Pretty soon, the hype will vanish. ESPN’s GameDay will come and go. A football game will be played. Afterward, Vaught- Hemingway Stadium in Oxford will go from being the center of the college football universe for a day to an eerily silent structure late Saturday night. And by Sunday both teams will try to turn their attention to next week’s opponents.
No, the 112th meeting between Ole Miss and LSU will not end the world or the season. It only seems that way.
Both teams are 2-0. LSU, ranked seventh in the nation by ESPN, is favored by 2.5 points as of this writing over the No. 8-ranked Rebels. But the home team has won the previous six matchups. On CBS Sports’ Inside College Football show, former LSU coach Brian Kelly picked Ole Miss to win because of the home field advantage.
I won’t rehash why this particular showdown means so much to both schools. If you don’t know by now, then you’re probably not reading this column.
But one thing is certain to happen come Saturday night at 6:30: Memories of a lifetime will be made, good or bad. That goes for players, fans and coaches.
Like any other game, it will come down to talent, want-to, execution of assignments, adjustments, injuries, a timely play call and a little bit of luck.
Ole Miss senior tight end Luke Hasz summed it up this week: “I’m going on my fourth year of playing college football. Last year, we played some really big games in the playoffs, and I think this is just another one of those big games.
“Coach (Pete Golding) is doing a good job of reminding us that it’s a Top 10 game, and we get to play it at home in front of our fans. We’re doing everything we can to mentally and physically prepare for it. And that’s what matters most.”
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Before we learn more about Hasz, let’s put to rest something that seems to have put a prickly pear in the saddle of some Ole Miss fans.
Golding does not lead the team on the Walk of Champions before games. What some fans deem important, the players do not.
“He brought it up to us and asked us what we wanted him to do,” Hasz said. “We all agreed that we wanted him to do what he needs to do to get ready for the game. That’s the No. 1 priority, and he does have things he wants to do to get ready for the game.”
Instead of Golding leading the walk, that week’s captains will do so. It’s just another example of Golding allowing he players to be the focus. “It’s their team,” he’s said repeatedly. And for too long in Oxford, the focus was on the head coach.
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Hasz, 22, has one of those “somebody has to do it” roles. And he loves it.
At 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, he gets to catch an occasional pass (three catches for 17 yards the first two games), but his main duty is blocking larger guys. As one old coach put it, “You have to find somebody who is willing to stick his face in a cement mixer play after play.”
“That’s one of the things I love about football, the physicality part,” Has said. “And it’s one reason I came to Ole Miss. They put the tight end all over the field — flexed out, in the backfield or next to the tackle.”
I was curious about how sore he usually is on a Sunday after a Saturday game.
“If we win, not so sore,” he said with a laugh. “To be honest, once the season begins you’re always dealing with something.”
Hasz’s football journey began later than most. Throughout middle school, he focused on basketball. His twin brother — Dylan, who was smaller but talented — focused on football.
“One day he said to me, ‘Come play football with me.’ So I did,” he recalled.
Both signed with Arkansas out of Bixby (OK) High School. Dylan was a three-star safety and the 17th-ranked prospect in Oklahoma in the 2022 class. Luke was a four-star recruit , the No. 2 prospect in the state and the No. 3 tight end in the nation, per ESPN. He chose the Hogs over Ohio State, Alabama and Oklahoma.
I asked what sort of pressure comes with such a stellar rating.
“ I was fortunate to play for a really good and disciplined head coach, Loren Montgomery,” he said. “He made you feel like you were never as good as everyone said you were, which was a good thing for me. He treated everyone the same. I felt like he was really in my corner and kept me focused the whole time.”
In two seasons with the Razorbacks, Hasz started 15 games and caught 42 passes for 577 yards and seven touchdowns. But the Hogs won only 11 games over that two-year span.
“It was really tough leaving my teammates. We were very close,” he said. “But it came down to wanting to be on a winning team headed in the right direction — not that Arkansas can’t do that. Hopefully, they will. But I decided to enter the portal..” (Dylan also hit the portal and signed with Appalachian State.)
Part of the reason he chose Ole Miss was the success he’d seen tight end Caden Prieskorn have. He also liked the offensive system.
Hasz figured to play a major role a year ago, but a foot injury limited hs playing time until the latter part of the season.
He made his mark with a three-yard touchdown catch in the Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia — also a quarterfinal playoff game. It was his third catch and first touchdown of the season.
“I may have been the third or fourth read on that play,” said Hasz, giving props to quarterback Trinidad Chambliss for finding him. “I’ve learned on any route or concept to always believe the ball is coming to me. That’s what happened on that play.”
Hasz spends most of his free time with his wife, MJ. He also likes to play golf. “And I’m a big lake guy,” he said. :I love the water.”
When his football career is done, he hopes to become a coach.
“I want to do something I’m passionate about,” he said, “and football is it for me.”
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