Lane Kiffin Looks Ahead to Matchup Against No. 1 Georgia: ‘We’ll just go in there and see what happens’
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 10 Ole Miss heads to Athens this weekend to take on No. 1 Georgia on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN. On Monday, head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media for his weekly press conference to look at the matchup against the Bulldogs.
“A good walk-through today closing out the last game (a 38-35 win over Texas A&M) with the players,” Kiffin said. “Now we got to move forward with a gigantic challenge in front of us. Going to play the number one team in the country at their place and at night.”
Kiffin added that the last time a team has gone into Sanford Stadium and beaten the Bulldogs was five years ago before COVID.
“There’s not a lot of answers of how to beat these guys at home. We have to have a good week of practice. This is a very challenging combination of having elite phenomenal players and elite phenomenal coaches, combined with being on the road. So, there is a trifecta of trying to pull off this…”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
Kiffin and Georgia’s head coach Kirby Smart were both assistants under coach Nick Saban at Alabama.
“He has done an unbelievable job there,” Kiffin said of Smart. “They are in a midst of a run (sitting) at No. 1 for so many weeks. I read some where the next one to catch is the USC run — and I happened to be an assistant there. That just tells you how hard it is to do what they are doing for so long.”
Kiffin added that being so close to a three-peat is really phenomenal at any time, let alone nowadays with scholarship limitations, NIL and the portal.
Georgia’s offense has been without tight end Brock Bowers, a key player for the Bulldogs, in the lineup due to an injury. Bjt the unit kept moving forward without skipping a beat.
“They have a lot of great players, and the quarterback plays really well. (He’s) really smart and got a great arm and they added the two receivers in the portal to strengthen their position out there after losing one to Texas. So these guys are as great as advertised and it seems like when they have to rise up, they do.”
Lane Kiffin on the Georgia offense
This season, Ole Miss has found itself in some holes late in games — but the Rebels have been able to come back and win. For Kiffin, that is something that makes this year’s group unique.
“I don’t really remember being around a team like this,” Kiffin said.
“I joke with them. The cardiac kids. To have so many games that go to the wire and have to come back from being behind in the fourth quarter, I don’t know if I remember this many in a season, especially a full season yet. Says a lot about them. This is a really cool group of kids to coach. I am honest and not every year is like that.”
Lane Kiffin on his “cardiac kids”
Kiffin further explained that this year’s group is particularly special given how hard it is in the portal era to find players who will put team above self. When players are new to programs, they oftentimes want to hurry and get stats for themselves.
“This is a really neat group that overcomes things, which is hard nowadays in the portal era. It is hard to put selfish things behind you. You are new to programs and want stats. To put those things behind and take smaller roles in special teams with limited reps in offense and defense says a lot about these guys.“
Lane Kiffin
On Saturday, the Rebels have a chance to keep a college football playoff spot alive. If they defeat Georgia, they could potentially finish 11-1 on the season with wins over ULM and State.
“It’s kind of more like playing with the house’s money, meaning no one expects us to win, we’re double-digit underdogs. I feel like those big games over the years, those were more ‒ they were the big game or the national game and the teams were considered close. I think that no one’s expecting us to win or probably even play them close. So we’ll just go in there and see what happens.”
Lane Kiffin on playing Georgia as double-digit underdogs
Ole Miss and Georgia will meet at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday night on ESPN.
Adam Brown
Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.
