Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin on the 52-17 loss to Georgia
ATHENS – No. 9 Ole Miss (8-2, 5-2 SEC) fell to No. 2 Georgia (10-0, 7-0 SEC) 52-17 on Saturday night in Athens. After the game head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media.
“First off congrats to Georgia,” Kiffin said. “They played extremely hard today. They played physically and tackled really well on defense and really dominated us on the other side of the ball.”
Kiffin added that Georgia had over ten yards per play.
“I don’t know if I have been a part of that on defense. Not a good recipe to come in after 14-14 and not play well in a hostile environment. So, add us to the list of 43-1 in their last 44.”
Lane Kiffin on Georgia’s offensive success
In the third quarter, Jaxson Dart went down after a hit on a run. Although there was speculation that Dart might have suffered an injury, Kiffin offered an update on his quarterback’s status.
“(Dart) was able to return after being checked out,” Kiffin said. “Just didn’t see any need at that point to come back in.”
Dart finished the game going 10-for-17 for 112 yards in the air with one interception. He also ran the ball eight times for 20 yards against the Bulldogs.
The Ole Miss offensive line was without starting right tackle Micah Pettus who was injured in practice earlier this week and suffered another blow when Jayden Williams went out early in the game.
“It is what it is and a part of the game,” Kiffin said.
“Not the ideal defense that you want to be playing without your right tackle. Then a few snaps into the game lose your next tackle that you have in their playing. So had to move guys around a lot and lost the center late too.”
Lane Kiffin on offensive line injuries
Georgia was able to move the ball on offense for over 600 total yards against Ole Miss.
“They got their tackle (Amarius Mims) and tight end (Brock Bowers) back,” Kiffin said. “We didn’t tackle, and they got very physical backs. I said it during the week that offense is overlooked. Because it is a defensive-made team people think.”
Kiffin added Georgia has a really good offense and, “no disrespect we haven’t played a really elite passer in a while,” he said. “Obviously since LSU, and was concerned that might show up today.”
Georgia’s offensive line had a good day as Carson Beck never had to deal with much pressure and the running backs had wide open lanes.
“About as successful day as you can have to keep your quarterback clean with very few incompletions and running for 300 yards,” Kiffin said of Georgia’s offense. “I think getting their tackle back helped and they have very good running backs.”
Kiffin added that the defense couldn’t get any pass rush going against the Bulldogs’ offensive line to get to Beck while the Bulldog receivers got open.
“That’s a really good recipe to have 60 plays for 600 yards,” he said. “Usually going to be a recipe of bad tackling and good protection and getting guys open.”
Next Up
Ole Miss returns home next Saturday to play host to the ULM Warhawks for senior day. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and can be seen on the SEC Network.
(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.
