Good morning, Everydayers.
Two days. Everybody in this sport has spent the week telling you the same thing about the coaching matchup — that Pete Golding knows what Lane Kiffin wants to run, that Kiffin knows what Golding wants to call, six years in the same building, so it cancels out.
It does not cancel out. And the reason has nothing to do with signals.
☕ Morning Coffee
Lane Kiffin is an emotional coach. That is not a shot at him — it is a scouting report, and it has been true his entire career. When a front is giving his offense problems on a Saturday, when a look is bothering him, he says so. Out loud. Over the headset. In real time.
For six years, Pete Golding was on the other end of that headset.
Now turn it around. Was Golding, the defensive coordinator, getting on the headset and telling his head coach exactly what was frustrating him? Of course not. That is not how a coordinator talks to the man who hired him.
So one of these men spent six years broadcasting what he hates to play against. The other one spent six years keeping it to himself.
Both staffs are changing their signals this week. Everybody has said so. But different calls do not close an information gap that only ever ran in one direction. The players on that field still know what the check is going to be, no matter what anybody calls it.
It is still a coin-flip game. It still comes down to about four plays that nobody can name in advance. But if you are looking for the thumb on the scale, that is where it is.
🎙️ The Legend Speaks
Bill Flowers joined the show Wednesday, and he gave us the cleanest version of the argument anybody has made this week.
“If it’s close, the advantage goes to Ole Miss — because Kiffin has repeatedly shown that he does not like and does not do well under pressure.”
Bill Flowers
He does not think it will be close, for the record. His read is that this game gets away from somebody — that Ole Miss either wins it by more than you expect or loses it in a way that gets ugly, and that there is no version where this ends 24-21.
But on the branch nobody plans for, the one where it is tied with eight minutes left, he plants his flag on the home sideline. And he made one other point worth carrying into Saturday: Ole Miss has already been punched in the mouth this season. LSU has not.
“I think we know our defense’s weaknesses a lot more than we know LSU’s weaknesses.”
🏈 The Numbers
| Kickoff | Saturday, 6:30 PM CT · ABC · Vaught-Hemingway |
| SEC rank, yards allowed | LSU 1st · Ole Miss last |
| How LSU got there | 51-10 over Clemson · 45-14 over Louisiana Tech |
| Sam Leavitt’s touchdowns | 2 passing · 5 rushing |
| Last meeting | Ole Miss 24, LSU 19 |
| Last top-10 meeting | 1962 — No. 6 Ole Miss 15, No. 4 LSU 7 |
| Records | Both 2-0 |
| Rankings | Ole Miss No. 8 AP · LSU No. 7 AP |
Two of those lines are going to be all over your timeline Saturday morning, and both of them need a caveat.
The first is the ranking. LSU leads the SEC in fewest yards allowed. Ole Miss is dead last. The Ole Miss half of that is real — Louisville got twelve explosive plays for 340 yards, and Golding said out loud this week that the same mistakes from week one showed up again in week two. But LSU’s half was built against a Clemson team that then scored one touchdown against Georgia Southern, and a Louisiana Tech team that is not a measuring stick. Number one in the league, against two opponents who have not proven they can move the ball on anybody.
The second is their quarterback. Two touchdown passes, five rushing touchdowns. That is not a knock — Sam Leavitt was the top-ranked player in the transfer portal and SEC Offensive Player of the Week after the Clemson game, and anybody telling you he cannot throw is selling something. But it tells you exactly where the danger is, and it matches what Golding said his objective is: make him become a pocket passer.
🔮 The Picks
Four people who watch this sport for a living came through the show this week. Four different numbers.
| Who | Pick |
|---|---|
| Bill Flowers · Ole Miss letterman | Ole Miss 42-27 |
| Steven Willis · Locked On Ole Miss | Ole Miss 35-31 |
| Todd Wade · Ole Miss letterman | Ole Miss 34-31 |
| Chris Gordy · Locked On SEC | LSU 38-23 |
The only thing all four agree on is that somebody is scoring in the thirties.
🏆 In the Polls
| AP | Coaches | |
|---|---|---|
| Ole Miss | 8 | 9 |
| LSU | 7 | 7 |
| Louisville (already beaten) | 23 | — |
📻 On Locked On Ole Miss
It has been a full week. Wednesday’s Flagship made the case that every ounce of pressure in this game belongs to Lane Kiffin, broke down why LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green is the player who actually decides Saturday, and took apart the Oxford safety storyline.
Bill Flowers joined for the full conversation above — Death Valley in 2001, why LSU’s defensive number is thinner than it looks, and his 42-27.
Steven also went on WWL Radio in New Orleans with Deuce McAllister to give the Rebels’ side to an LSU audience — that is where the headset argument at the top of this newsletter came from.
And today’s show is the crossover with Chris Gordy of Locked On SEC, who came on and picked against us. It is worth your time specifically because he is the one voice this week arguing the other side with a number attached.
▶ Watch today’s Flagship — the Chris Gordy crossover →
🔗 Five Clicks
Football vs. LSU: Practice Report
Golding on the secondary, on Connor Howes continuing to grow, and the line that matters most: the same mistakes from week one showed up again in week two. (Ole Miss Athletics)
What fans need to know before heading to Oxford
If you are driving up Saturday, read this before you load the car. Written for the visiting fan, which makes it useful for everybody. (KSLA)
The winner will be the more focused team, says Golding
An LSU-side outlet covering our head coach all week. Worth reading how they are framing him. (Tiger Rag)
Ole Miss and LSU will deliver cinema — but look at next week
The national read, and the one argument nobody in Oxford wants to hear right now: the week after this one might matter more for both teams. (OutKick)
Mounted officers are being brought in for the weekend
A small logistics story that tells you the scale of what Oxford is expecting Saturday. (FOX 10)
💬 Join the Everydayers
The LOOM Private Discord is free, and Saturday night in there is going to be the best seat in the house that does not require a ticket. Game threads, film talk, and first looks at everything we build. Two days out is the week to be in there.
Hotty Toddy.
— Steven