LSU arrives in Oxford on Saturday carrying a defensive reputation built almost entirely on one night against Clemson, and the weeks since have complicated it. Clemson reached the end zone once the next week, a 22-7 win decided by field goals, which makes the offense LSU shut down harder to measure. Ole Miss has questions of its own, most of them in a secondary that spent the first half against Charlotte out of position.
Locked On Ole Miss host Steven Willis framed the week as a question of evidence, not insult. Willis said LSU does not have a bad defense — only that nobody has any real idea how good it is, because the schedule has not produced a game that would answer it.
The episode’s guest, a former Ole Miss player, pushed that uncertainty back across the field. Ole Miss does not know how good its own defense is either, he argued, but it has already seen its soft spots — a secondary still gelling after heavy roster turnover, with players unsure whether a throw belongs to the safety or the corner. Knowing where the problems are beats not knowing.
He expects Lane Kiffin to attack the perimeter with screens, motion and misdirection, forcing safeties and corners to commit early and chase what is not there. He said Ole Miss cannot live on the short stuff: establishing Kewan Lacy on the ground is what pulls a defense forward, and the game turns on whether Ole Miss then hits Deuce Alexander over the top.
His prediction was 42-27 Ole Miss, with the caveat that he does not expect a close game either way. If it is close, he gave the edge to the Rebels — not for the crowd, but because he believes Kiffin does not handle pressure well.
Photo: Deuce Alexander, September 12, 2026, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images.
Adapted from the September 16, 2026 episode of Locked On Ole Miss, hosted by Steven Willis, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Watch the full episode.