‘Sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can:’ Why Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels have a real shot against No. 2 Georgia

OXFORD, Miss. — In high school we had one motivational piece of yellowed paper on our bulletin board. Our high school in my youth had played in the ‘64 state finals, beaten Terry Bradshaw for the ‘65 championship, beaten Bert Jones in the ‘68 semis and played in the finals against Joe Ferguson. All legends. My school, Sulphur (Louisiana) High, then won seven consecutive district championships in the ‘70s.

There was a tradition. This was that one piece of paper.

This truly says it all for your Ole Miss Rebels football team — not just this past Saturday in the win over the Aggies, but on several other Saturdays this season. While some were worried it might have been “game over” after A&M took the lead late in the fourth, the Rebel offense was more concerned about leaving as little time on the clock as possible AFTER scoring.

“But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.”

This Ole Miss offense thinks it can.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart sliced and diced this vaunted A&M defense as though it was Mercer’s. The Rebel braintrust nixed the QB’s read/run section of their playbook for their quarterback and focused on predetermined handoffs, play-action and RPOs. It was the perfect mix behind an offensive line that was near-perfect itself against a slew of NFL-caliber A&M defensive talents. Familiarity with the Aggie antics did, in fact, breed contempt.

As Lane Kiffin observed afterward, “Five-stars don’t like getting punched in the mouth.”

Twice in the two prior years against A&M, the Ole Miss offense amassed over 500 yards of total offense. In 2021, Matt Corral, Jerrion Ealy and the Rebels beat the Aggies, 29-19, and tallied 504 total yards, 247 passing and 257 rushing in the process.

Last season, Jaxson Dart and the Rebels did most of their damage on the ground, as Dart, Quinshon, and Zach Evans led a ground attack that finished with 390 yards rushing. Dart passed for 140 more in the 31-28 win.

This season, Dart and his talented receiving corps took center stage as the Rebels, for the third straight year, finished with over 500 total yards against A&M’s vaunted defense: 387 yards passing and 131 yards on the ground. Ole Miss once again won by three, 38-35, with a reverse turn-of-the-tables attack. 

Choose your poison, Ags; will it be finesse or smash-mouth?

And against A&M, just as the Rebels did against Arkansas on the game-winning fourth-quarter drive, Ole Miss went to its running game. Against the Razorbacks on that final drive, the Rebels ran the ball 10 times for 64 of the 75 yards needed to get into the end zone.

In this one against Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies, down 35-31, Dart got the drive going with a 19-yard completion to the amazing Tre Harris, picked up another 15 on a pass interference call, and then let the linemen and Quinshon Judkins do the rest.

The Rebs went 75 yards in nothing flat, barely under three minutes, then relied on the defense as they have all season in the fourth quarter. 

Clutch fourth quarters have been the story of the year with this team on both sides of the ball, and Saturday’s was as heroic and heart pounding as any of them — but no doubt more so because of the upcoming Georgia game.

And it’s not lost on this observer that the three-point difference was in part provided by former Aggie kicker Caden Davis, whose 22-yarder at the end of the third quarter gave the Rebels a 10-point cushion at 31-21.

To win at this game you have to do two things: outplay ‘em and outsmart ‘em. The Rebels have yet to lose to A&M under Lane Kiffin and haven’t lost to the boys from College Station when favored since the Aggies joined the conference. The only upsets recorded in this decade-old series have been by the Rebels.

Quinshon Judkins scored more touchdowns on the ground (3) than A&M had given up all year (2). It was a school-record-tying ninth straight defeat on the road for the Aggies, a streak that began in Oxford in 2021. Their yell leaders’ comedy routine once again turned into sour grapes.

So, all that being said, let’s take a look at some of the big plays for Ole Miss from the win over A&M — plays that show just what this offense is capable of doing against Georgia, too. Here are a few of the big passing plays that were key in this eighth Rebel win of the season.

On this first play, the TE motion from left to right rotates the safeties in the Aggie secondary. This leaves the CB on an island with Tre Harris at the bottom of the screen, and his help from the out-of-position safety over the top comes a step late. Dart drops it in beautifully and it’s a really nice reception by Tre. The confidence level is kicking in.

It’s easy to see here how last year’s terrific running game influenced the Aggies’ preparation for this game. Their linebackers are so run-focused with the fake that Dayton Wade finds the going easy on a deep crossing pattern.

Here’s an excellent throw and catch on the fade route to Tre Harris for the Rebels’ second touchdown of the day.

How fast do you have to be to turn a crossing route into a wheel route? D-Wade fast. 

There are some throws and catches that boggle the mind, but rarely do they both occur on the same play. The Rebs motion the TE across for pass protection here but the DE beats him off the ball, giving the QB a lick across the head as he’s releasing. Harris completes the play with a hard-earned grab despite great coverage. At this point you’re getting a sense that the football gods are with you.

Here’s the 29-yard touchdown pass to a completely uncovered Jordan Watkins. You snooze, you lose, and at the end of this video you can see Coach Kiffin actually putting both hands to the side of his face as if sleeping.

Next the Rebs send the TE in motion but the secondary is in Cover 2-Man and there’s no rotation. Tre Harris hits the accelerator on the Go route while Wade is running his crossing wheel route. Dart has his choice of either. He goes with the deep ball and somehow Harris rises above two defenders for the catch and a 40-yard gain.

If you’re looking for circus catches, Tre Harris has one for you. Once again, the Aggies think they’re going to out-athlete these Ole Miss receivers, and once again they find out differently. This is an outstanding throw by Dart, who may have played the best game of his career.

Winning Time with Q. Just an exceptional effort capped off by this one-yard game-winner. I honestly haven’t jumped so high out of my seat since Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary against Miami. What a drive, what a game!

Rebel fans, I hope the above nine videos give you confidence in Ole Miss’ chances this Saturday between the hedges. You can bet your bottom dollar Lane Kiffin and his team are ‘the men who think they can’ win. Hotty Toddy!

Beat the Dawgs!