This is your 3-2-1, a content item that appears weekly during the football seeason. While it will almost always be football focused, other topics may be included as needed.

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1 - Lane Kiffin says different things about Matt Corral's status

Lane Kiffin has gone back and forth on discussing Matt Corral.

The Ole Miss quarterback was no doubt sore, and maybe somewhat injured, following his 30-rush performance against Tennessee. It’d be amazing if he felt fine after that car crash of a night from a contact perspective.

His availability and health status are all over the place this week, as Lane Kiffin, who typically won’t say a word about injuries, casted doubt on Corral during his Monday media availability and during an appearance on SEC Network on Friday.

“He's not in very good shape, hasn't been for the past two days, so we gotta see how we are on injuries,” Kiffin said on Monday. “Hopefully he will play but I do not feel good about that right now.”

During the SEC teleconference on Wednesday, Kiffin went back to being mum about players’ statuses for upcoming games.

“I’ve never gone into detail about injuries,” Kiffin said. “I’m not going to start now, except to say we hope everyone plays. But that’s hope, so…”

Then, speaking to Paul Finebaum, this was Friday’s Corral update.

“We’re hopeful he plays, just like all of our players that are injured,” Kiffin said. “So if he doesn’t, we’ll be ready and have a good plan for him not playing and make the most of this great atmosphere that we’re going to have and find a way to win. I always expect our injured guys to play, but we definitely have a plan without him, and Luke Altmyer has done some really good things in practice this week and is ready to go.”

Corral was walking normally this week, and multiple sources said he participated in practice. We’ll know for sure in a few hours, but, to a man, Corral is expected to play. Maybe there’s something we don’t know, and maybe there’s something putting his status in doubt, but if so it’s the best-kept secret in Oxford.

Kiffin’s quotes are, as long as Corral plays, the interesting part of the story. Whether it's to create a storyline or tell the truth about some doubt, he broke from his routine answers twice this week, and Kiffin always has a reason for doing something like that.

2 - Former players appreciate the work put into this weekend

I wrote on Friday how Eli Manning’s jersey retirement serves as a player reunion of sorts this weekend, as dozens of former teammates of all eras — but especially the last quarter century — have converged on Oxford.

There was a social event scheduled at Tallahatchie Gourmet Friday night for all former players from that era who were in town, and the university has successfully organized an effort to include them and welcome them back.

It seems like a small thing, but a lot of former players have been frustrated by this type of event not happening in the past.

Former players around the program on game weekends and in a public nature are good in a number of ways including recruiting, fan morale and also for the former players to get to the fans and interact with those who have memories of them. It’s a win all around, and it was seemingly a blind spot at Ole Miss for a long time, compared to other SEC schools.

Credit to Keith Carter, his staff and all the people involved on the university side, as I’ve heard from more than a handful of former players who are excited about the weekend and thrilled to have some organized ways to catch up with former teammates and, to some extent, feel a part of the program again.

Ole Miss has done an exemplary job wrapping together this Eli Manning Weekend, with the end zones and the marketing campaign.

It’s easy to criticize the bad and overlook the good at times, so it’s worth acknowledging what was put into these days. If word of mouth is any indication, the former players really appreciate it, and the town is no doubt packed and ready for Saturday.

3 - LSU has injury issues of its own

While Ole Miss is worried about a multitude of injuries, beyond Corral, that will be discussed below, LSU is dealing with plenty of ailments as well.

The Tigers already had a growing list of injuries, and this week wide receiver Deion Smith and right guard Chasen Hines are expected to be out against Ole Miss.

“Unless something miraculous happens tomorrow, but I don’t think so,” Ed Orgeron said on Thursday.

Those injuries are in addition to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte missing the rest of the year with a leg injury, and on defense, LSU is without defensive end Ali Gaye, cornerback Derek Stingley, defensive tackle Joseph Evans, cornerback Eli Ricks and defensive end Andrew Anthony.

Safety and Georgia transfer Major Burns hasn’t played since October 2 against Auburn.

1 - Can Ole Miss' injured players give it a go?

Even with Corral expected to be behind center on Saturday, Ole Miss’ offense has question marks from an injury standpoint.

The offensive line and wide receiver groups are especially banged up. Up front, guard Caleb Warren has been out with an ankle injury that required surgery, and guard Ben Brown’s status is questionable, per sources, though he’s expected to play if possible.

Brown’s undetermined status is potentially a key blow, even if he plays but isn’t 100 percent. The Rebels are thin up front, as four offensive linemen played all 103 snaps in the win over Tennessee. Cedric Melton and Jordan Rhodes split the other spot, though Rhodes was also injured against Tennessee.

Beyond the main linemen, Bryce Ramsey is the only player who has played more than 100 snaps this season, and he has appeared in only three of six games in 2021.

Wide receiver and tight end are also issues. Jonathan Mingo is assumed to still be out with a Jones fracture, and Braylon Sanders has multiple injuries and may not play against LSU. Tight end Chase Rogers has an ankle injury, and freshman Hudson Wolfe has been out since week three.

The Rebels and Tigers are in a war of injury attrition as much as anything on Saturday, and the ability for Ole Miss’ maybes to play and play effectively may be the difference in the game.

2 - Can Ole Miss stop Tyrion Davis-Price?

LSU ran all over Florida on its way to a 49-42 win over the Gators last week, with Tyrion Davis-Price doing the bulk of the heavy lifting.

Davis-Price rushed for 287 yards on 36 attempts with three touchdowns, an eight-yard average per attempt that set the tempo versus the Gators. Two weeks ago in a blowout loss to Kentucky, the 230-pound bruiser ran 22 times for 147 yards and two scores.

It’s a stark contrast to what he’d done prior to that this season. Before the Kentucky game, Davis-Price had 40 carries all season for 140 yards and no touchdowns. Only once in those first five games did he average more than four yards per carry.

LSU will try to slow the game down with its run game to eat up clock and keep Corral on the sideline. Ole Miss has to stop Davis-Price to keep that from happening.

Rotating players in the front seven was a key last week, and that remains a task for the Rebels who should face a more straight forward attack than what has been seen in league play.

Ole Miss being able to bottle up the run game and force Max Johnson to throw is the defensive key. Johnson has done a nice job protecting the football with 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions along with a 61 percent completion percentage.

The Rebels can get to him, though, especially with LSU having a patchwork offensive line in spots. Johnson has been pressured on 94 of his 279 dropbacks this season.

Dannis Jackson had only four targets on the season before he turned two targets into two catches for 42 yards and his first touchdown against Tennessee.

With Ole Miss’ receivers room quite wounded, the Rebels need Jackson to step up and consistently perform against LSU. Speed and ability have never been a question, and Kiffin hopes last week is a bit of a springboard.

“We needed guys to step up and he made a huge play on the slant and go,” Kiffin said of Jackson. “Hopefully that builds his confidence, and again that was a highly unusual place to play.

"When it's sold out that place is rocking anyway but with all of that combined, for him to go into that environment and make a big play like that, to me that builds confidence and tells us that he should be able to do this and continue this, especially now as we come back home.”

Corral needs a No. 2 option beyond Dontario Drummond, and Jackson seems as good of a candidate as any, outside of the running backs.

For Ole Miss to win, Corral needs options because 30 rushes isn’t possible or smart this week. For Jackson, it’s a huge opportunity to built trust with Corral and turn last week into the start of something more.