It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Whitney McNutt of Tommy Morgan Inc. Realtors: Edition 202.
I asked for your questions. You delivered. So here we go…
From Lanekiffinsvisor: If Jaxson Dart, Quinshon Judkins, Michael Trigg, and Lane Kiffin finish out the next 3 years in Oxford do the Rebels go to Atlanta?
They'd have a hell of a shot. But those four individuals don't guarantee it. Alabama is in the division, and there's a real chance division-less league play isn't far away. But it's a talent league, and those are four very talented people. Frankly, I think if Ole Miss can keep Kiffin around, a trip to Atlanta is as close to inevitable as inevitable can be in college football. I'm not saying it's imminent or anything like that, but the job Kiffin has done at Ole Miss is nothing short of remarkable.
From TheBigReb15: In your opinion, how aware are coaches of point spreads and things like that? Ole Miss scored late to cover Saturday and just got me thinking on it.
Oh, they're aware. However, I don't think Kiffin was thinking about the betting line on Saturday. He was trying to get Mingo the record and then he wanted to reward a walk-on who busts his tail every day on the scout team.
From Lanekiffinsvisor: Do you think TAMU is good and still fighting or do you think they got lucky and Bama without Bryce is an average team?You've mentioned on the pod that your son wants to goto a big 10 school. (I could be mis-rembering or mis-quoting)If you just got to make the pick for him where would he go in the big 10?What big10 school do you think is the most "fun" for a college kid?
I think Texas A&M has a lot of talent. Much of it is young. None of it playing quarterback, but there's a lot of talent in College Station. You simply can't count the Aggies out. Alabama isn't average without Young, but they're certainly mortal without last year's Heisman winner.
He wants to visit some Big Ten schools, so we might drive around and do that some over the next 18 months or so. We're going to look at other places, too. Obviously, because of his sisters, he has a very positive view of Arkansas. He wants to check out Oklahoma. I just want him to look at a lot of places.
As for "fun" Big 10 schools, I don't know. I'd guess a lot of them are pretty fun, but I'm far from an expert on that.
From Rascal Reb: Who do you think Saban would not like to see at Auburn: Freeze, Sanders, Grimes, or Steele?
I don't think any of those people worry him at this point. The man has built a dynasty. It likely will never be repeated. None of those guys can come in and do anything to threaten what he's built.
From Levi275: UCLA is undefeated and Chip Kelly has rebuilt that entire roster from the ground up. Why don’t any of their students or fans care? How do you get people into the stadium at that program amidst the other things to do in LA?
Well, college football games are super spreaders. Also, a lot of their fans probably died from the virus, what with all those trips to the beach and whatnot. Dead people can't attend college football games. Vote? Yes. Attend football games? No.
That's all I can come up with.
From chattreb: You mentioned Deion Sanders possibly getting big time job on your podcast today. I agree that many places would think twice about hiring him for several reasons. Now let’s suppose that FSU opens up in the next year or two, and that is not a stretch at all. Is there any way that FSU could say no to Deion, particularly after their last two hires,
My feeling here is Florida State has nothing to lose by hiring Sanders. They're not winning big now. They've become a bit of an average program, so if you're going high-risk/high-reward, do it. If I'm Georgia Tech, I make him tell me no. He's a natural fit in both of those places.
From larryjoe1979: If you are a Tennessee fan going to the Alabama game this week, do you bring the mustard to throw or do you get creative? I mean they are the crimson tide so throw ketchup or cocktail sauce instead? Or do you get real deep and throw little Debbie’s? Is there something even more deep cut to throw?
You know where I stand on this. I never, ever do anything to taunt Alabama. I give them no extra motivation, no extra energy. Ever. I applaud them politely and just hope for the best. Little Debbies would be funny.
From Ignatius9: Why isn't Matt Rhule's name brought up more often on the college coaching searches? He was very successful at Baylor and when Kiffin leaves I'd be happy with Rhule as the Ole Miss coach.I just saw where Rhule was fired.
Rhule can get in on any job he wants to get in on. However, the man is walking with $40 million from Carolina. If he's coaching next season, I question his sanity.
From Cahamil: If Lane and the Rebs were able to pull it off (win the West, I know a big IF). But, win the West at say 11-1, go to ATL and then give UGA hell (we'll say the Rebs come up short in this scenario). Would Lane use that as fuel and a wake up call that "I can do it here" or would he use it a fuel to propel to the bigger job/NFL?
Here's the simple answer to this: I don't know.
I simply don't know him on a personal level, so that's impossible for me -- or anyone other than a small handful of people -- to answer. People who know him tell me he's pretty happy here. I do know there are some things here that are very frustrating to him. How those things balance, I simply don't know.
There are only 32 NFL coaching jobs, and right now, the trend isn't pointing towards hiring college coaches. However, he's one of the world's elite offensive play-callers and offensive game-planners, and that transcends levels.
And I feel like I've covered this on the college level. The list of schools that will pay him $10 million per year (and it likely would take at least that), stay out of his way, give him total autonomy and make him the brand is an incredibly small list.
From Usp94: If you were to venture to guess; Does Auburn look more like the 2011 Rebels this weekend (everybody including the coach checked out) or the Mahlzan, beating Ole Miss saves your job , tigers?
I don't think beating Ole Miss would save Harsin's job. I guess it could delay something next week, but that's hardly a fait accompli at this point, per multiple sources.
There is no sign his team is about to quit on him, certainly not in the manner in which the 2011 Rebels spit the bit down the stretch.
However, there always comes a point for a doomed team when they just let off the gas. No one can really predict when that moment arrives, but you sort of know it when you see it.
From robert90: Do pitchers or hitters have the bigger advantage In this imaginary MLB world? There is no advanced scouting, no internet, no video, no games on TV, no reports from other teams and no radar guns. Two MLB teams play a 3 game series. The hitters would know nothing about the Pitchers stuff or their tendencies. And the Pitchers have no knowledge of the hitters tendencies. For example, Tony Gwynn faces Justin Verlander. Mariano Rivera faces Ted Williams. So my question is overall would the hitters or the pitchers have the advantage with no prior knowledge of who they were facing?
The pitchers would have the immediate advantage and then, as the hitters acclimated, it would be incumbent on the pitchers to adjust, which would, in turn, force the hitters to adjust. Given today's level of pitching, the games would be incredibly low-scoring.
From SaladThunder: What kind of deodorant do you use?The stick or the spray?my friends have always said I smell like an Indian food buffet. (I don’t wear deodorant because of the metals).
I use a stick, and I use a lot of it. I can't imagine not using deodorant. How do you handle the stickiness that comes from living down here (I'm assuming you live in South)? Do you shower a ton. I shower twice a day, every day. I apply deodorant after every shower. I use Degree mostly, but the main thing for me is it must be an anti-perspirant stick. I don't really care about scents or whatnot.
From dawsonreb: I’m all for kids getting paid. But why can’t there be some transparency? If Bryce Young gets a deal with Nissan for $1 mil, why can’t that simply be reported?
I don't know. I could report the deals we have with players, I suppose, but I chose and choose not to. I guess it doesn't seem important to me. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm for the kids getting paid, too, but for far more than 90 percent of them, it's not the big money people are talking about. And maybe this is me being the dad of a 21-, 19- and 16-year-old, but while college football has become a professional sport, these are still kids playing said sport.
People used to ask me if I were going to write a book. The answer has been and will forever remain a firm no. I'm not talented enough to write a book. But if I had the talent to write something and I was forced to write about college sports, I'd peel the onion way back on college football.
From LARebel83: Time for a non-football related question: what does our country look like today if all other results stayed the same (GOP keeps House and Senate), but Hilary Clinton, not Trump, wins in 2016?
It would probably be a lot less radical if that had happened. However, and I think this is so important to note, something had to happen to make the atmosphere ripe for Trump to win in 2016. Obama's second term was incredibly divisive. Americans had had all they wanted of the Clintons and Bushes and Trump appealed to something in the working classes of those rust belt states. She ran an awful campaign. She lost more than he won. In many ways, that's become our problem. We're now voting against a candidate rather than voting for one.
But we're a month away from some form of gridlock and getting closer and closer to what could be a country-defining election in 2024.
From RebsRisingLFG: How differently do you think college football games would be called if officials were expected to meet with media in postgame scrums the way that coaches do and are asked to defend controversial calls?Would standard media hold officials accountable or is that the kind of thing that fan journalists would be more likely to do?
I'm not sure it would be much different. It would take quite the controversial call to get standard media to focus on officiating. You're seeing that occur today in the NFL with the roughing the quarterback penalties. And the hardcore fan journalists who believe the games are fixed against his (or her, but it's usually his) team would turn those postgame press conferences into high comedy. College officials aren't as good as NFL officials. They miss calls. It's just part of the game.
From Johnnydarnell3: I have a “sources” question. I’ve listened to you describe relationships and sources (your pod with Tyler Siskey discussing you knowing Tub was getting the job). I think Adam Schefter is one of the more common places we see a reference to “sources” as well.What motivates a source to share that info with a journalist? Is there a quid pro quo arrangement of some sort?In the same way, why would players or coaches share inside info with journalists? (Pre-NIL, of course)I just don’t understand.
Most people don't like to just lie. If I ask someone something, usually that person wants to tell me the truth, but sometimes that truth can't be attributed to him/her. In the Tuberville instance, I had someone inside the building at Auburn -- someone who liked me and respected how hard I was working and how diligently I was trying to be accurate -- steer me towards Tuberville. One of his friends gave me some information that further pushed me in that direction. Then an Auburn booster essentially admitted I was right.
He asked me on the phone, "You went to Ole Miss. You cover Auburn. Wouldn't you leave Ole Miss for Auburn?"
This was 1998, and my answer was honest. "As the head football coach? Absolutely."
Auburn was clearly, without a doubt, a significantly better job than Ole Miss in the fall of 1998. He respected that answer.
Finally, I began talking to Tuberville, who very clearly couldn't answer truthfully on the record.
I could give many more examples. Sometimes it's an administrator likely wanting to float a trial balloon. Sometimes it's an agent maybe wanting to create or utilize some leverage. There are lots of reasons to use media anonymously.
I hope that helps your understanding.
From MarvMerchants: Lane Kiffin to Oklahoma in 2 years when they join the SEC and fire Ven?
That's impossible to answer. What does Oklahoma look like in two years joining the SEC? What does Ole Miss look like in two years? Where is the NIL? What's the situation at Ole Miss with facilities, with medical arrangements for players, with perceived levels of commitment.
More importantly, why do you guys do this? Right now, you have Kiffin. He's an incredible fit. He's winning. If he beats Auburn Saturday, he's 18-3 in his last 21 and he would've basically beaten everyone but Alabama (and really no one beats Alabama).
It doesn't matter to me, but sometimes I wish you guys could just enjoy the good ole days while you're living in them.
From Lanekiffinsvisor: Ole Miss was in on Rattler, the kid from Incarnate World, Gabriel, Anthony Richardson, and I think one more QB before getting Dart.Did we end up winning? I mean for a one year rental maybe Rattler or Gabriel could be a bit better with not having growing pains, but I'm not sure Ole Miss wins one or any more games if you swap any other qb they were in on with Dart
It's too early to say.
I will say I like everything I see from Dart. I like his make-up, his work ethic, his accountability, everything. The mistakes he's making are typical of a 19-year-old quarterback.
From theangus2k: A little change of pace for the season…Did Mary Surratt know it was going down? I tend to believe she knew something was up but didn’t want to know given her son’s potential involvement. Your thoughts? Also if u were granted the definitive truth complete with all pertinent details, what “mystery” from the 20th century would you choose to be revealed? JFK? I have plenty of other subjects but didn’t want to be too pretentious.
Yeah, I think it's likely she knew something. She might not have known everything. In fact, she likely didn't, but she knew something. The Lincoln assassination is fascinating. It's a riveting story. In many ways, it's more intriguing than the Kennedy assassination.
But yes, if I could be granted the definitive truth, complete with all of the details, I'd want to know the absolute truth on what happened that day in Dallas in 1963.
From Champ87: You made the comment the other day on the podcast that Lane plays a lot of guys a lot plays. I'm curious what has happened to guys like Bentley and Knox? Injuries or just not performing to Lane's standards. And it appears that Battle's snaps were down against Vandy. Also, any status update on Wolfe? That was a big signing at the time and OM is in need of a TE. It seems hard to build depth if you don't get a chance to play.
Bentley and Knox have been hurt and/or are hurt. Battle has lost time to two lockdown cornerbacks, Prince and Igbinosun. Wolfe's football future, per multiple sources, is very much in doubt. He simply has not been able to stay healthy, dating back to his senior year in high school.