‘We’re excited to be down here’ | Lane Kiffin talks about the Rebels’ upcoming TaxAct Texas Bowl
HOUSTON, Texas — Ole Miss and Texas Tech are preparing for their upcoming TaxAct Texas Bowl game, and on Monday Rebels’ head coach Lane Kiffin talked with media about what the game means for the program.
“It’s exciting, obviously a huge market, media-wise. There are a lot of great players in the state of Texas, specifically this area. We’re excited to be down here. Our players have been really focused, and we have a really good opponent and are ready to play.”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
Kiffin and his team are putting the regular-season finish behind them and focusing on the task at hand — facing a very solid Tech team.
“I think they’ve (players) done a really good job. I think at first that last game (Egg Bowl) was disappointing, how we finished that and how we finished the season in general. The season was kind of like some games where we would start really well and didn’t finish strong. You can only worry about what you can control now. I do think that our players have done a good job. I do think they’ve done a good job of playing, even the guys that are in the portal, trying to finish this thing right.”
Lane Kiffin
Kiffin knows the Rebels will have their hands full with the Red Raiders. “I think they’re very multiple on defense and run around and play a lot of different things,” he explained.
Kiffin also discussed Tech’s tempo offense.
“On offense, obviously, tempo. People think just because you play it, your defense is going to be good. Well, the analytics don’t really show that. If you look at a lot of tempo teams on offense, they still struggle on defense against it. Just like their last game with Oklahoma, both sides. We’ll have our hands full in all areas.”
Lane Kiffin
Game info
Ole Miss (8-4) and Texas Tech (7-5) kick off Wednesday, December 28 at 8:00 p.m. CT in the TaxAct Texas Bowl. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.