Lane Kiffin discusses Rebels’ possible use of running back Ulysses Bentley IV at LSU
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss football heads to Baton Rouge for a huge Saturday night matchup against LSU. There will be a lot riding on the outcome in Tiger Stadium with both the Rebels (5-1, 1-1 SEC) and LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC) hoping to make the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
In the availability/injury reports this week, backup running back Matt Jones is listed as ‘doubtful.’ Thus far this season, he is the second-leading rusher on the team and has been the main back behind Henry Parrish, Jr.
Jones has rushed 43 times for 222 yards, while Parrish Jr. has carried 91 times for 570 yards.
If Jones is banged up, it’s a relevant question to ask who might get additional carries behind Parrish Jr. If one were to ask Rebel fans who their choice for that would be, they would give a resounding “Ulysses Bentley, IV” as the answer. Most expected Bentley IV would be RB1 entering 2024, even with Parrish’s transfer back to Ole Miss from Miami.
At Thursday night’s “Reb Talk” with David Kellum and head coach Lane Kiffin, one Ole Miss fan posed just that exact question.
“That’s code for a (Ulysses) Bentley question,” Kiffin said, smiling.
”Someone else will get carries. Hopefully we have Bentley and hopefully he’ll do really well. It’s like some people think I don’t want him to do well. I don’t care who does well, I just want to win games. If this is his chance and opportunity, I think he’ll do really well.”
Lane Kiffin on who RB carries
Lane Kiffin was asked at last night’s Reb Talk: “With the injury to Matt Jones, who can we expect to see get more carries after Parrish?”
Coach Kiffin: “That’s code for a Bentley question.”
Hear the rest of Coach Kiffin’s answer: ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ogfOa9yTSS
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) October 11, 2024
This season, Bentley has played in all six games; however, most of his action has come on special teams. He has carried the ball 16 total times for 62 yards — with all of that coming in the Rebels’ first four games of the season, all non-conference matchups.
Ole Miss also has running backs Domonique Thomas and Rashad Amos on the roster. Thomas has notched 12 carries for 90 yards in 2024, while Amos has rushed 8 times for 73 yards.
In last year’s contest against the Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway, Bentley IV tallied 90 yards on 9 carries. He also ran for a 43-yard touchdown.
But this season’s game is in Baton Rouge and that will be challenging. LSU is 12-0 under Tigers’ head coach Brian Kelly in Saturday night games in Tiger Stadium. Overall, LSU is 16-1 in Death Valley since Kelly took over in 2022.
Coach Kiffin knows his team will face a formidable foe in its third SEC game of the season.
”They’ve improved on defense,” Kiffin explained.
“I think they’ve got another great quarterback (Nussmeier) this year that has a big-time NFL arm. They’re really talented like all the LSU teams and they put us down there at night. I wish they would give us some home night SEC games, but they seem to always give them to LSU. It is what it is. It’s a great opportunity to go down there and stop — somebody said 14 years since we’ve gone down and won, so it would be a great time to do it.”
Lane Kiffin on playing LSU
Up Next
Ole Miss and LSU kick off at 6:30 p.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast on ABC.
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Lee Ann is the Director of Recruiting for The Rebel Walk. She is a veteran SEC sports journalist and NFL content writer. She is also the Sr. Editor for MESPORTS digital. Herring-Olvedo is a Brown University graduate who loves good cigars, good games, and a smooth glass of bourbon — not necessarily in that order.
