Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt by 35 points, scoring 14 in the first quarter and 28 in the second before taking the third off entirely. It led 42-3 at the half. Missouri arrives in Oxford at 5-1, its only loss at Mississippi State, averaging roughly 182 rushing yards a game. Eli Drinkwitz used Tuesday to argue that the edge belongs to his side.
Locked On Ole Miss host Steven Willis called it the most dangerous thing anyone in Missouri said all week, not because the familiarity is imaginary. Willis argued that what Missouri actually holds is a former player’s memory of a base defense, and that Pete Golding is the one man who knows precisely what that memory leaves out.
Asked whether Golding’s history with two of his skill players changed the preparation, Drinkwitz flipped the question. “I think I’d be more concerned with what we know about them,” he said, noting Missouri does not run what those players ran and that a former Rebel defensive back on his roster, recruited and coached by Golding, can tell Missouri what the base defense is.
Golding’s own framing on Monday was making the same things look different and different things look the same. Drinkwitz, in his seventh season at Missouri and 51-30 there, conceded plenty, calling Golding’s work very impressive and an elite quarterback, receiver and back a difficult challenge. Missouri, he said, needs its most complete game “to even be in the game.”
Willis expects Missouri to shorten the game on the ground and turn it into the possession fight Ole Miss lost in Gainesville, which puts the week on first and second down. Drinkwitz all but confirmed it, saying his team cannot sit in a bunker for three quarters. Willis picked Ole Miss, on the condition it plays clean.
Photo: Kam Franklin, October 10, 2026, at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images.
Adapted from the October 14, 2026 episode of Locked On Ole Miss, hosted by Steven Willis, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Watch the full episode.