Episode Details
Back to Episodes
They're Going to Win a Game 17-13 | Ole Miss Season Preview 2026
Description
No depth charts. No position-by-position walkthrough. Everybody else is doing that today and it's unwatchable. Three takes, and you can hold me to all three in January.
IN THIS EPISODE:
🏈 ONE: Ole Miss is going to win a game 17-13, and it'll be the most important win of the season. For a decade this program was an offense with a tag-along defense — score 40, hope they score 39. Kiffin built an amusement park and the ride was the offense. That's over. The number that tells the whole story, via Tom Vanderford: the 2025 transfer class was ~70% offense and 30% defense. This year it's about 50/50. That's an entire offseason in one number. And here's what it bought: you're no longer buying Great Value brand transfer portal targets. You can get the name brands now. A starter from Florida State, a starter from Georgia, a starter from Florida, a starter from Auburn. That's shopping at the big boy rack.
🎯 And the reason it matters, from a man I worked for. Coach Cutcliffe used to say: you never know when the play is going to happen that determines the outcome. You have to be ready every single play. Twenty years later, look at the Fiesta Bowl — a busted coverage and a missed tackle, both touchdowns. Two plays. Golding's ideal defense doesn't blitz — it generates pressure with four or fewer and drops everybody else. And that only works if the back five can hold up completely alone.
🚨 TWO: September 19 is a trap. GameDay in the Grove, Kiffin walking back in (if he's not suspended), $800 a ticket. But LSU is, best case, the fourth-best team Ole Miss plays this year. The season is decided at Texas — game 8, on the road, five games into conference play with no emotional lift left. And it's a homecoming: Johntay Cook started his career at Texas and is from DeSoto. Kewan Lacy is from Texas. Landon Barnes is out of Duncanville. I called Texas as a win back in July and I haven't moved off it.
🏔️ THREE: this is the best roster Ole Miss will have for three years. The rev-share cap is real. The roster limit is real. You can't do what Ole Miss did last offseason twice. Ceiling 12-0 — there isn't a bona fide loss on that schedule. Floor 9-3. And 9-3 is the version where you look back in January and realize the year got away by a possession here and a bad half there. It's not getting blown out that should scare you. It's getting close. What's the saying? It's the hope that kills you.
⭐ THE EVERYDAY CLUB — ad-free, members-only Discord, plus the newsletter and bonus content: https://lockedonolemiss.supercast.com
🏠 THE OLE MISS HUB: olemisshub.com · 🆕 LOCKED ON OLE MISS HITS — daily short-form.
Locked On Ole Miss is your daily Ole Miss Rebels podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network.
Hotty Toddy. 🦈 #HottyToddy #OleMiss #OleMissFootball
Episode Timestamps
00:00 Season preview and bold predictions
05:00 Defensive strategy and adjustments
07:08 Ole Miss recruits top transfers
11:48 Shopping for home decor online
13:44 Talking about LSU vs. Ole Miss game
19:14 Discussing Ole Miss football roster
21:59 Poncho shirts and Natty Guarantee
26:01 Analyzing the football season's outcome
27:25 Predictions and joining the club
Everydayer Club
If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and ge