Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin looks back at the Rebels’ win over A&M: ‘Really excited to be where we are, at 8-1’
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media via Zoom Sunday to wrap up the Rebels’ 38-35 win over the Texas A&M Aggies.
“I am really excited to be where we are, at 8-1. Obviously after being 3-1, to go five straight in some really exciting competitive test-your-will type of games. It has been great when you win them.”
Lane Kiffin
Kiffin added that he thought the game felt “better” than the score as Ole Miss had things in hand early, while some games are the other way too.
“Where early on we are out-playing them on offense and defense and had a really good feel for the game, then obviously one giant play that goes the other way. We get ready to make a field goal and they block it and score (a touchdown). A ten-point swing there. Especially when we had been playing really good on defense and offense.”
In the second half of the game, Kiffin said the Aggies started moving the ball much better.
“We got down to the four and got a field goal out of it and then had a three-and-out and it changed. Kind of like the LSU game where all of a sudden, we were down and needed to go score,” Kiffin said.
“I thought that drive was a really critical drive,” Kiffin said.
“Kind of a season-defining drive there, and I believe six of the last seven plays (in that drive) –abnormal for a two-minute drive — were runs. Just proud of that…to be able to continuously move the ball throughout that series, and a really big play by Jaxson (Dart) to Quinshon (Judkins) on the option that was against their prevent defense in the red zone. That was a big third down conversion.”
Lane Kiffin on the Rebel drive that gave Ole Miss the 38-35 lead
Ole Miss was able to take some time off the game clock in that final series, running the ball, as Kiffin mentioned. “I played the game to win, by understanding analytics,” he said.
Kiffin explained his mindset on that final drive.
“If we could take some time (off the clock), we were going to do that. When they had the two injuries at the same time — the two defensive linemen went down at the same time — I get a choice to run the clock or not. So I was going to run all the 40 seconds off. That’s why Jimbo (Fisher) ended up calling a timeout. I think of the game as a whole. You have to win the game and not just score as fast as you can. Sometimes it’s easier to run the ball at those times when they’re playing a little softer (in prevent defense).“
Lane Kiffin
“Texas A&M having to take a time out and then us forcing a long field goal helped us out in the end,” Kiffin concluded.
The Rebels were able to move the ball against the Aggies with 518 yards of total offense — 387 in the air and 131 on the ground.
“Really was pleased by the offense’s ability to move the ball and at times neutralize their front,” Kiffin said. “They still made some plays and hit the quarterback and made some negative plays, but for what statistically in a lot of areas is a top-5 (defense) and is arguably the top defense in the country up front — nobody had done that against them.”
Coach Kiffin was asked about the improvement in the Rebels’ offensive line throughout the season.
“They’re playing more consistent, playing with more confidence, playing more physical,” Kiffin said. “Early, especially in the Alabama game, we lost some confidence. Against LSU, it started to come back. I was proud of them for how they handled themselves.”
Over the last three seasons the Rebels have played against Texas A&M, Ole Miss has amassed 500+ yards of offense against them in each game. Kiffin’s offense tallied 530 total yards in 2022 in a 31-28 Rebel victory; 504 in 2021 (a 29-19 Ole Miss win), and the 518 in this year’s win.
Coach Kiffin also said he didn’t think his team took kindly to comments A&M made on social media that the Rebels deemed disrespectful.
“Five stars don’t like getting punched in the mouth,” Kiffin said of the Aggies. “So they (Ole Miss) kind of took to that — in Bobby Knight fashion — in when there were altercations, we let them get the bad penalties and the personal fouls and unnecessary roughness.”
A&M defensive star Shemar Turner was ejected from the game following an unsportsmanlike penalty after hitting Ole Miss offensive lineman Micah Pettus.
Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner was ejected for this act after the play. pic.twitter.com/vUfXAs8PI0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 4, 2023
Kiffin was asked about penalties in the game, but expressed concern mostly with how the officials call the games with respect to quarterbacks.
“The concerning one for me is the quarterback protection,” Kiffin said.
“I’ve been very disappointed with the way the quarterback has been officiated this season. It happened again where (Dart) gets hit in the face with a right and a left hand. That’s a really big job. Talk to NFL officials, their job is to protect the quarterback. I got frustrated in the game with that on a specific play…I understand in officiating that some things are missed, just like missing things in coaching. (But) that’s a really critical job to not miss for all quarterbacks.”
Lane Kiffin on officials needing to protect QBs
Coach Kiffin also was asked if he saw the hit by an Alabama defender on LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels in the Tigers vs. Tide matchup Saturday, a hit that knocked the QB out of the game and clearly appeared to be targeting.
pic.twitter.com/km7yJmdNXm
LSU QB Jayden Daniels was knocked out of the game with a hit under the chin with no “Targeting” call.— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) November 5, 2023
“I have enough issues with commenting on our own officials in games internally, let alone other people’s. I can say, nothing against those officials, I was blown away that (play on Jayden Daniels) was not targeting from the second that I saw it….I obviously don’t understand the rules, because that’s not just missing it on the field, that’s plenty of time to look at it and not calling (a review of the play).“
Coach Kiffin on the non-call of targeting on Jayden Daniels vs. Alabama
Ole Miss heads to Athens this weekend to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a top-10 matchup. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
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.
