Talk of Champions

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Hit That Line: Ole Miss has a chance to put away some demons in Week 7 Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

Hit That Line, a podcast in association with the Ole Miss Spirit, is back and talking Ole Miss-Auburn, which is a legitimate opportunity for the Rebels (6-0, 2-0 SEC) to make a statement in the West.

Plus, locks for an electric slate of week-seven games in college football.

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Lane Kiffin's greatest Ole Miss accomplishment might be an off-the-field one Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Ben Garrett and Steven Godfrey each have a long, tortured history with Ole Miss football.

Garrett, though, has taken in every single snap of just the second 6-0 start to a season for the Rebels since the 60s. Godfrey — who, these days, is a national college football reporter — has gotten, at best, a two-quarter look in 2022.

No matter. Godfrey has seen enough to heap praise on the job Lane Kiffin has done going on three seasons in Oxford, including 17 wins in his last 20 games as head coach.

But he’s not just talking about program and roster-building here.

Or the yeoman’s work Kiffin’s done as a next-level brand-builder for a program now completely fashioned in his image.

(His dog is now the unofficial mascot!)

Kiffin has also completely changed the off-the-field culture, too. Godfrey explained in today’s edition of Talk of Champions, a podcast in association with the Ole Miss Spirit.

“Greater accomplishment than literally anything Lane Kiffin has ever done with a headset,” he said.

But Godfrey didn’t stop there.

He added, “I really would applaud this staff for the management of the roster here, specifically at quarterback, because we’ve seen a litany of this. We’re seeing this, actually, in bulk across the country, where guys, after four games, groups of guys are saying, ‘I’m good. I’m actually done I’m not going to play anymore.’ And telling the coach this.

“(The Ole Miss coaches) did it as well as they could in the era that they’re in. I was really impressed.”

Plus, more thoughts from Godfrey on Kiffin’s approach to what could have been a messy Ole Miss QB situation, as well as the seemingly-inevitable coaching change at Auburn.

On a scale from 1-10, how worried should Ole Miss fans actually be about the threat from the Plains?

Daytime Fireworks: Can undefeated Ole Miss stay the course over a tough October stretch? Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

In this edition of Daytime Fireworks, Zach Berry and David Brandt are back to recap Week 6 in the SEC and look ahead to a massive opportunity for the undefeated (6-0, 2-0 SEC) Ole Miss Rebels to make an October statement.

They host Auburn (3-3, 1-2) Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

ToC Recruiting: Why we're blocking out the Alabama noise on Ole Miss commit Suntarine Perkins Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Suntarine Perkins, the highest-ranked commitment for Ole Miss football in its 2023 class, visited Alabama over the weekend, continuing a admittedly disconcerting online trend in the recruitment of the On3 Consensus four-star.

But Ben Garrett and Zach Berry aren't sounding any alarm bells, and they explain why in this recruiting-filled edition of Talk of Champions, powered by Thomas Chandler of Capital Financial Group.

Hard as it is, unless the tone and tenor changes on the ground, Ole Miss (coaches, players, fans and media) would be wise to block out the noise, the loudest of which is seemingly coming from Perkins' own Twitter account.

Also, knowing what we know now, who would trade Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart for Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel? Ben and Zach sure wouldn't, which runs counter to everything they thought they knew last winter.

And a percentage on four-star running back and Oregon pledge Dante Dowdell to Ole Miss, the developmental track (Jonathan Mingo or AJ Brown?) of four-star wide receiver Ayden Williams and much, much more.

Rebel Yell Hotline: Times are a-changin' for Walker Jones and the Grove Collective Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

In this edition of the Rebel Yell Hotline, Chuck Rounsaville, Gary Darby and Gordon Ford are joined by former Ole Miss football star Walker Jones, who now heads up the The Grove Collective as its Executive Director.

Plus, Harry Harrison of the Ole Miss Radio Network stops by to talk the latest with the undefeated football Rebels.

Franchise Player: Overreaction Monday! Why isn't Ole Miss being treated as a CFP contender? Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

Ole Miss is one of just 15 undefeated teams remaining in college football, yet the Rebels held steady at No. 9 in Top 25 polls.

No matter what the NCAA claims, Ole Miss has won each of its first six games to start a season for just the second time since the 1960s. The Rebels improved to 6-0 (2-0 SEC) with a 52-28 blowout win at Vanderbilt.

Next up is Auburn Saturday at 11 a.m. CT, followed by a trip to rival LSU. Kickoff in Baton Rouge, as announced on Monday, is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.

“Give Lane Kiffin credit. He had Matt Corral last year. He had a lot of other key players (and) he just hit the reboot button with a whole new team,” SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum said Monday.

“It’s like a fantasy football team that you have to get rid of everybody. That’s a remarkable coaching job.”

The point?

Finebaum praise aside, Ole Miss, for the most part, isn’t getting the national love it deserves, namely in the sleeper College Football Playoff conversation.

“I’m thinking we should have played a lot better,” Kiffin said following the win at Vanderbilt. “I’m certainly not talking about the national championship. We ain’t worried about that. We’ve got a long ways to go to improve to play in a matchup coming back we have’t won yet.

“We’re going to need our fans to repeat their (Kentucky) performance and show up (for Auburn) and give us a home-field advantage.”

To be honest, Franchise Player, a site-crossover podcast of the Ole Miss Spirit (On3) and Inside the Rebels (247), prefers the Rebels in most head-to-head matchups with teams ranked ahead of them.

Ben Garrett and David Johnson are here to break it all down, as well as figure out if Ole Miss puts Brian Harsin out of his misery this weekend and what’s been the Rebels’ best win so far in 2022.

ToC Postgame: No. 9 Ole Miss flipped the script and ran away from Vanderbilt Oct 09, 2022

Show notes

Ole Miss, through the season’s first five games, showed a tendency of coming out fast but finishing slow. The Rebels scored a combined three second-half points in their last two.

They flipped the script at Vanderbilt on Saturday.

No. 9 Ole Miss faced just its second deficit all season, but scored 35 unanswered points to eventually rout the Commodores, 52-28, and move to 6-0 (2-0 SEC) on the season.

The Rebels next get Auburn in Oxford in a week’s time. Kickoff is set for at 11 a.m. CT.

“(Jaxson Dart) had two horrible plays as we know,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said afterwards. “He’s got to stop doing that. Other than that, he had some really big plays. (Jonathan) Mingo broke the school record receiving.

“We got a road win and we’ve got to go get better.”

Dart was 25 for 32 for a career-high 448 yards.

He also had a season-high three touchdown passes, and his effort placed him fifth in the Ole Miss record books for single-game passing yards, matching Jordan Ta’amu’s 2018 performance against Southern Illinois.

Mingo broke the school’s single-game receiving record previously set by Elijah Moore in 2020 (238 yards). Mingo had nine catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns, aided by two 70-plus-yard touchdown connections with Dart.

So, of course, they get two helmet stickers in this postgame edition of Franchise Player.

Plus, Ben Garrett (Ole Miss Spirit/On3) and David Johnson (Inside the Rebels/247) don’t overreact to a slow start in Nashville, as well as identify which Rebel won the week and look ahead to Auburn.

The Rebels is still very much on track to be 9-0 headed into Alabama in November.

Hit That Line: Ole Miss' run through the SEC gauntlet begins next week. But first, Vanderbilt. Oct 08, 2022

Show notes

Zach Berry (Ole Miss Spirit/On3) and crew are back for another round of Hit That Line, and this time out they're previewing the week-six slate in college football, including undefeated Ole Miss' trip to lowly Vanderbilt.

They've got their locks of the week, and they and try to climb out of the deep hole they've dug for themselves in the early going of 2022.

That's Suss! Lane Kiffin, Vanderbilt and Nick and Becca's Infinite Playlist Oct 07, 2022

Show notes

No. 9 Ole Miss is a heavy favorite at Vanderbilt on Saturday.

The Rebels — listed earlier this week as the No. 4 team in the SEC in On3 league power rankings — are undefeated (5-0, 1-0 SEC) following their 22-19 win over Kentucky last week.

They’re also a consensus Top 10 team.

Vanderbilt has won three of its five games, however, the Commodores lost in lopsided fashion (55-3) to top-ranked Alabama in their most recent action.

Another last-place finish in the East could be in order.

Naturally, then, Ben Garrett (Ole Miss Spirit/On3) and Nick Suss (Clarion-Ledger) are taking a breezier approach in another That’s Suss! edition of Talk of Champions.

Both predict a relatively painless Ole Miss win, but the Rebels could stand to see more positive steps from first-year starting quarterback and USC transfer Jaxson Dart.

Dart, the transfer from USC, has thrown multiple touchdowns in just one game in 2022, and the Commodores are giving up nearly 300 yards passing each time out to their opponents. Time to shine.

Plus, thoughts on the fast-approaching college football silly season and how Lane Kiffin factors in, the Ole Miss defensive line depth behind its Top 5 players, and Nick’s rom-com-inspired wedding playlist.

‘I give them for sure 10 games’: The continued rise of Ole Miss football and return of ’40’ Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

It's been years since Kentrell Lockett, all-time Ole Miss great and the co-founder of Talk of Champions, last made a Rebel podcast appearance.

But Ole Miss (5-0, 1-0 SEC) is undefeated and ranked No. 9 in the country following a thrilling 22-19 win over then-No. 7 Kentucky last week. The Rebels are thinking big as they continue their eight-game SEC sprint to the finish in 2022.

“I give them for sure 10 games,” Lockett said, when asked Thursday to make a final-record prediction. Kickoff for the Rebels' showdown at Vanderbilt is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

“We’re solid on offense. Solid running game. The passing game is iffy sometimes. (Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart) is still trying to force things. That’s where I’m kind of apprehensive when it comes to the other games. When it comes down to big games, I’m not necessarily sure about him.”

Lockett is thinking big, too, including his evaluation of the Rebels so far and a college football landscape he no longer recognizes.

Plus, Tim Tebow is still holding a grudge following the 2008 Ole Miss upset win over top-ranked Florida in the Swamp, and the explosion of NIL money and the transfer portal has '40' considering the future.

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