyToddy.

Brown: "I wouldn’t say right now that this group is going to be better than that group. We have a chance to be if we do things right." What he claimed was depth. On the secondary he called it a work in progress, with a couple of players dinged up and consistency still missing.

A coach selling you an elite defense in August has nothing left to sell in November. Is the back end the thing that decides this season? Tell us in the comments.

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2:49 — Defending the Progressive logo at the Vaught

4:44 — Closing

DESCRIPTION

Everybody spent two days arguing about who won Ole Miss’ first fall scrimmage. Defensive coordinator Bryan Brown answered a completely different question on Tuesday, and it reframes the entire weekend.

Brown said the staff played a lot of guys specifically to see players who had not been in that stadium environment, with no coaches on the field, to find out who can communicate and make plays without help. Harry Harrison of the Ole Miss Radio Network reported that Trinidad Chambliss was in for about one series, that Will Echoles and Suntarine Perkins were held out, and that some of the secondary and some of the interior offensive line were held out too.

The real reveal: Brown will work from the coaches’ box this season as Pete Golding’s eyes in the sky while Golding continues to call the defense. That communication chain did not exist a year ago, and Ole Miss was rehearsing it in an empty stadium 18 days before kickoff.

The honest counterweight: Chuck Rounsaville called it a pseudo scrimmage rather than full contact — thud work — and Harrison said they were playing two-hand touch on the quarterback, which makes the run game close to impossible to evaluate.

Then later: Progressive is adding on-field branding at Vaught-Hemingway through a Learfield deal covering 13 schools nationally and exactly two in the SEC, Georgia and Ole Miss. Vice chancellor Keith Carter called it an investment in the continued growth of Ole Miss Athletics. You can hate how it looks and still understand what it pays for.

Is on-field branding a line you did not want crossed, or is it just Tuesday in 2026? Drop it in the comments.

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IG / TIKTOK CAPTION

Bryan Brown just told you what the scrimmage was for, and it was not who won. Plus: yes, there is an insurance logo coming to the Vaught, and I will defend it.

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Take one: Louisville went into Miami last October and beat the No. 2 team in the country 24-21 by intercepting Carson Beck four times. That is the same Carson Beck who beat Ole Miss 31-27 in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Louisville's secondary did to him in October what Ole Miss could not do in January, and that defense returns. Brett Ciancia of Pick Six Previews has the Cardinals 19th nationally, second in the ACC, and in his conference title game.

Take two: Ciancia graded every Ole Miss position group. Quarterback first in the SEC and first nationally, running back second, linebacker second and fifth nationally, defensive line fifth and 11th nationally, receivers and tight ends fifth, offensive line fourth. The defensive backs come in seventh in the league — the only Rebel unit outside the SEC's top five, and the cleanest answer to why Ole Miss is ninth and not third.

The honest counterweights: Louisville is starting a transfer quarterback who has never started a game at this level, and the Ole Miss secondary is dramatically better than last year's, with eight four-star transfer defenders in a No. 2-rated portal class and a projected climb from outside the top 40 into the top 25.

Is the secondary still the softest spot on this roster? Tell me in the comments.

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CHAPTERS (derived from the measured word counts above plus the 20-second ad)

0:00 — Louisville is not a tune-up — the Carson Beck tape

2:43 — The only Ole Miss unit outside the SEC's top five

4:37 — Closing 

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Take one: nine is exactly right, and being ranked correctly is a bigger milestone for this program than being ranked high. The resume says third — 13-2, a Playoff semifinal, No. 3 in the final AP poll. The question says three games, which is Pete Golding's entire head coaching sample. Brett Ciancia of Pick Six Previews independently landed on 10th nationally and fourth in the SEC, and ESPN's draft-talent tiers put Ole Miss alongside Ohio State and Georgia. Three separate methods, same answer.

Take two: John Talty at CBS Sports wrote Monday that it is understandable to think Ole Miss steps back without Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. The premise assumes the scheme left with them. It did not. John David Baker is in his fourth year at Ole Miss, was here when the offense led the SEC in total offense in 2021, took a bottom-10 East Carolina offense to top-25 in a year, and is on record with On3 keeping this one about 80 percent the same.

The honest counterweights, both of them: nine is fair because Golding has not proven anything across a full season, and Baker has never called a play in the Southeastern Conference. Not one snap. Those are the real arguments against everything above.

Is this offense better or worse in 2026? Tell me in the comments.

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CHAPTERS (derived from the measured word counts above plus the 20-second ad)

0:00 — Nine is exactly right — and why that's the milestone

2:39 — CBS says a step back is understandable — the Baker resume

4:32 — Closing

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0:00 — Stop panicking about Kewan Lacy — the plan is the point

2:46 — Terrez Davis is the best story on this roster

4:30 — Closing — follow the Hits, and Locked On Ole Miss

DESCRIPTION:

Start with what isn't in dispute: John David Baker confirmed Kewan Lacy had shoulder surgery in the offseason, both beat reporters trace it to the Tulane playoff game, and Michael Katz adds a hamstring pull in the Fiesta Bowl. Lacy is practicing.

What isn't settled: Tyler Komis said on Locked On Ole Miss this week that Lacy is 100 percent and good to go. Daylan Flowers says he's hearing not quite — that the staff is going step by step toward Louisville. Both men are in the building. We're not picking the answer we like better.

The take is the opposite of the panic. Two credentialed reporters reading a recovery curve slightly differently in the second week of August is the most normal thing in this sport — and what's underneath it is a program protecting the best running back in America instead of using him up.

Baker said out loud he will not hand Lacy 306 carries again — same touches, different ways — and then added Makhi Frazier and Joshua Dye so he'd have the bodies to mean it. A staff that slow-plays a star in mid-August is a staff that expects to need him in January.

The caveat that would make this take wrong: if Lacy is still being managed when Ole Miss lands in Nashville, that stops being a reporting difference and becomes a problem. That is not what's in front of us right now.

Then later: Terrez Davis, the best story on the roster. Basketball until his junior year of high school, tight end that year, offensive line as a senior — then two starts as a true freshman at Maryland, at Oregon and at Penn State. This is year three at the position and year four playing football. Pete Golding says he's playing it about as well as anyone he can remember. Davis had portal interest in January and stayed, citing line coach John Garrison and loyalty. The honest counterweight: Golding is his head coach, so that's advocacy; Davis got hurt in camp last year and has never started a full SEC season.

Who's the best story on this Ole Miss roster? Comment below. Locked On Ole Miss Hits — quick takes on the Rebels every weekday. Subscribe and hit the bell. Hotty Toddy. #OleMiss #HottyToddy #KewanLacy #SEC #CollegeFootball #RebelsFootball

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0:00 — The Ole Miss standard: five rooms, one story

2:55 — The receiver panic that has been wrong for fifteen years

4:38 — Closing — follow the Hits, and Locked On Ole Miss

DESCRIPTION:

Trinidad Chambliss was asked at Ole Miss Media Day about building chemistry with four or five new receivers. He said he's teaching them how fast the offense plays, how explosive plays happen — and that he's teaching them the Ole Miss standard. Almost nobody picked it up.

Then it shows up everywhere else. Caleb Odom said there are live reps in 12 personnel where he doesn't know the full call, so he looks at Luke Hasz and Hasz tells him. Terrez Davis named offensive line coach John Garrison twice unprompted, and said the interior veterans teach him what they've already seen. Makhi Frazier transferred in knowing the job was taken. Four players from four rooms credited their position coach by name without being asked.

Why it matters: insecure rooms don't teach. The veteran doesn't help the transfer who's coming for his job, and the starter doesn't answer the backup's question. None of that is happening here — and that's a better indicator right now than any depth chart.

The honest counterweight: all of it is testimony, not tape. Camp is closed, availabilities are a few minutes, and nobody has watched this football team play football.

Later: the receiver replacement panic. Five of six pass catchers are gone and every preview is asking the same question the same voices asked last August — when the answers turned out to be De'Zhaun Stribling and Harrison Wallace. AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, Elijah Moore and Jonathan Mingo came out of this room. The honest counter: Chambliss and Deuce Alexander are the only pair who've done it together here, and Baker says he wants five or six receivers he trusts and has rarely had more than three or four.

Who's the surprise in the Ole Miss receiver room? Comment below.

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