Omas takes on Middle Tennessee there area 42.5 Point favorite we're going to be here with John Mak glesby with all of the info this is the lockon OM Miss pregame show right here stick around you are locked on Old Miss your daily podcast on the Old Miss Rebels part of the locked on podcast Network work your team every day hey rebel nation welcome to the Miss Rebels pregame show I'm Steven Willis a 10year veteran member of the national media and a former staff member at Miss I'm here with John Mak glesby the publisher of om Miss on SII and between the two of us we got all the insight and Analysis to get you prepped for today's game now Lane kein has been making some noise this week talking about a heavy dose of the run against MTSU but if we know Lane that could mean he's ready to air it out and catch us all by surprise and let's not forget about Jordan Watkins we're keeping an eye on his potential return today he could bring some serious Firepower to the Omas offense but the question is can ' defense replicate last week's do dominant performance against a theoretically more talented team Nicholas vato is a very good quarterback for Middle Tennessee State gave Missouri all they could handle Miss is a 42 and a half Point favorite but in football you know anything can happen we'll dive into everything you need to know to stay ahead of the game stick with us this is the lockdown Miss Rebels pregame show we're free and available in all the podcast apps and on YouTube thanks for making lockdown I'll miss your first listen every day and aalo to the Insiders and every dayers who make this show what it is and don't forget to find a second listen on the network Chris Gordy at lockon SEC or Corey Burton at lockon Vandy even gives other perspectives on college football or the SEC or even Old Miss honestly so be sure and check them out as well remember today's game day color is red so wear red to the Ball Game and if you need red go to college Corner they're located off sis Avenue in Oxford they can stop off before you get to vaing way and you can dress for success so John John M glesby from M Miss on SEI stopping by it's pretty interesting what is going on this week Lane kein was completely Allin on Miss needs to establish the Run that's been the talking point in the fan base Miss needs to EST Lish the run so this means that we can expect Jackson Dart to throw for north of three bills in the first half right right um yeah and and I do think Lane is right I mean to an extent that ol Miss does need to probably try to run the ball with a little more success than it did last week because they were very pass heavy a week ago but you know I wouldn't be surprised if he is kind of playing a little bit of a a sideand there saying hey you know we're going to try to run the ball and then Jackson comes out and has a day similar to what he had last week um that wouldn't really surprise me necessarily because Lane is known to kind of do stuff like that it'll it'll be interesting to see for sure he did it last week if if everybody remembers he said that that we're gonna come out against Ferman and run the ball that's what we need to do and then then Jackson Dart through for 420 in the first half so I'm expecting honestly om Miss to come out past happy and that you know John that makes sense if you have a quarterback that you think is a legitimate Heisman candidate it is almost your responsibility to put him in the best p p best shape to perform the best he can and throwing the football to that group of wide receivers and all that don't hide him behind a group of running backs even though you could probably run the ball for 250 yards against Middle Tennessee fairly easily I think you still want Jackson Dart to have those numbers so that when the snoody um media that come in and voting on these things when they're looking at Stats and they're trying to figure out it's like he only threw for 271 yards in a touchdown against MTSU what's wrong you want to avoid that situation because that is something that is going to happen yeah and uh you know I I do think with with games like this sometimes voters in those for for those Awards or in those Accolade areas can kind of read too much into it a little bit um because I mean you come into this game knowing that Old Miss is the obvious ly more talented team than Middle Tennessee State today uh and you know a lot of times teams when when they're in that position that Old Miss is in just want to get in and get out okay make you know work on some things that you want to work on to get better for when conference play gets here and just get the win and move on um but you know it will be interesting to see if if he does kind of try to cut Jackson loose a little bit today for that reason uh to kind of counteract some of that saying okay well he threw for what 420 or however much against Ferman and he did like 375 against Middle Tennessee so I mean you know it it it'll be interesting to see for sure yeah and I'm I'm curious to see what Lane does honestly um as this goes becauseas does need he is right Miss does need to establish the run just to make the fan base feel better about the running back field at Miss I mean if you look at oh miss if you really want to dive into it whenever I said it was a Look test going into an CS game that's exactly how the fan base took it because if you look at the numbers every running back with the exception of ulys Bley averaged north of five yards a carry but the look didn't look right and you were playing against Ferman and you expect an explosive level of plays to happen and because of that they actually took my advice and they were they started to worry about it so we'll see if that looks a little bit differently I do think in this football game MTSU is transitioning from a 425 defense I think under Tyrone Nicks if anybody wants to blast from the past um into the defensive coordinator they have now which is a three-man front defense they're having to do a lot of transitional players they didn't have a true nose guard on the roster they didn't have three four level defensive ends they have not recruited for that so they have hit the transfer portal hard but as it was described to me it can be a little bit clunky at times and because of that I think a running back like ulyses Bentley has a chance to hit the third level multiple times today yeah and that that would be a really positive thing for Old Miss Right obviously duh but um yeah I asked Lane I think it was on Sunday's uh media Zoom call thing that we have each week uh what his overall assessment of the running back room was against firman and he said you know he he thought they ran well um but he he was definitely looking for some improvement things um with with the running back room and with the offensive line in the Run game a little bit as well that was kind of a challenge to both uh both levels there to to kind of to kind of buckle down a little bit so it'll be interesting to see if if he does get what he wants out of that this week um because you know this this is a team that on paper Miss should be able to run the football against theoretically I I'm I'm thinking that Miss has a chance to do pretty well and the other question that is going to happen out of today's offense is is Jordan Watkins going to play we talked about during the course of the week about whether or not he is going to be able to play and Lan kein on Reb talk on Thursday just volunteered that information now this is what everybody needs to realize about Lane kein when he just volunteers injury information there's a chance a pretty good chance that it's not completely true and it's kind of a red herring that they're throwing out to the other team uh but we are all on Jordan Watkins watch if he is not if he is not 100% honestly he should not play against Middle Tennessee should what hold him out until Wake Forest because you're going to need him to be good against Georgia and into the playoffs more than you're going to need him against MTSU yeah I think that that would be the wise strategy but I mean let's let's say for Devil's Advocate purposes that lane wasn't throwing out a red hair red herring on Thursday he did sound confident or at least optimistic I should say that's a better word that Jordan would potentially be able to play the way he worded it was interesting to me because he doesn't usually volunteer that kind of information um so but he if if we are able to take his words at face value and take them seriously there he did sound optimistic that Jordan would potentially be able to play today obviously that would be a really good thing for Theus wide receiver room but if he's not able to play that's not going to be detrimental into the result of this game uh in in my opinion you know if if Jordan Watkins not playing today winds up being a problem for the OM Miss offense something has gone terribly wrong so yeah I'll be on the postgame show with a flamethrower yeah we we'll be on flamethrower watch again so you know uh it again this this isn't something that should be Uber concerning I don't think I mean it is a hamstring thing you know we did get confirmation on that but um still I mean this is not something that should keep Miss fans up at night in regards to Middle Tennessee now if it's if it's an issue when you know you travel to Baton Rouge or you host Georgia then then you can maybe think a little bit more about it but not not right now can the rebels defense replicate last week's dominant performance against Ferman tune in after this break to lockon O Miss as we break down what it will take to keep the momentum going when you're hiring for your small business you need to find the right professionals the people that are truly going to fit your role and help your business grow that's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs I've personally used LinkedIn to find some top-notch candidates and the platform really 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the most chaos in their new conferences everything you need to know all in one place be sure to follow And subscribe to the lockon college football podcast part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day you know John it is really interesting that the story after the Old Miss game last weekend was not Jackson dart throwing for 420 yards and a half and just about every other Miss football team that would have been the story after that Ferman game but the story was how good that defense looked is this is something that they're probably going to be able to replicate or was that a flash in the pan what are we looking at I I personally think it is able to be replicated today um obviously competition will see a little bit of an uptick in the weeks ahead but I do think that this defense can match up pretty well against Middle Tennessee State for sure um I mean 16 tackles for loss last week if I remember that correctly I mean that's that's insane uh even against an FCS team and I know there's been talk on social media about okay it was Ferman but still 25 years I think yeah and if if you're playing against air or something I mean some of these stats all Miss put up is still difficult to do um so I I do think that it is somewhat uh replicable this week um obviously I do think Middle Tennessee has a little bit better offense than Ferman did or brought to Oxford last week but uh I I'm a big believer in this def well yeah okay true um but I'm a big believer in this defense I really am I have been since really SEC media days and before I think uh I really liked what they had on paper if they can stay healthy I I really think this is going to be a special unit this year uh that's that's going to cause a lot of problems you know a couple of the players that kind of stood out to me against Ferman that I'm going to be paying attention to against MTSU Jaden Kennedy I'm I thought he played a really good game he was around the football I talked to Gary Smith who was a um beat rider for two lane and that's where um jayen Kennedy transferred from he was an all American Conference player as a true freshman he blew out his knee kind of like got hurt in the middle of the Season against Memphis and last season he was still recovering but Gary Smith said hey if this guy when he gets healthy he is going to be one of the better defensive players on your defensive unit and I was like okay you know you're just doing the Homer thing but he might be right yeah uh and and I I was really I was really impressed with the defensive front in general I think like look looking at it from like how often they were in on even if it wasn't a tackle for loss right how often some of those guys up front were in on plays that just happened really quickly uh and a lot of people in the Press Box last week were kind of on that same page that um you know this this front seven especially looks fast okay if that's if that's the proper word they they look like they're differen makers um they look they look like Alabama and Georgia Front sevens just to put it to put it bluntly yeah I mean uh so I mean it'll be interesting to see if that level of success continues I think it personally will um this week and you know we'll we'll see but uh I think that this defense has the pieces to continue to be pretty special as the year goes on yeah I I think so as well and we'll see exactly um how they how they handle that um some what are some other players like we know about Walter Nolan and we know about Prince Ley and Mom Ellen which he played a lot more against Ferman than um probably om Miss fans were expecting and you know my gut was and I should have stayed on this my gut was after spring if his sh shoulder was going to make him Miss significant game time which was the plan whenever whenever everybody said that was what they were reporting he would have had the surgery in the middle of spring because they showed last spring they didn't care about it all they care about the meeting times the fact that he waited to not miss a rep in Spring to have his surgery I should have known he was gonna be back yeah and and he he even sounded kind of confident about that right too I mean he in his first media availability I pretty sure it was in the fall um kind of the early portions of fall Camp uh he said he didn't anticipate missing any games and that was kind of different than what most of us thought at the time you know we we kind of thought he'd miss the first three or four weeks potentially um which I mean it wouldn't be a massive issue because of who's on Old Miss schedule but still um he was like no I don't think I'm going to miss any games and you know so far he he's right and uh you know he he looked he looked pretty good against Ferman and you know did did play more snaps than even I anticipated so what is the weather looking like in Oxford Mississippi for people traveling up to the ball game today well it's like you and I were talking about before we before we started this thing Man it is nice according to uh the electronic weather reports that I have on my phone uh I actually haven't stepped outside yet today I'll be doing that here shortly but um according to what I've seen it looks like a high in the 80s today uh low 80s and that's going to be around kickoff and uh sky looks good I mean it's going to be partly cloudy I think probably uh but that that may kind of dissipate and it's I think it's going to be pretty nice especially for an early September game in in Mississippi up next we break down our final thoughts on the Miss Showdown with Middle Tennessee um the blue Raiders did the rebels do enough to handle business today or are the key takeaways heading into next week is that going to be the more important thing from this game you know stay tuned for all the insights game time is is the place to get your Miss tickets you know with last minute killer deals all in prices views from receipts and their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guesswork out of buying om Miss tickets you know there's not a bad seat in vaal Hing way Stadium there's just not but game time allows you to check out the view from that seat whenever you buy tickets before you get them they have the lowest price guarantee event cancellation protection job loss protection all of the customer service bells and whistles that will give you what you want take the guest work out of buying Miss tickets with game time and with this being the most anticipated season in Miss football history I might be able to help you out with tickets as well download the game time app create an account at use code locked on college for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem code l cke d o n c o l EG for $20 off download game time today lowest prices last minute tickets guaranteed so John we have some final thoughts going in there now my prediction and you can tell me what the predictions kind of were on the lock on SI site you do predictions every week just like basically everybody everybody does but you can tell me yours mine I have 52 to7 I have almost covering this massive line almost is favored by 42 and a half points that is exactly the same number that they were favored against Ferman if anybody is keeping track and it is the largest line that I can remember almost being favored in against an FBS opponent yeah um we we're all kind of in that same vein of thought as well uh I think everybody had Old Miss covering this line except maybe one uh I'll have to go back and check for sure but we're all in the like 50 to 60 point range foras and anywhere between three and 10 points from Middle Tennessee I believe um yeah I think that pretty much everybody's on the same boat that this is going to be a pretty dominating game again for Old Miss um you know it may not look exactly the same as last week did uh but then again it could in a lot of ways uh I I I think scores early in often in this thing and um puts it away by halftime probably like it did last week I think the one thing that Miss fans should be necessarily concerned about now I do not think Middle Tennessee state is going to pose much of a threat right on the scoreboard I I think the end result I think the only question is whether or not miss covers and a 42 and a half point line with the new clock rules in college football if MTSU can script together an opening drive if they win the toss and put together a six-minute drive that results in a touchdown covering could be problematic but even at that point you're looking at probably 45 to7 I I mean it's not going to change that much but with the new clock rule and this being an absurdly high line that is com that is concerning yeah it is um I I always on lines like this I always struggle laying the points I think in my mind like I'm not really a gambler or whatever but like in in my mind I struggle to kind of lay those points because uh it is it is a lot and you know so miss could win this game convincingly and not cover right I mean that's that's just kind of how how the sets up but um my gut right now tells me they do cover actually I I think that I think they do cover that 42 and a half or whatever it's going to end up being by 3:15 today uh I think they cover that and you know I could be wrong I've been wrong a bunch of times before but if last week's offensive performance paired with the defensive performance taught me anything it's that uh I think this team can be pretty legit and I think they're they're going to they're going to try to repeat that this week yeah how about almost Miss um wearing powder red Gray in a game against Middle Tennessee well Stephen this is my heaven right uh my heaven on Earth um you had you had somebody on your show this week talk about middle Tennessee's uniforms correct yes they're they're they're going white helmets white jerseys blue pants yeah I I think that's going to be a really solid look uh against against one another in Oxford today uh in my opinion this is old Miss's Best Uniform combination you can go 1 a 1B with this or the Navy helmets with this jersey and pant combination um but I think this is Miss's best look that they're running out today uh and I'm I'm really excited to see it I I would kind of prefer to see it in an SEC game um since Vanderbilt's not on the schedule this was usually the combination kind of reserved for Vanderbilt sometimes in the last couple years which is weird right yeah yeah it is um of course om Miss has done the powder helmet Navy Jersey gray pants for the Chucky Mullins thing with with Vanderbilt too but um you know with Vanderbilt not on the schedule they have throw it in somewhere I think and I guess they opted to do it you know this this week but I I kind of would have liked to have seen it in an SEC game maybe um maybe we'll get lucky and they'll wear navy red gray uh at at LSU in in Baton Rouge but I'm I'm not holding my breath on that yeah um Mark Walsh asked the question is like what does it take for us to actually get the national media's radar attention I mean we won 76 to nothing and hardly any discussion another 76 to nothing beatdown I'm tired of hearing about Tennessee and Colorado one interesting question is Brett McMurry Murphy dropped oh miss pre-season had sixth wi 76 to nothing in in the most dominating fashion basically in the week and he dropped them from six to 10 that is the that is the type of bias that om Miss is dealing with when it comes to the National media they're so reactionary and if they warrant anything any narrative that's out there they're going to play that yeah and I do think a lot of um things in in different pockets of the national media are very uh narrative driven I will say that um part of part of the reason that maybe Miss isn't getting as much steam this week as because it was against an FCS team I can't really say one way or the other on that um but I do I do think that as a whole uh the voters in the AP poll outside of a couple you know noticeable outliers are still kind of buying the rebels right now I did think it was interesting that Notre Dame leap frogged Miss in the AP poll because I think Miss is better than Notre Dame oh but honestly that was the most predictable thing that could have happened this weekend Notre Dame winning and going into the top five whether or not they deserve it or not that oh yeah the AP poll they love Notre Dame and that's been the that case for a hundred years yeah and and I didn't get to see any of that game between Notre Dame and A&M really because I was in the postgame press conference and everything and in the Press Box and stuff but um the way it kind of played out I think Old Miss is better than Notre Dame uh you know we'll just have to see but from from what you know Notre Dame could have kind of a uh almost a golden road path to the playoff now a little bit because they they got through college station so uh you know we'll have to see kind of how that how that goes but I do think Miss is the more talented team when it when it comes down to it so um but yeah I I think I I do think that the the national landscape as a whole the majority is bought into to ol miss being pretty good um but there will be some noticeable outliers as things go go ahead it's yeah it's just the people that want to be the smartest person in the room you can always tell there's always five to 10 of them that want to be contrarian and the smartest person in the room and because of that almost Miss BEC comes an easy target I mean that you can like I said you can set your watch by it yeah and it it does play out like that a lot I mean it really does and um the the Colorado narrative to me I don't want to get on a Colorado soap box here but I am kind of exhausted with that uh I think my my Twitter or x uh posts over the last couple weeks have kind of indicated that I'm kind of exhausted by that uh it's it's gotten old listen if you want a real concern about the Colorado narrative I think there's a real chance outside the definite best player in college football ends up is Jackson Dart he has 4,500 yards passing 50 touchdowns just unbelievable numbers and Travis Hunter wins the Heisman we could have a Charles Woodson situation yeah it's possible because uh and and don't get me wrong I think Travis Hunter I even think player yeah I think they're good players but um I've actually thought shider Sanders was a pretty good quarterback even during his State days but anyway um you know I again I I don't I don't buy it right now the team as a whole is just not good in my opinion uh and I'm kind of tired of pretending like they are we kind of all are thank you for making lock on miss your go-to source for Miss Sports we pride ourselves on offering the most comprehensive perspectives out there which is why we're the number one miss podcast we support your your support means the world to us thank you for making us your first listen now go check 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