They're Going to Win a Game 17-13 | Ole Miss Season Preview 2026

No depth charts. No position-by-position walkthrough. Everybody else is doing that today and it's unwatchable. Three takes, and you can hold me to all three in January.   IN THIS EPISODE: 🏈 ONE: Ole Miss is going to win a game 17-13, and it'll be the most important win of the season. For a decade this program was an offense with a tag-along defense — score 40, hope they score 39. Kiffin built an amusement park and the ride was the offense. That's over. The number that tells the whole story, via Tom Vanderford: the 2025 transfer class was ~70% offense and 30% defense. This year it's about 50/50. That's an entire offseason in one number. And here's what it bought: you're no longer buying Great Value brand transfer portal targets. You can get the name brands now. A starter from Florida State, a starter from Georgia, a starter from Florida, a starter from Auburn. That's shopping at the big boy rack.   🎯 And the reason it matters, from a man I worked for. Coach Cutcliffe used to say: you never know when the play is going to happen that determines the outcome. You have to be ready every single play. Twenty years later, look at the Fiesta Bowl — a busted coverage and a missed tackle, both touchdowns. Two plays. Golding's ideal defense doesn't blitz — it generates pressure with four or fewer and drops everybody else. And that only works if the back five can hold up completely alone.   🚨 TWO: September 19 is a trap. GameDay in the Grove, Kiffin walking back in (if he's not suspended), $800 a ticket. But LSU is, best case, the fourth-best team Ole Miss plays this year. The season is decided at Texas — game 8, on the road, five games into conference play with no emotional lift left. And it's a homecoming: Johntay Cook started his career at Texas and is from DeSoto. Kewan Lacy is from Texas. Landon Barnes is out of Duncanville. I called Texas as a win back in July and I haven't moved off it.   🏔️ THREE: this is the best roster Ole Miss will have for three years. The rev-share cap is real. The roster limit is real. You can't do what Ole Miss did last offseason twice. Ceiling 12-0 — there isn't a bona fide loss on that schedule. Floor 9-3. And 9-3 is the version where you look back in January and realize the year got away by a possession here and a bad half there. It's not getting blown out that should scare you. It's getting close. What's the saying? It's the hope that kills you.   ⭐ THE EVERYDAY CLUB — ad-free, members-only Discord, plus the newsletter and bonus content: https://lockedonolemiss.supercast.com   🏠 THE OLE MISS HUB: olemisshub.com · 🆕 LOCKED ON OLE MISS HITS — daily short-form. Locked On Ole Miss is your daily Ole Miss Rebels podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network.   Hotty Toddy. 🦈 #HottyToddy #OleMiss #OleMissFootball   Episode Timestamps 00:00 Season preview and bold predictions 05:00 Defensive strategy and adjustments 07:08 Ole Miss recruits top transfers 11:48 Shopping for home decor online 13:44 Talking about LSU vs. Ole Miss game 19:14 Discussing Ole Miss football roster 21:59 Poncho shirts and Natty Guarantee 26:01 Analyzing the football season's outcome 27:25 Predictions and joining the club   Everydayer Club   If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub     Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   Poncho Outdoors Go to https://ponchooutdoors.com/LOCKEDON  and enter your email to get $10 off and free shipping on your first order Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.  Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast   FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now.    FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.