What Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin and Auburn’s Hugh Freeze had to say on the SEC Coaches Teleconference ahead of Saturday’s game
OXFORD, Miss. — On Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze talked about the upcoming matchup between their two teams.
Coach Kiffin is looking for the Rebels to finally have his offense, defense and special teams firing on all cylinders at the same time.
“We’re going to need to go play a complete game. Which would be really good for us to do because I don’t feel like we’ve really done that. We’ve played good in phases at times but would be great to go on the road and put together a complete game in a tough SEC environment.”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
Freeze compliments the Ole Miss offense
Coach Freeze was asked about comparisons between Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss offense and what Freeze ultimately wants his Tigers’ offense to look like.
“The first thing is currently they are noticeably different because they’re obviously one of the top 10 in the country offensively and we have yet to find any consistency,” Freeze said of the comparison. “So I do think I’ve had offenses before that look similar to what he’s doing there.”
The Rebels’ offense is No. 8 in the nation in scoring, racking up 41.7 points per game. With respect to yards, Ole Miss is No. 11 in the country with 489.3 yards per game.
“They do it really, really well and he’s done a great job there of creating an identity for who they are, and it attracts good players and obviously he’s a great offensive mind, always has been.”
Coach Freeze on the Ole Miss offense under Lane Kiffin
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has led his team this season and done so with few mistakes. He has thrown for 1,836 yards, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 14:2, a very good sign for the Rebels.
Dart has three go-to receivers in Jordan Watkins, who leads the team in receptions and yards with 36 catches, 536 yards, and 2 TDs; Dayton Wade, who has tallied 27 catches for 390 yards and 2 TDs, and Tre Harris, who has 17 catches for 367 yards and 6 TDs. Reportedly, Watkins injured his hand in some fashion last week and his status is unknown for Saturday’s game.
Making the Rebel offense tougher to defend is preseason All-American running back Quinshon Judkins (443 yards, six touchdowns in 2023) and Ulysses Bentley IV (275 yards and three TDs).
Ole Miss Defense and penalties
While the Auburn offense is struggling, to put it mildly, the Rebels have not been without their own challenges on defense. Currently, Ole Miss gives up an average of 261.5 yards per game passing, putting them 112th in the country in pass defense.
Coach Kiffin on Wednesday talked about another sore spot for his team, penalties. The Rebels have amassed 42 penalties this season, ranking them No. 77 in the nation out of 132 total teams in that category.
“Overall, penalties in all three phases of the game,” Kiffin answered when pressed on what he would like to improve upon.
“We’ve just had a lot of penalties. Some have been pre-snap. Some have been lack of discipline, poor decision-making. We need to get a lot better at that.”
Lane Kiffin on Ole Miss penalties
While the Rebel defense definitely has areas in which it needs to improve, it will be facing a struggling Auburn offense. The Tigers are dead last in the SEC in passing offense. Freeze’s unit is averaging an abysmal 155.8 yards per game and is also dead last in touchdowns with six.
Freeze talked about Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding and what he brings to the table.
“Number one, experience. He’s coached in the biggest of games and obviously was with one of the best in the game for a long time, so you know he has answers…I think his kids are playing extremely hard for him on that side of the ball. I’m very impressed with Pete. Always have been.“
Coach Freeze on Pete Golding
Golding will need to have his defense prepared for two Auburn quarterbacks. Coach Freeze has used both Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford and each has played in all six Auburn games this season.
Thorne has completed nearly 61 percent of his passes (for 745 yards) to Ashford’s 50 percent (123 yards). Ashford, however, has rushed for 153 yards and five touchdowns.
Coach Kiffin was asked about preparing for both.
“I think the general thing people think is Robby runs and there’s a big difference with Payton. I think Peyton runs really well, too. He’s really quick and fast and he’s played in a lot of big games over the years and is a really good player. They haven’t had the passing success maybe that they would like, but I think it’s a big challenge for us.”
Coach Kiffin on Auburn’s two QBs
Coach Freeze had nothing but compliments for the Rebels and Coach Kiffin Wednesday.
“We coached against each other while he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama and he was always gracious, even when we beat them,” Freeze said. “I remember that vividly and I respect that about him. The job he’s done building there has been great. Have always had a great admiration for his father (Monte Kiffin) also. The times I’ve been around Lane he’s been nothing but pleasant to be around.”
Rebel fans hope this next time is anything but pleasant for Auburn and Coach Freeze. Kickoff for Saturday’s game is 6:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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.
