Episode Details

Everybody has this game filed under revenge, atmosphere and Lane Kiffin's return. That's the wrong line. Ole Miss gave up nine points to Charlotte and did not allow a touchdown — three field goals, nothing else — and that is a lower point total than LSU allowed against either Louisiana Tech or Clemson. The defense that got buried after week one just posted the best scoring number of any of the three teams involved in this conversation, and nobody has said it out loud once.

Hours until LSU. College GameDay is in the Grove.

Steven Willis joins Richard Denson on The 24th Floor on ABC 24 for the Magnolia Bowl. They get into what actually translates from the Charlotte tape, why the back end of the defense decides whether the front seven ever gets turned loose, the quarterback run game LSU has no film on, and a six-year sample size that tells you exactly how to beat a Lane Kiffin offense.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

0:00 Richard Denson sets it up: Ole Miss 41-9, and now LSU

1:49 What Vaught-Hemingway is going to be like Saturday night

3:05 What still bothers Ole Miss fans about how Kiffin left

4:10 Is Ole Miss too focused on Lane instead of on LSU?

5:18 What from the Charlotte win actually translates to LSU

6:54 The back end has to be serviceable to free the front seven

8:00 The quarterback run game LSU has not seen on tape

9:03 Why 27 carries for 80 yards is still a good game

9:50 Golding vs Kiffin: whoever does not outthink themselves

10:27 What decides it: home field, quarterback, the trenches

10:45 ABC 24's pregame special, live from Oxford

📌 THREE THINGS

1. The most useful thing from Charlotte was not the 41-9 or the 27-0 halftime lead. It was nine points allowed and zero touchdowns. Ole Miss has the lowest points-allowed number of the three ranked teams in this discussion, better than what LSU gave up to Louisiana Tech or Clemson. The unit everybody wrote off after Louisville quietly put up the best scoring defense number on the board.

2. Take away the run game and a Lane Kiffin offense has historically struggled, and there is a six-year sample size on that at Ole Miss specifically. That is not a hot take — it is the scouting report Pete Golding has been building toward. Make Sam Leavitt beat you through the air rather than on the ground, and the matchup turns.

3. The whole game reduces to three things: home field, the better quarterback, and the play in the trenches. Win two of the three and you probably win the football game. Two of them are already settled — the building is full and Trinidad Chambliss is the best player on the field. The trenches are the one thing still genuinely open.

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📺 THE 24TH FLOOR — Thanks to Richard Denson and ABC 24 for having Steven on. Their pregame special is live from Booth's Barbecue in Oxford, Saturday 5:30 to 6:30, on the free ABC 24 streaming app.

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