Embracing Expectations: Ole Miss Football's Preseason Hype and Schedule Breakdown

right side 10 to the five [Music] TCH going into the hoop P it up P it [Music] in a fantastic [Music] play once again welcome into Magnolia Fields episode five Brad I've been corrected this this is the hotti Edition we had done episode one and I referred to it as episode one but it was episode one of the hotti edition only and quite honestly we've got Tanner and Cody doing a great job doing high school and and the Mississippi State Edition and so this is episode five of molia fields already and you know we're giddy about the preseason the rankings everything's coming out um Brad Logan Frank dods with you I want to say the stage a little bit brand I want to set the stage and I want you react oh is coaches poll top six ranking it's it marks the highest Elaine kein team has been ranked in the preseason since 2012 mhm what happened in 2012 L kein didn't make it through that season right um Lan has actually never coached a team if you want more bad news that started preseason top 15 and ended ended the top 15 however last year last year was the second time he's taken a team preseason top 25 and finished in the top 25 so there's some momentum there there's some culture what are you seeing Brad around the program you're there you get to ask them questions you get to meet with the players what are you seeing from them coming into the 2024 season a a very confident team and and it's not so much a quiet confidence is it is a team that's embracing its expectations we heard from Keith Carter the athletic director who we appreciate being part of a program um you know the last program we had and uh he he also embraced those expectations uh you talk about Lane keen's coaching prow when he was a head coach I will tell you this Frank he's a different coach than he was in 2012 from what I've seen and he's a different coach from what he what I saw last year uh after the passing of his father he seemed to be a more confident coach but I think it's more of a quiet confidence and so I'm excited to see what he does as head coach this year I will say this uh right back in 2012 that did did not end as well but he was very young I I agree with you he is a different coach he's a different person he's a different man yeah a lot of water has has trance uh has gone under the bridge since then because you look at what he's done as an assistant coach Frank he's won a couple national championships at Alabama he he's learned a lot he took Florida Atlantic into New Heights a couple of confence USA championships and oh by the way uh the games that miss is supposed to win they win you look at a couple of years ago you know Frank the only two games that Miss has lost when it wasn't a favorite was to Arkansas on the road in 2022 and on at home against Mississippi State the remainder of the games while Lane kein has been a head coach they've won as a favorite also their home record is has been incredible so I think this year is setting up to be a very special one we'll get into some of the some of the the pros and cons of this season but to answer your question I see a somewhat invigorated Lane kein one in which I think he's ready for this stretch run and one in which I think he's ready to cement his head coaching Legacy on this 24 season yeah and and like you said um the players are embracing this you talked about that a little bit on the previous episode but talk a little bit about the reaction you're getting from the players yeah I had a chance to visit uh exclusively with Jackson Dart the the quarterback this on a lot of Heisman Trophy preseason panels and is one that you know Frank he wasn't recognized by the Southeastern Conference as being one of the top quarterbacks in the conference and I asked him about that that should that should light the fire underneath well I mean I asked him is that bulletin more material is that something you wear on his shoulder and he kind of gave a political answer but I have no doubt that that he's going to wear that on his shoulder when he when he plays these teams that we'll talk about in the Southeastern Conference but players like kayen prior kayen prorn is a father uh he's a husband he his draft stock was very high after that 23 season he along with Trey Harris Jordan Watkins JJ Pages Jackson Dart the list goes on they all came back they all came back for one reason and they're not shying away as a grp as a group they came back as a group Jordan Watkins told me personally that they came back after talking to win a National Championship Keith Carter talked on the last program they came back and and he's excited the fans are excited about a chance to win a National Championship they're not shying away from that they're they're facing these expectations head on and so this is not a season like 2009 in which omz opened up on the cover of Sports Illustrated with jebin sne and then a couple of weeks ago to South Carolina on a Thursday night in Layon EG this is not that type of team that team did not embrace those expectations they f um they they did not you know do what they needed to do they would eventually lose to Mississippi State and they would go lose in the cotton ball so uh this is a different team and this is a different link kein and this is why I think that om Miss will be so successful this year in football 24 season you want some good news before we this is our schedule Edition we're going to talk break down the schedule not going to break it down as much as we will during the season so during the season as we have a group of four games in front of us we'll break down those four games we're going to give a broad overview of the schedule that's kind of what's on our rundown for for the day is just a broad overview to talk about some other uh teams that they're going to face along the way talk about some other games that will have an impact because what we're all looking for is the college football playoffs and so some of these other games will have an impact even if they don't include the rebels in that game who's going to win Tennessee Alabama things like that could have an impact you know what's Tennessee's record going to be Miss doesn't get to play them what's Miss's record going to be what's who's the dark horses because I just named I think Tennessee is probably a dark horse but we're going to get to all that scheduled stuff but you want some good news ens plays nine power Conference teams this season MH Wake Forest out of conference right um at Wake Forest five of those nine did not go to a bowl game last year so they're not they don't have this culture and that's why I was talking about culture is they don't necessarily have this winning culture W Forest had been to seven straight but they didn't go last year just the wheels fell off and so they've got probably a leg up on some of these other ones but yeah the culture isn't in there so five of the nine did not go to a bowl game of the four that went to a bowl game last year if if if we still believe anything about bowl games last year which sometimes you do you know I believe nus Meer is a pretty good quarterback at LSU after watching him in the bowl game last year against Wisconsin of course he's replacing a Heisman Trophy winner at LSU but I still think he's pretty good some bowl games you can look into him the bow game in Florida State played you you can't take anything away from that bowl game so I still kind of like the bowl games as a barometer a building point for you to go in of the four that went to bowl game three of them come to Oxford the only one that does not come to Oxford to me is the key the key to the whole season for Old Miss and that's Saturday night in Baton Rouge game number seven it's it's it's LSU and that's the game I think everybody is kind of look into I mean we talked about Georgia but Georgia's not a game you have to win Frank I mean if you've already beaten LSU you do not and Oklahoma if you've taken care of your business that point you don't you got to play better than 5217 yeah you can't come out of there thinking we can't win this thing which you talked about a little bit on episode number one the coaches the players to be able to compete kind of like the feeling they got last year you've got to have a better show in the 5217 but you're right you don't have to win that game I think chalk would be oh miss is an underdog to Georgia at home I think the right now some of the betting Services have that game is anywhere from a five to seven point Underdog or Georgia favorite and the other game will be LSU now here's the interesting part of LSU I think right now miss would be anywhere from a one to a three-point Underdog in Death Valley but LSU opens the season against USC USC I think it's in Las Vegas yes so on a Sunday and and we're all going to be tuned into that because we're we love college football but mainly oh miss f are going to be tuned into that because that's a big game LSU drops that one then all of a sudden nobody's talking about this game either LSU has to go to South Carolina yeah that's not going to be easy if they've already fallen to USC they're not rolling out the red carpet for Brian Kelly right now nuts me is not a quarterback that I've seen that can just throw it all over the field if it weren't for Jaden Daniels o Miss wins that game handedly last year he was incredible with Malik neighbors even with Neighbors in that that receiving core LSU was pedestrian in a lot of positions with the exception of Jane Daniels who was incredible a quarterback can they play defense I think every Rebel TV is going to be tuned in to the to the Sunday afternoon game opening weekend Labor Day weekend to see if they can play defense they got fabulous probably one of the best defensive players but I don't know if they know how to if they're using him correctly right and and they've got a new defensive coaching staff yeah and Brian Kelly is a culture guy we're talking about laye keen's culture Brian Kelly is a culture guy listen to this third year at Central Michigan nine wins only the second time since 1980 the central Michigan had had nine wins third year at Cincinnati orange Bol third year at Notre Dame BCS National Championship game he has this history he has a pedigree pedigree of in and particularly in year three year three of each one of these schools he achieved lofty things that had not been achieved at those schools recently it will be interesting to me you know we could talk all day about the history of Saturday night in Death Valley and you talk about Dan Bourne who's the PA announcer who I've been able to meet uh and he really cool to meet him when he says as a sun sets over the Western sky it's Saturday night in death and it gives me chills just thinking about it and I'll be able to see that in person and hear that and that's just a life moment for all of you if you're watching you get a chance to go to LSU if you never been you got to go um but let's talk about football for a moment and you know we could go all day about Old Miss record at night in Death Valley and it's not great uh so many games in Death Valley That Old Miss has played in they've come out on the losing end but here's the kicker Frank with jevin sne was a quarterback back in 2008 om Miss just wiped the field with LSU back in 1997 om Miss had a better team than LSU and they won the game so I go back to roster roster management we've seen what Brian Kelly has done I don't know how well he's done from a roster standpoint versus what om Miss has done specifically in the portal and we could talk about Miss's defense all day and it is laced with portal talent and they've been able to go and get some of the best players in the country thanks to the Grove Collective and the prowess of the recruit recruiting of Pete Golding the defensive coordinator and head coach Lane kein you talk about players Like Walter Nolan princy U nean the transfer out of Florida Chris Po Hall the leading tackler from Arkansas Chris Graves the trans I could go on and on Trey Amos the transfer out of Alabama Brandon Turnage who is actually a walk-on but signed with Alabama out of high school transferred to Tennessee and wanted to come back home and play for Old Miss played at LEF Fett County in nearby Oxford so he is a player and he's one of many that I think it goes back to the fact of who's got the best roster and I'm quoting Nick Sabin when I say people say I'm a great coach but I've won all the games I've won because we've had really good football players and I go back to if Omas has a a good or a better roster than LSU I get the theatrics I get the earthquake game in 1988 against Auburn when Eddie Fuller caught the pass and and the earthquake went off in Tiger stadium I understand all The Comebacks that they've had against Alabama and Florida but if Miss has a better roster than LSU I'm taking Miss down in Baton Rouge and that's just one of the themes as we're going to start breaking it down like I said this is episode five and we're going to be able to spend some time on the schedule during this episode the other big overarching theme to me about this particular season 2024 and particularly as it as it applies to Old Miss the college football B playoff mhm I can paint you a scenario where there's perhaps an 80 SEC team mhm in conference in conference 80 yeah 12 and0 yeah but in conference 80 and five count them five seven and one in conference so my question to you real quick before we go to the next layer here how many SEC teams Frank make the college football playoff in your scenario I I don't know I I don't think they'll take six of the 12 spots I think it's four because the Big 10 is a huge player in the college football playoff and I think I think the Big 10 in the SEC will get the same amount of teams in I truly believe that it it's it's that to me is going to be the theme the thing that we're all watching we're all anticipating yes we'll watch LSU we'll know whether they can play defense pretty quickly in the season but the thing that we're all watching after that is other games and who's going to finish the highest in the SEC and I'm not saying om Miss has to be in the championship game I'm not even sure that's an advantage anymore I'm not sure I would want to go to a championship game as long as I was close enough to be in the top 12 the interesting part about this Frank is there is a path for Old Miss to win the national championship and never step foot in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game it would have to set foot in Atlanta to win a National Championship cuz that's where the the championship game is being held but the funny part about that is is z Miss could go undefeated uh not undefeated but they they would have lost the game somewhere along the way to not make it say they lose to they lose to Georgia right then they wouldn't make it but an interesting question we asked Keith uh in the previous episode what does it look like if o Miss uh doesn't make the SEC Championship Game how will it fall in the pecking order and he essentially said he he wasn't really sure I don't think they've said I didn't want to be that pointed to to Our Guest who was kind enough to come in for for the earlier episode of the hotti totty Edition but I don't think they know I think it's going to I think it's going to have to do with the college football playoff rankings I think you made the most valid point is is it's easier if you start off high and stay there all season long yeah if you stay and they're going to start off high if you're old Miss and you're a fan and you're worried about that don't worry about it you're going to start off and and Frank we'll look at the schedule in a moment uh I think the way it opens and I asked Jackson Dart this uh last Wednesday for Old Miss media day I asked him about the schedule and he even admitted that the schedule sets up good for RO MIT which means it's conducive to win and I and I really like how it opens to give this team a chance for the transfers that have come in both offense and defensively to Jael together in the opening games of the Season advantage or disadvantage When Miss does go to Baton Rouge on that Saturday night they will have played six straight games this will be their seventh game they have the latest buy of anyone in the SEC it's after the LSU game LSU will be coming off of a buy yeah normally I think that would be problematic but for this old M team Frank um it is so deep on offense and defense in regards to a depth chart they've got a full third team offensive line they've got a full third team wide receiving core they're so deep I don't think it matters with that with that thought we're going to take a quick break and uh step outside the we got to pay the bills step outside of the Richard Schwarz and Associates Studio we'll be back with episode five Magnolia Fields the hotti totty Edition right after this welcome to the Richard Schwarz and Associates Magnolia field Studios one call that's all welcome back in the Richard Schwarz an associat Studio Brad Logan Frank dods With You episode five of Magnolia Fields we're just barely getting warmed up we've been talking about the OM Miss schedule let's talk about the first four games um three out of the four are at home at Wake Forest is the only one on the road a power five opponent but not one you expect much of a game out of I'm excited about the first couple of games and one thing that I'm excited about seeing is as we talked about before the break all of the transfers specifically on on defense but but really all of them on offense and defense being able to have these first four games to be able to kind of jail together and and with Furman Middle Tennessee we talked about wake farts on the road then you come home against Georgia Southern before you get ready for the SEC season against Kentucky you also got a road game in there and I think that's good too to kind of work out some cobwebs on the road you know Dave Clawson who was the OC at Tennessee did a great job there the head coach at Wake Forest they lost a lot I don't know that they're going to prove to be a big Power I think the last thing I saw was a 21-point uh Old Miss favorite on the road so um once again an opportunity to to yet again get wins and I think that's what you want to do Erie and an opportunity to see a decent quarterback they Wake Forest has brought in Hank BM yes who stone for over 8,600 yards in couple years at Boise State yeah a year at latch so he can throw the ball around and that'll give a an opportunity to see like you said go on the road gel as a team and see some good competition I think so and and you know th this is kind of akin to last year when Old Miss went on the road and and faced a two-lane team in which offensively Old Miss just did not play well and tane provided to be a a formidable foe now om Miss would eventually stretch the lead in the second half and win that game but Frank I look at this schedule it and I kind of reference it towards the NCAA basketball tournament what I mean by that is is you've got 12 games on the schedule depending on what happens with the SEC Championship game and any type of playoff games and bowl games and this is a surviv and Advance situation because you look at a wake force and if anyone says that oh miss you better be careful with Wake Forest you better be careful with South Carolina Kentucky Arkansas here's the thing Frank if you don't win those games season doesn't really matter so you have to go in with the mindset is there are no off weeks you survive in advance you go week to week and I think that's the mindset of this team Lane kein even said uh the last media opportunity we we were able to have with him it's 100 100% a pro mindset and and what he means by that is it's week to week each individual opponent provides different challenges that you face and with that Pro mindset the ultimate goal is to win a National Championship and that's exactly what we've seen from this team in the offseason yeah no doubt the next three games for for real now they start really counting you know you can't lose any of those four that would count against you for sure but the next three weeks Kentucky at South Carolina at La you and we've seen Old Miss face a Kentucky team a couple of years ago and a sold out they striped out the Vault it was a huge crowd 11 a.m. and you know that that 11 1100 a.m. slot has been kind of kind of formulated by the Big 10 off of fox by being the number one game out of Fox's noon college football show you know back in the day the 11:00 a.m. game was the Jefferson pilot game on Raycom and it was the game that everyone kind of laughed at now it's one of the pre-eminent games in college football so uh that 11:00 a.m. game is going to be one in which it's going to be 11:00 a.m. again this year with Kentucky coming in and you know we saw Mark Stoops kind of get some some play during the offseason really two years ago about some different job openings and uh he's been in Kentucky this entire time I don't know how good kuy is going to be this year Frank they lost a lot from last year but we'll see how good they are but it'll be a nice test for OMS but yeah that on the road at South Carolina I've been pretty aant about that it's going to be anywhere from a 5:00 to an 8:00 e tip and that's a hard place to play at night you know even when Lou Holtz uh before Lou Holtz got there they were 0 and 11 and even when they were over 11 they played Clemson uh and they ended up losing but they sold out the stadium they sold out uh season tickets even when they didn't win a game so South Carolina and Williams Bry stadium is going to be a a a wild environment om Miss is going to be the team now that's going to have a a a a bullseye on its back in in South Carolina and you know Shane Beamer is a coach that that he's got a lot to approve this year Frank last year five and seven that's not going to get it in Colombia you know that's a couple of Seasons I think he's on the hot seat I do too I think he along with Billy Napier are two coaches and then Sam Pitman at Arkansas those are three teams that om Miss is facing and coaches kind of have their backs against the wall yeah so yeah this three- game stretch and we've already talked about LSU uh I think if if H Miss gets out of that if they come out of that undefeated you know they've done their job and we're going to break down these games let's talk to the schedules we will be back in in the studio before some of these games are played we will have only missed the one the Ferman game so we'll be able to break these down a little bit further talk a little bit about kuy's new OC talk about their new quarterback Brock Vandergriff from Georgia and you know we'll talk more specifically about South Carolina and some of the things they they won't have a Spencer Rattler anymore and so we'll we'll get back into that the at LSU game we've already talked about it's going to be a big one we will get to highlight that in a later episode of Mag Magnolia Fields then an off week that finally and then you got Oklahoma at Arkansas Georgia could that be Mayhem could that be Madness it could be but but you know the two biggest games of the then we could argue LSU but I think the two biggest games are AR Oklahoma and Georgia I mean I've said all along I think Omen beats Georgia at home I I think om Miss Roster wise is as good as Georgia uh I think the problematic games for Old Miss are going to be Oklahoma at home simply because I really like their roster I like what uh you know they're bringing to the SCC and I think that's going to be a tough game and his sandwiched and I think you know depending on what om Miss does at LSU they're coming home to face Oklahoma so I've said all along I think the rebels beat Georgia finish 11 and one and probably dropped one to either LSU or Oklahoma so but out of that stretch I think gold Miss if they can somehow go two and one between Oklahoma Georgia and Arkansas they should be okay but look anytime om Miss goes to Arkansas Frank it is not that's particularly gone well and it's it's that that's going to be a I've been there I've done that 11 with Tommy tuille it's going to be an 11:00 a.m. game who knows where Sam bitman and the Hogs will be at that point during the season who knows if Sam Pitman will even be the coach at that point will they have elevated Bobby patrino who's the offensive coordinator who served as a head coach a couple of years ago stay off those motorcycles um and we'll see where Arkansas is that point in the season yeah and then they wrap up the season just stay strong I'm with you at Florida Mississippi State and the Egg Bowl the I'm not sure Billy Napier will be there I just think his seat is that hot and Florida's schedule is that hard Miami Texas A&M at Mississippi State at Tennessee Georgia at Texas LSU before om Miss gets there I don't think there's going to be much of a Florida team left and that Florida game once again is at 11:00 and and we were told that that om Miss and its Administration since it decided that you know the SEC ESPN wanted to move the Egg Bowl to Saturday om Miss did not want the game on a Thursday so they pretty much came together and they moved it to Friday so historically Friday's always been Arkansas LSU and then the SEC tried to create an Arkansas Missouri or LSU Missouri rivalry it just just hasn't worked well so om Miss in Mississippi State now will get a nice 2:30 slide on Friday on ABC so who knows where Mississippi state will be at that point but back to that Florida game you know om Miss has went to Gainesville and played well uh historically you you think back to that 2008 game in which Houston nut took jbin Sneed and that team prior had lost to Vanderbilt the week before goes in with a record of two and three and Shay hjge goes off that game jvin sne Greg Hardy has seen on the cover of Sports Illustrated uh so it was a big win oh miss has has shown that it can go there Florida would end up winning the National Championship that year so miss is proven it can go to Florida and win but I say this you know Miss if it's where it needs to be om Miss is going to have that 11:00 a.m. slot and I was told that Miss had an opportunity to pick any road game they wanted for a time and they picked that Florida game and they wanted 11 11 o' so um get gets some home a little bit earlier there some and you know Florida is not an easy place to play and that's a place to where at night it can get kind of Rowdy so they wanted that game at 11:00 and of course you come home and play yet another um you know Day game I guess you could say the only chance om Miss has a chance to playing a night SEC game Frank Baton Rouge well at home at home not Georgia and it may not be a night game it's in that window of yeah 2:30 to to to 8:00 so uh they may not able may not able to play but one two night games and that would be Georgia Southern and um Ferman the Middle Tennessee game kicks off at 350 so uh interesting there we're going to take another quick break we'll be back on molia fields episode number five right after this [Music] if you've been hurting a car wreck you know who to call call me remember one call that's all welcome back to the Magnolia field Studios brought to you by Richard Schwarz and Associates one call that's all welcome back into the Richard Schwarz and Associates Studio here for mnog Fields episode number five as we wrap this one up one of the things we want to talk about all year long and we've already teased it once is U other games the footprint that could impact the final cfpp playoff standings and could impact the the rebels I named it Franco fabulous 15 we're going to only cover the first two because they will be played before we get back in here for our next episode and that is Texas A&M at Notre Dame on Saturday August 31st that's a big one it's a big one because you know Mike yo the new coach at Texas ADM we're going to be able to see what he can do on a big stage and you know A&M is what they have because of their schedule they're one of those that could go 7- one maybe 6-2 in the SEC they do finish with Texas but that's such a rivalry game I don't know who wins that it's at A&M I think it is and I I like Texas A&M's chances against the Longhorns this year at home and and and what would what Mike Elco can do is I really like his roster but I don't know if it's ready for the big time yet he hasn't had a chance to get in and get his kind of players but A&M has proven they've got the money and they've got the money to back their coach and we'll see what happens this year against under Dame no doubt LSU and USC neutral sight game Vegas on the opening weekend Sunday September 1st huge game from o Miss standpoint because we've talked about earlier LSU has to go to South Carolina after this game if they lose to uh USC which very easily they could do I'm not sold on nus Meer quarterback we'll see what they have at running back and at wide receiver they lost a lot we'll see where the tigers are but uh huge game for for om Miss in the footprint and that's these are games that we will talk about a little bit closer to them and I'll tell you LSU thinks they've got some wide receivers that are young unproven but maybe better than the ones they lost because you mentioned them losing wide receivers you're dead on but they think they got some young studs coming up but we'll talk about all that on future episodes of Mag no your fields we sure do appreciate Max sou Sports Network for letting us in here Richard Schwarz and Associates for sponsoring this fabulous studio for Brad Logan I'm Frank dods until next time on Magnolia fields [Music]