Good morning, Everydayers. It’s Wednesday of Georgia week, and the committee has spoken: Ole Miss is No. 10 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, and Georgia is No. 2. Today’s LOOM Flagship is about the one thing that decides Saturday night, stopping the run. Plus John Fourcade on what he saw against Auburn, and two basketball wins built on defense.
🏈 Legend Speaks: John Fourcade
Ole Miss great John Fourcade was in the stadium for the 45-15 win over Auburn, and he joined Locked On Ole Miss on Tuesday to say what he saw. His favorite part was the patience: “What’s wrong with a long drive, sustain the time, and take up the yardage and score some points?” Ole Miss went 13 of 16 on third down.
On Georgia, he didn’t hedge: “We got, I think, the better quarterback and the better wide receivers.” He gave Georgia “a little bit of nudge on the defensive side” and said the key is keeping Gunner Stockton in the pocket and making him throw. His read on the stakes: “This starts our playoff run. We have to win.”
His pick for Saturday, and his alone: “I like the Rebels in this game.”
What we couldn’t confirm: Fourcade’s comments on individual players’ durability and on Georgia’s quarterback turning the ball over are his opinion, not reporting, so they’re not in this newsletter.
Read more from the Fourcade conversation on the Hub.
☕ Morning Coffee
“Stop the run. Win first down. Make Georgia punt.”
That’s how Steven closed today’s LOOM Flagship. Georgia wins by death by a thousand cuts: four yards, five yards, another third-and-two. Ole Miss wins by making every one of those drives feel like work. Three things from today’s show:
- The No. 1 key is stopping the run. Georgia doesn’t need a 60-yard bomb. It needs second-and-four and third-and-two, over and over, until your defense has been on the field for twelve plays. Pete Golding said it plainly: “If you can’t stop the run versus those guys, it’s a long night.” He called Gunner Stockton “an elite game manager” and said Georgia is “going to eat up that time of possession.” The answer is first down. If Georgia gets one yard instead of four, it’s second-and-nine, then third-and-seven, and Stockton has to throw into a pass rush that just had four sacks. Auburn ran 27 times for 63 yards on Saturday. That’s the version Ole Miss needs again.
- Count the punts. Will Echoles made a name for himself in the Sugar Bowl, and he remembers both Georgia games. Of Athens: “The first game we didn’t stop them.” Of New Orleans: “Second game, we got them to punt. So that was a sigh of relief.” His job description for Saturday is “getting them into obvious passing downs, making them punt the ball, and honestly just keeping them off the field.” Tah’j Butler, who had seven tackles against Auburn, put it shorter: “We just gotta come in and just try to out-physical them.” If Georgia is punting Saturday night, Ole Miss is winning the game it wants to play.
- Ole Miss basketball won its openers with defense. Chris Beard’s first game ended 99-58 over Alcorn State, and the number that matters is 26: forced turnovers. “Defense is not just guarding them until they shoot and hoping they miss,” Beard said. “It’s trying to get the ball before they shoot.” Budd Clark had 17 points and seven assists. Coach Yo’s team opened 80-38, with Doneelah Washington blocking seven shots. Both teams made the other offense miserable, which is exactly what Pete Golding needs on Saturday.
🏆 The First Playoff Rankings
| Team | CFP |
|---|---|
| Miami | No. 1 |
| Georgia | No. 2 |
| Utah | No. 3 |
| Indiana | No. 4 |
| Alabama | No. 5 |
| Ole Miss | No. 10 |
Ole Miss is in. In the projected field, the Rebels are the No. 10 seed and would play a first-round game at No. 7 seed Texas. That’s two spots from hosting. Ten SEC teams are in the top 25, and the highest-ranked team on Ole Miss’s schedule is the one coming to Oxford Saturday night. It’s host, not host, or miss it entirely, and beating No. 2 Georgia is how you move up.
Missed the reveal? Watch the replay of our watch-along with Tyler Komis of Ole Miss on SI.
📰 New On The Hub
Ole Miss Won By Grinding Instead Of Throwing, And Georgia Is Why That Matters. John Fourcade on why patience, not the explosive passing game, should worry Georgia.
Ole Miss Has Stopped The Run For Eleven Of Its Last Twelve Quarters, And Georgia Runs Downhill. The season average doesn’t describe this defense anymore.
Game Week Preview: Georgia. Everything you need for Saturday night in Oxford.
🏈 The Numbers
- 3: days to Georgia
- No. 10: Ole Miss in the first CFP rankings. Georgia is No. 2
- 27 for 63: Auburn’s carries and rushing yards on Saturday, 2.3 a carry
- 5: rushing yards for Byrum Brown, who came in with 480
- 10: Ole Miss tackles for loss against Auburn
- 0.1: Georgia’s margin in the LOOM Model
- 26: turnovers forced by Ole Miss men’s basketball in a 99-58 opener
- 7: Doneelah Washington blocks in an 80-38 women’s opener
🎤 What They Said
Now we got 2 losses. So right now it’s to the point where every game we play is a playoff game that we got to win.
Will Echoles
You got to make them drive the length of the field.
Pete Golding, on Georgia
It’s trying to get the ball before they shoot.
Chris Beard, after a 99-58 opener
Stop the run. Win first down. Make Georgia punt.
Steven Willis, on today’s LOOM Flagship
🏥 Injury Watch
| Player | Status |
|---|---|
| Kewan Lacy, RB | Not expected vs. Georgia. Golding: “We’re not expecting to have him this week.” |
| Luke Ferrelli, LB | Ankle. Started vs. Auburn but “didn’t feel like he was at 100%.” |
| Jalyn Crawford, CB | Shoulder. Played four snaps vs. Auburn. |
📈 The Line And The LOOM Model
Per FanDuel, logged in our betting sheet Sunday morning, Nov. 1: Georgia -3.5, total 56.5. Lines move, so check FanDuel for the current number.
The LOOM Model has it closer: Georgia by 0.1, a coin flip. Full LOOM SEC Power Ratings.
The show reads the market. It does not make picks.
🔮 Next: Georgia
| Matchup | CFP No. 2 Georgia (7-1) at CFP No. 10 Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC) |
| Kickoff | Saturday, Nov. 7 · 6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Where | Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford |
| TV | ABC |
| Last meeting | Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34, Sugar Bowl |
Three days to Georgia. A win would be the 17th straight at home, a new program record.
🏀 Hoops: Two Openers, Two Defensive Wins
Chris Beard’s team opened 99-58 over Alcorn State and forced 26 turnovers. Budd Clark had 17 points and seven assists (“He’s a Philly point guard. He’s a tough guy.”), Patton Pinkins scored 16 and made three of four from three, Santiago Trouet had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Christian Brown scored a career-high 12.
Coach Yo’s team opened 80-38. Jaida Civil scored 17, Jade Tillman had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Doneelah Washington blocked seven shots. Coach Yo still wants more: “Our team is not mature yet.”
Next: the women host North Alabama on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. The men play Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT, the night before Georgia. Oxford is loaded this weekend.
📻 This Week On Locked On Ole Miss
| Monday | LOOM Flagship: Ole Miss Showed How To Beat Georgia | Trinidad Chambliss Got Right |
| Tuesday | LOOM Flagship: Kirby Smart: Chambliss Is Probably The Best QB In The Country |
| Tuesday | Legend John Fourcade on Auburn, Georgia and the playoff run |
| Tuesday night | Live: CFP rankings watch-along with Tyler Komis |
| Today | LOOM Flagship: Pete Golding: Stop The Run Or It’s A Long Night |
| On the Hub | Fourcade on the grind · Eleven of twelve quarters · Georgia preview · Monday show recap |
🔗 Five Clicks
1. Where Ole Miss landed in the first CFP top 25 (The Rebel Walk)
No. 10, with Georgia at No. 2 and ten SEC teams in the rankings.
2. Ole Miss is inside the playoff field after the first reveal (Oxford Eagle)
In the field, and one big home game away from moving up.
3. Ole Miss has stopped the run for eleven of its last twelve quarters (OleMissHub)
Why the season rushing average no longer describes this defense, and why Georgia is the test.
4. Game week preview: Georgia at Ole Miss (OleMissHub)
Kickoff, TV, the last meeting and everything else you need for Saturday night.
5. Replay: our CFP rankings watch-along with Tyler Komis (YouTube)
Steven and Tyler Komis of Ole Miss on SI, live as the committee revealed its first top 25.
💬 Join the Everydayers
How many times does Georgia punt on Saturday night? Post your number in the LOOM Private Discord. It’s free to join, and the Georgia game thread is open in #game-day.
Everything else lives at olemisshub.com, and if you want the show ad-free plus the members-only room, take your fandom to the next level with the Everydayer Club.
Three days to Georgia. Hotty Toddy. 🦈
