Lane Kiffin expresses displeasure with Rebels’ Lack of Home Night SEC Games
OXFORD, Miss. — The time for the Rebels’ home game vs. Georgia was announced today, a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, meaning Ole Miss will go the entirety of the 2024 season at home without a night game. Coach Kiffin expressed his displeasure on the situation at Monday’s press conference, addressing the advantage a home night game gives a team.
“I think that’s proven over time, both in NFL and college, that playing at night in electric atmospheres is a home team advantage…that’s been proven for a long time….So, LSU gets to play at night again? Shocker…that’s two for two for them. It is an advantage.”
Lane Kiffin on night game advantages in SEC
A look at the SEC night games: Where they are…and are not
There have been 12 SEC matchups played at night so far this season. This weekend, Kentucky will play its fifth SEC Saturday night game (at South Carolina) while the Gamecocks will play their first. Missouri and Mississippi State have been shut out through the first eight weeks of the SEC season.
Seven SEC teams have yet to host a Saturday night game and that group includes Ole Miss. All of these games are televised on ABC, ESPN or the SEC Network.
The Home Team Records in Night Games thus far:
Arkansas 1-1 vs Tennessee (W), LSU (L)
Alabama 1-0 vs Georgia
LSU 1-0 vs Ole Miss
Tennessee 1-0 vs Florida
Florida 1-0 vs Kentucky
A&M 1-0 vs LSU
Kentucky 0-3 vs Auburn, Vanderbilt , Georgia
Texas 0-1 vs Georgia
Oklahoma 0-1 vs Tennessee
Record in total night games, both Home & Away:
Kentucky 4 (0-4)
Georgia 3 (2-1)
Tennessee 3 (2-1)
LSU 3 (2-1)
Arkansas 2 (1-1)
Florida 2 (1-1)
Alabama 1 (1-0)
Auburn 1 (1-0)
Vandy 1 (1-0)
A&M 1 (1-0)
Texas 1 (0-1)
Oklahoma 1 (0-1)
Ole Miss 1 (0-1)
Missouri 0
South Carolina 0
Mississippi State 0
While it’s impossible to know what factors into these decisions, it is rather curious that a team at the bottom of the standings (Kentucky) has received so much prime-time attention. Apparently the win over Ole Miss worked wonders.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, is already penciled in for its fourth 11:00 a.m. SEC game (Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Florida) in six weeks. The Rebs will have a third 2:30 game of the season coming against Georgia to finish out the season. (South Carolina and the Egg Bowl will also be 2:30 p.m. kickoffs.)
As for Coach Kiffin, he made his thoughts clear on how it affects fans.
“I feel bad for our fans to not have one night conference game. It’s really unfortunate for them…it’s really disappointing.”
Next Up
Ole Miss and Arkansas kick off at 11:00 a.m. in Fayetteville Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
David Walker
David is the consummate true-freshman quarterback, first pioneering the position only a year after college freshmen were given varsity eligibility by the NCAA in 1972. In 1973, the left-handed all-state gunslinger from Sulphur, Louisiana started for the Texas A&M Aggies and earned the All-Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year award as selected by the league’s coaches. David is the first college quarterback ever awarded Freshman of the Year in the NCAA. He was only 17, and still holds the NCAA record as the youngest starting quarterback in college football history. He wore No. 8 at A&M in honor of one of his football heroes, Archie Manning.
In becoming the winningest quarterback ever at A&M, David was converted from a dual-threat QB to a triple option trailblazer. The two-time team captain led three record-breaking offenses that changed the direction of football at A&M forever, establishing once and for all the winning tradition that the Aggies had so-long desired.
As a high school head coach in Houston in the late ‘80s, David stationed his quarterback in the shotgun formation, having him reading defenses and throwing hot routes at a time when such offensive schemes were frowned upon by traditional fans and coaches. One of his quarterbacks tossed 57 passes in a single game, which stood as the all-time Greater Houston Area record for many years.
As you can tell from his bona fides, David is extremely qualified as our expert on all things Quarterback at Ole Miss. Enjoy his exclusive analysis only here at The Rebel Walk!
