Missouri arrives in Oxford on Saturday with the best run defense Ole Miss will see this season: 78.3 rushing yards allowed per game, 2.4 yards per carry, 17.7 points per game. Ole Miss averages 38.8 points and throws for 300.6 yards a game, 15th nationally. The Rebels have outscored opponents 109-33 before halftime and are 4-0 when leading at the break. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Locked On Ole Miss host Steven Willis argued that Missouri’s run defense is why Ole Miss wins this game, not why it struggles: the offense does not need the run to open the pass. Willis said the Rebels should throw first and let the run arrive later, once Missouri’s downhill linebackers have spent three quarters chasing.
Opponents have run on Missouri 193 times for 470 yards and thrown it 203. Trinidad Chambliss averages 287 passing yards and has thrown a touchdown pass in 18 straight games, one short of Matt Corral. Vanderbilt was the proof: Ole Miss came out throwing, built the lead, then ran for 196 yards. Deuce Alexander, averaging 106 receiving yards a game, broke a 39-yard touchdown through the middle of that defense.
Willis volunteered one caution. Ole Miss has been outscored 59-29 in third quarters this season, Vanderbilt included, so the lead has to survive halftime. He gave Pete Golding’s defense one job: win first and second down and refuse third-and-two. Missouri runs for 181 yards a game, and Florida ran for 302 against this defense.
Willis predicted Ole Miss 38, Missouri 31, a fourth-quarter game ending with the ball in Chambliss’ hands. Blake Purchase, with team highs of 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, is asked to take it away. Ole Miss is 1-7 all time against Missouri but has won 14 straight in Oxford.
Photo: Deuce Alexander, October 10, 2026, at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images.
Adapted from the October 16, 2026 episode of Locked On Ole Miss, hosted by Steven Willis, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Watch the full episode.