In his Sunday night Zoom, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin discusses win over Oklahoma, the play of Rebel O-line, and the tight ends
OXFORD, Miss — Ole Miss football defeated Oklahoma 26-14 Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway. Head coach Lane Kiffin held his weekly Sunday evening teleconference with media and talked about the offensive line, the win over the Sooners, the Rebels’ tight ends, and more.
“That was a good win,” Kiffin began on Sunday night’s zoom. “I said all week, when Oklahoma doesn’t turn the ball over and beat themselves on offense, they’re a much different team. They went back to this quarterback (Jackson Arnold) and they didn’t turn the ball over. You look at their two scores, they were two really significant ‘get out of trouble, find somebody down field’ scramble drill plays on both of them. I thought our offense did well in the passing game and didn’t make mistakes. We didn’t run the ball very well, which they’ve done that to a lot of people defensively, but we had…no turnovers and one sack. It was a big emphasis to not take a lot of risk and not turn the ball over,” Kiffin added.
Offensive line
In his postgame press conference Saturday, Coach Kiffin was asked about the changes on the offensive line, most notably the absence of usual starter at right tackle, Micah Pettus. The Rebels’ head coach said Pettus told the staff before the game he “couldn’t” play. In his place, Ole Miss inserted Julius Buelow against Oklahoma.
In Sunday’s zoom, Kiffin was asked if Pettus was out due to injury. “Yes, injury,” is what Kiffin replied to the media listening in.
Continuing on regarding his offensive line’s performance against the Sooners, Kiffin was pleased with what he saw.
“I thought they pass protected well. There’s one sack that Jaxson couldn’t really get away from because the running back was uncovered to the left. I thought they protected well…I thought (Julius) Buelow went out there and made that switch. I thought guys did a good job. I thought Quan (Gerquan Scott) starting at guard for the first time did some good things, too.”
Lane Kiffin
Quarterback Jaxson Dart was asked after the win how he thought Buelow played at right tackle.
“That’s just how we’ve been practicing. I thought (Buelow) did a great job tonight. He’s been a great player, plays all around the offensive line for us and has been a huge addition for our team. I was really proud and felt comfortable back there.”
Jaxson Dart
Tight ends
In the game against Oklahoma, Rebel tight ends Caden Prieskorn and Dae’Quan Wright were more involved than in prior games. Prieskorn was the team’s leading receiver Saturday, finishing with five catches for 71 yards and one touchdown. Wright tallied three catches for 54 yards.
With the injury to wide receiver Tre Harris, Kiffin explained that Ole Miss planned on integrating the tight ends more into the game plan.
“I think both those guys do some really good things. We have played a lot — almost all season — three wides. If Tre (Harris) wasn’t going to play we had a plan in place. Cayden Lee, if you couldn’t tell, isn’t 100 percent at all out there. Kind of limping through. That was definitely a plan in place for the game for those guys to have big games.”
Lane Kiffin
On Washington State added to 2025 schedule
Coach Kiffin was asked his thoughts on the Rebels adding Washington State to the 2025 schedule, following Wake Forest backing out on their spot next season.
“Unfortunately it was something we had to do in-season,” Kiffin said. “We had to meet about potential ideas with Wake Forest doing that to us so late, really not a lot of ideas and not a lot of options. I don’t know a whole lot about them lately, except it sounds like they’re playing really good this year.”
Next Up
Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2 SEC) travels to Fayetteville to play the Arkansas Razorbacks (5-3, 3-2 SEC). Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT, and the game will be televised 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.
