After win over LSU, Lane Kiffin talks defensive performance, penalties and reviews: ‘We have a lot of work to do’
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin visited with media Sunday after watching the game film from the Rebels’ thrilling 55-49 win over LSU. He spoke positively about the Ole Miss offense and what they accomplished, before then turning his attention to the defensive performance.
The Ole Miss offensive line, Kiffin relayed, was his player of the game. The unit led the way for the Rebels to amass 706 total yards of offense in the victory over the Tigers. Quarterback Jaxson Dart was not sacked a single time.
Coach Kiffin on the offensive line grade: “Really good. The offensive player of the game was the offensive line. I have been very hard on them and critical. They did a really, really good job.”
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The offensive performance notwithstanding, Kiffin is obviously concerned about the Ole Miss defense after the Rebels gave up 637 yards of offense to LSU, 414 through the air and 223 on the ground.
Tiger QB Jayden Daniels was as good as expected, finishing 27-36 for 414 yards and 4 TDs with no interceptions. His favorite targets were also as good as advertised, with Brian Thomas notching 8 receptions for 124 yards and three TDs and Malik Nabers catching 8 for 102 yards.
Running back Logan Diggs tallied 101 yards and 2 TDs on 19 attempts. Daniels rushed 15 times for 99 yards.
Needless to say, Ole Miss did not slow down the LSU attack and that gives Coach Kiffin cause for concern. “We played extremely well on offense and played really bad on defense,” Kiffin noted.
He also pointed out that while the defensive performance is not acceptable, LSU does have a top-level offense.
“Part of that is a credit to (LSU). That’s an NFL offense. When you look at them play, it’s like an NFL offense, looking at the size, the length and the way the line and the way the back ran physical — big kid, big back (Logan Diggs). Those two receivers (Nabers and Thomas) will be playing a long time on Sundays. That was a challenge for us, different than what we’ve seen this year. We have not seen a premier passing team like that. We have a lot of work to do.”
Lane Kiffin on LSU’s offense
But regardless of the talent on the Tigers’ offense, Kiffin knows his defense should have performed much better. He was asked what the problem was for the Rebels and, as always, he kept it real.
“Anytime you give up 637 yards and 34 first downs, there’s a lot of problems that happen. One, they have really good players. They’re very well coached on offense, very good scheme. And we did everything you can bad for those numbers to get to that. We tackled poorly, didn’t rush really well, had blown coverages where we’re in Cover 2 and you can’t even tell it with the safety nowhere to be found. That part was very discouraging. We knew that they were going to make plays, and there were matchup issues with them, but when we don’t do the basic alignments, coverages and stuff, that’s where it’s really discouraging. I’m different than a lot of coaches that say ‘hey, we’re right there to make all the plays and we didn’t execute.’ That’s not what happens when you get those type of numbers.”
Lane Kiffin on the defensive performance vs. LSU
Penalties and reviews
Kiffin was also asked about the large number of penalties committed by Ole Miss. The Rebels were called 11 times for infractions Saturday for a whopping 121 yards.
“We address them every Monday, with a running list we put up in front of them and they are called out. It’s been really discouraging (with) the holding penalties on offense, the majority of them were holdings,” he explained.
Kiffin did not, however, think Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn was guilty when he was flagged for holding. “…Really didn’t think Prieskorn’s was at all. I thought he blocked the crap out of the guy like you’re supposed to,” the head coach said.
Coach Kiffin continued discussing the penalties committed on the defensive side of the ball. “…And then some on defense, just lack of discipline penalties, really discouraging…They’re very costly. The horse collar penalty, looked like that was going to be fourth down, and then the offsides that led to a touchdown, the reviewed touchdown.”
That particular play, the reviewed touchdown, occurred when Daniels hit Brian Thomas for what was ruled a TD on the field. That score would give LSU a two-score lead over Ole Miss with 8:34 to go in the game, so it was a pivotal call.
While Coach Kiffin did not think Thomas had control of the ball and the ruling should have been overruled, he went into great detail about something that surprised him about the actual review, itself.
“I did learn something: When I wasn’t very excited about the referee saying that was a catch for a touchdown after they reviewed it for three minutes or whatever, and I asked him, ‘How can you possibly say that ball is in possession when it’s on his leg like that? That’s not possession. How can you say that?’ And then the referee explained to me, well, he doesn’t have the power to make the call. He just listens from above. And I said, ‘All these years that I’ve watched you guys go into these booths and all this, what you are doing in there? Just hanging out? I mean, if you don’t have the power to do anything, what’s the point of it? So, that was something I learned, because I tried to get him to explain ‘How can you say it’s possession?’ (He basically replied) ‘I can’t say that I disagree with you, but it’s not my call.’“
Lane Kiffin on the touchdown review
Kiffin then added one of his famous one-liners.
”I told him (the referee) I’m going to start doing that with media, when they don’t like my fourth-down calls…’Well, that’s not really my fault. So I can’t talk about it.'”
Next Up
Ole Miss returns to Vaught-Hemingway Saturday, October 7 as the Rebels host the Arkansas Razorbacks. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on SEC Network.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Evelyn Van Pelt
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.
