A win, is a win, is a win. Despite not living up to many expectations, the Blue Raiders have notched one in the win column by defeating FCS opponent, Tennessee Tech.

Next up on the docket is a road game at Oxford, where MT will take on the Ole Miss Rebels, who absolutely throttled Furman in the opener.

We here at GoMiddle have gone across enemy lines, and we interviewed Neal McCready, who covers the Rebels for the Ole Miss Rivals affiliate.

Here is how McCready answered the questions.

What are your overall takeaways from Ole Miss romping Furman? Is it about what you expected? Surprised? Not surprised?

Neal McCready: I wasn’t surprised at all. Frankly, if I’m ESPN/Disney/ABC, I put my foot down on these games between SEC schools and FCS schools. They’re exercises if futile stupidity. That said, Ole Miss looked elite in almost every phase on Saturday versus Furman. The offense basically scored on every possession. The defense held Furman completely in check and totally crushed the Paladins’ running game. Jaxson Dart was on-point throughout the first half and didn’t play in the second half. Ole Miss’ receivers were running free all over the field and the Rebels dominated both lines of scrimmage.

That was the emphasis last offseason — getting bigger and longer on both lines of scrimmage. Ole Miss did just that. The pass protection was strong in front of Dart and the Rebels’ defensive line just dominated Furman’s offensive front. It was a complete and total mismatch.

As of the time of this publication, Ole Miss is -41 over MTSU. What are your thoughts on the line? Where would you set it?

Neal McCready: I mean, I didn’t see Middle Tennessee’s season-opening win, but given Ole Miss’ prowess and Lane Kiffin’s lack of reluctance to run up the score, that’s probably about right. I suspect Middle Tennessee will have its hands full with Ole Miss’ defensive front, and the Rebels present a wide receiver/tight end corps Middle won’t see again this season. But as for the line, anywhere between 38-42 points or so makes sense.

Are there any vulnerabilities MT can attack? Any weaknesses?

Neal McCready: Ole Miss’ running game was pedestrian on Saturday night. There are some injuries to the interior of the Rebels’ offensive line, and Ole Miss is still figuring out life at running back without Quinshon Judkins, who transferred to Ohio State following a salary dispute — let’s call it what it is/was — at Ole Miss after the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Henry Parrish Jr. was very good in pass protection and Matt Jones had some nice runs, but if there’s a weakness on the Ole Miss team, it’s probably the running back position.

On defense, Ole Miss blew a couple of coverages where it looked like a linebacker missed an assignment. I’m sure the Blue Raiders will test Ole Miss to see if that got fixed this week.

Can you give me 3-5 guys the common fan might be aware of when it comes to OM roster?

Neal McCready: A couple of young wide receivers, Cayden Lee and Ayden Williams, are definitely worth watching. It feels like either, especially Lee, is on the verge of a breakout. Alabama transfer cornerback Trey Amos looked special on Saturday after emerging as a true SEC-caliber player in the final few weeks last season in Tuscaloosa. Right tackle Micah Pettus is evolving into a beast in the running game and he’s quickly maturing into a guy NFL scouts will drool over. Arkansas transfer linebacker Pooh Paul didn’t have a great camp, per sources, but he was excellent against Furman, leading Ole Miss in tackles and bringing a ton of energy to the Rebels’ defense.

Coming into season what was your expectations for Ole Miss?

Neal McCready: I’m usually pretty cynical and skeptical and I’m slow to into hype, but I picked Ole Miss to go 10-2 and make the College Football Playoff. I’m sticking with that for now. I’m not going to overreact to a win over an FCS school. I want to see more — much more, frankly — before I revise that prediction one way or the other.

How will the game go? Score prediction?

Neal McCready: I think you almost have to predict Ole Miss wins in blowout fashion. This is the best Ole Miss team since at least 2014 and 2015 and likely since the Archie Manning days. I’m no Ole Miss historian, but this is my 17th year on the beat, and I don’t recall seeing a more balanced, deep and talented team in Oxford than this one.

I’m sure Derek Mason and Co. will throw some wrinkles at Ole Miss, but it’s going to be an athletic mismatch.

I haven’t thought a lot about the score, but I’d likely go with something along the lines of Ole Miss 52, Middle Tennessee 10.