Kentucky Radio Show Host Says Ole Miss Is 'Not Hard' Place To Play

Matt Jones of KRS said Vaught-Hemingway Stadium isn't as challenging as other locations in the SEC.

Sep 21, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels Cheerleaders run the Ole Miss flags across the field after a touchdown during the second half against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Matt Jones of KSR Radio might have become the most hated individual in the city of Oxford entering Week 5.

Jones, a longtime Kentucky sports radio host, recently called Vaught-Hemingway Stadium "not a hard place to play at," heading into Saturday's homecoming matchup between Ole Miss and Kentucky.

He clarified his original comments from Tuesday during a radio show on Wednesday.

"I don't even think it was a controversial statement. I just said, 'Ole Miss is not the hardest place to play.' That is not a controversial statement," Jones said on his show. "Dear Ole Miss fans, I'm going to look in the camera. Kentucky's not the hardest place to play in the SEC. Would you even put Kentucky in the top eight in the SEC of hardest places to play? I wouldn't.

"I would argue Kentucky's environment is very similar to Ole Miss' environment, but nobody comes to a Kentucky game and goes, 'Now that's a hard place to play.' And here's the secret Ole Miss fans. Nobody goes to your place and says, 'That's a hard place to play.'"

Jones made sure to mention both programs as "underdogs" overall in the world of college football. The No. 5 Rebels have been on a tear since the arrival of Lane Kiffin in 2020, but there were dark days in Oxford prior to that under Matt Luke, Ed Orgeron, Houston Nutt, Billy Brewer, Joe Lee Dunn and others.

Ole Miss is a great team…but I have no idea why their fans are upset at the idea it isn’t one of the hardest places to play in the SEC pic.twitter.com/GnmNQZUfPn

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) September 26, 2024

Things have changed over the past four years since the Ole Miss standard is to compete for 10-win seasons. Kiffin's led the Rebels to a 38-15 record and two New Year's Six Bowl appearances. He's also 24-5 in home games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, something Jones acknowledged.

Jones also stated that it's in the grand scheme of the Southeastern Conference. He was quick to point out that Kentucky's atmosphere also isn't comparable to gamedays at locations like LSU's Tiger Stadium, Tennessee's Neyland Stadium, Alabama's Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and Georgia's Samford Stadium.

"Ole Miss is really good, but if you were talking about Kentucky basketball and you said to me, 'Okay, is Rupp Arena harder than the other environments at noon against the basketball equivalent of what we are in football?' I would say, 'No, not really,'" Jones said. "Now if it's seven o'clock and Kansas is coming into town, well that's a different situation."

Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. as the Rebels enter conference play. Jones said he hopes to be proven wrong by the atmosphere, but isn't counting on it.

"I hope they do show up," Jones said. "I hope they show up and come out and it's loud. And you know what after 15 minutes, that won't matter because the game starts at 11:00 a.m."