Good morning, Everydayers. Three weeks from today, Ole Miss can start signing its 2027 class, and the most important name in it is a quarterback who stayed when the head coach left. Today’s LOOM Flagship makes the case that Keegan Croucher is the best high school quarterback in America, then goes through everything Brent Venables said about Trinidad Chambliss, and what a 24-team playoff really means for a program like Ole Miss. Three days to Oklahoma.
☕ Morning Coffee
“Coach Golding Is Why I Stayed Committed.”
That’s Keegan Croucher, the Ole Miss quarterback commit, on why he stayed through the coaching change. It’s where today’s LOOM Flagship starts. Three things:
- Keegan Croucher is the best high school quarterback in America. Rivals has him fifth in the 2027 class and the industry ranking has him 10th, but the tape says otherwise. He left Connecticut’s Cheshire Academy for Chattanooga’s Baylor School to get ready for Ole Miss, and Baylor went 10-0. Through his first five games: 74 percent completions, 10 touchdowns, zero interceptions. And when the head coach left, he stayed. His words: “Coach Golding is why I stayed committed.”
- Signing day is three weeks away. The early signing period runs Dec. 2-4. Ole Miss has 23 commitments, 14th nationally and eighth in the SEC in On3’s industry rankings, led by Mississippi defensive linemen Mitchell Turner and Ben’Jarvius Shumaker. For years Ole Miss won in the transfer portal. Pete Golding is building a high school foundation underneath it.
- Brent Venables told you where Oklahoma lost last year. He called Chambliss “arguably the best player in college football” and said of the 34-26 loss in Norman: “They played better, more precise on third and fourth downs. He got us when we had him.” Ole Miss converted nine third downs that day to Oklahoma’s four.
🏈 The Numbers
- 23: Ole Miss commitments in the 2027 class
- 14th: the class nationally in On3’s industry rankings (eighth in the SEC)
- 74%, 10, 0: Croucher’s completion rate, touchdowns and interceptions through his first five games
- 9 to 4: third downs converted, Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma, in last year’s game
- 16: the line between a first-round home game and a road trip in the 24-team playoff
- 3: days to Oklahoma
🎤 What They Said
Coach Golding is why I stayed committed.
Keegan Croucher (247Sports)
Arguably the best player in college football.
Brent Venables, on Trinidad Chambliss
That plan wasn’t any good.
Brent Venables, on Oklahoma’s plan for Ole Miss last year
Ole Miss is not trying to be one of the 24. It’s trying to be one of the 16.
Steven Willis, on today’s LOOM Flagship
🏆 The 24-Team Playoff
Starting in 2027, the playoff goes to 24 teams. Per ESPN, the four power conference champions and the top Group of Six team get automatic bids, the top eight seeds get byes, seeds 9 through 16 play first-round games at home, and seeds 17 through 24 go on the road. Conference championship games go away.
Steven’s take: it’s a home run for programs that win nine games in a good year and eight in a normal one. The 2024 Rebels went 9-3, finished 14th in the final rankings and missed a 12-team field. Under the new format they’re in. The catch is the number 16. An 8-4 Ole Miss lands somewhere between 17 and 24, and that’s a road game in December. The question is no longer in or out. It’s host, not host, or miss it entirely.
🏀 Tim Thomas On Ole Miss Hoops
Trouet should be starting.
Tim Thomas, 1981 SEC champion, on Santiago Trouet
Ole Miss legend Tim Thomas, first man off the bench on the 1981 SEC champions, joined Steven on Tuesday to grade Chris Beard’s 2-0 start, and he had a lineup for the coach. His five: Budd Clark, Ben Henshall, Patton Pinkins, Santiago Trouet and Corey Stephenson. Trouet is averaging 11.5 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.
Thomas also said Clark wants to be the best defender in the SEC, said he’s still trying to find out why Micah Handlogten hasn’t played, and told the story of Beard’s “come-to-Jesus” timeout in the Central Arkansas win. On a piece of the old Tad Pad floor: “That’s probably got a lot of my sweat, probably some blood there too.” Watch Tim Thomas’s full episode.
Ole Miss beat Southeastern Louisiana 91-51 last night to move to 3-0, with Budd Clark scoring 23 on 10-of-13 shooting. Nicholls is next Tuesday, then Clemson in Maui on Nov. 23.
🔮 Next: Oklahoma
| Matchup | Ole Miss (6-3, 4-3 SEC) at Oklahoma |
| Kickoff | Saturday, Nov. 14 · 3:15 p.m. CT / 4:15 p.m. ET |
| Where | Norman, Okla. |
| Out for Ole Miss | RG Patrick Kutas, RB Kewan Lacy |
| Last meeting | Ole Miss 34, Oklahoma 26, in Norman, 2025 |
Then Wofford at home on Nov. 21 and the Egg Bowl on Friday, Nov. 27. Tomorrow on Locked On Ole Miss: Oklahoma week continues with the Sooners crossover, the Jason Witten offense and what Ole Miss has to do differently than it did against Georgia.
📰 New On The Hub
Ole Miss Is Averaging 95 Points A Game With Santiago Trouet Coming Off The Bench.
Ole Miss Lost Patrick Kutas For Oklahoma, And Kewan Lacy Is Still Not Playing.
📻 Yesterday On Locked On Ole Miss
🔗 Five Clicks
1. Keegan Croucher on why he stayed with Ole Miss (247Sports)
The commitment, in his own words, and what he sees in Pete Golding.
2. Baylor completes a perfect regular season (Chattanoogan.com)
Croucher’s team finished 10-0 and is chasing another state title.
3. The 2027 team recruiting rankings (On3)
Where Ole Miss sits, 14th nationally, with three weeks until the early signing period.
4. Pete Golding breaks down Oklahoma’s offense under Jason Witten (The Rebel Walk)
The other half of today’s Venables segment: how Golding sees the Sooners trying to shrink the game.
5. The 24-team playoff: what you need to know (ESPN)
Byes, home games, automatic bids and the end of conference title games, all in one place.
💬 Join the Everydayers
Under the new format, would you rather Ole Miss make the 24-team field every year, or be a top-16 team that plays at home every other year? Make your case in the LOOM Private Discord. It’s free to join, and the Oklahoma game thread is open.
Everything else lives at olemisshub.com, and you can take your fandom to the next level with the Everydayer Club.
Three days to Oklahoma. Three weeks to signing day. Hotty Toddy. 🦈
