Opposing defenses have handed Ole Miss the same two problems all season. Florida ran for 300 yards against expanded personnel groupings, Georgia ran an identical plan, Miami did it in the Fiesta Bowl and Arkansas did it a year ago. Behind it, Florida, Texas and Georgia each rushed the quarterback and dropped into umbrella coverage.
Locked On Ole Miss host Steven Willis put the offensive half of that to Ole Miss legend Bill Flowers, who watched the Georgia game and called it the worst showing he has seen. Flowers argued the blame sits with the coaching staff, not the roster: a staff that knows what is coming and runs the same formations anyway has chosen the problem.
The coverage concedes nothing deep and dares an offense to drive the field, and Willis argued it is not aimed only at Ole Miss. He pointed to LSU, which saw the same look from Alabama, went 0-for-4 on fourth down and lost 31-13 at home. Ole Miss no longer has the first-round receiver who punished that coverage downfield.
Flowers wants the field spread. With defenses stacking the box and bringing seven, he would put Ole Miss in five-wide sets, working quick crossing routes into the voids a blitz leaves and letting Trinidad Chambliss run. Willis said the defense has its own structural problem: Pete Golding built a three-year system in an era that gives nobody three years.
Flowers still expects Oklahoma to be hard. He thinks the Sooners will pound the ball and keep it, a poor matchup for a defense that has struggled against power running. He predicted Ole Miss 28-21 anyway, calling that optimistic since he expects no adjustments. Willis, who had Ole Miss losing this game in July, noted the Rebels are 3-0 against Oklahoma.
Photo: Trinidad Chambliss, November 7, 2026, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images.
Adapted from the November 11, 2026 episode of Locked On Ole Miss, hosted by Steven Willis, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Watch the full episode.