Everything Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday on Weekly Zoom Call

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin met with media via zoom Sunday for his weekly wrap-up of the prior day’s game — and what a game it was. Ole Miss defeated Oklahoma 34-26 in Norman Saturday, keeping themselves in the college football playoffs discussion.

Here’s everything that Coach Kiffin had to say Sunday evening:

Lane Kiffin’s Opening Statement

Kiffin: Really good road wins in the SEC are hard to come by. I’m proud of the way that our guys finished after being on the road in the SEC last week and being in control two scores in the game at Georgia and losing in the fourth quarter. This game had a little bit of a similar feeling. Then, we closed it out 9-0 in the fourth quarter. Really good job at the end by the defense on the last three drives there. So, that was good.

I much rather we would have made the first down (on that last drive where Oklahoma had the ball at the end of the game). We have a 2nd and 2, then a first down ends the game, and we don’t make it — which puts us back on defense after the punt. I wouldn’t have preferred that at the time but, you know, after it happened maybe it’s best it happened for us, confidence-wise on defense, to close the game out.

We’ve got to get ready for this week (and) move on to the next game, which we will discuss tomorrow, but pleased about that. Thought a lot of guys made a lot of plays. You never know. I told them right after the game (and) we talk about it all the time, you never know who it’s going to be in situations, when your play is, when your number’s called. And (there were) some good storylines in the game, especially (tight end) Trace (Bruckler) to catch a touchdown.

Dae’Quan (Wright) was hurt for a lot of the game and (Bruckler) goes in and scores a touchdown, then causes the fumble, and then (lineman) Ethan Fields recover it. We work on those drills…and it kind of looks funny in practice when lineman are recovering fumbles and stuff. So, really cool examples for the team that you never know when your play’s going to be.

On Trace Bruckler and other transfers on special teams

Kiffin: Yeah, we sell it in the portal and then also once (a transfer player) is here. Sometimes it’s not going their way, offensively or defensively, like they’d like. Or in some roles they left starting spots and it’s not going their way (here). So, I think that’s really critical for guys to buy into that — for guys to have a reduced role from what they’re used to or what they were thinking. That’s one of the things, I think, as coaches we work really hard on is we’ll talk about culture, our mindset. What does that mean? There’s a big part right there for guys to embrace a lower role than what they want and to fully buy into it.

Then that becomes contagious in your culture—and when some don’t that becomes contagious. When some do, that becomes contagious. So, I think that’s really important with a lot of transfer guys because they’re not all going to have the role that they’re hoping for (and) they’re able to do that.

On the game Princewill Umanmielen had against Oklahoma

Kiffin: That was really big. He was our defensive player of the game. That was really big by him after being injured a few weeks ago. Then to not have his best game last week, like most of our defensive players, to respond and that was really big. He got a holding, really another one that should have been holding, and another one that wasn’t. Should have been a tripping (call), that were significant plays, obviously not when they’re called, but when they’re called. So it’s not just the sacks, it’s significant plays like that and really gave them a lot of issues coming off our right side to where they really had to start putting a tight end and RB back over there.

On the Ole Miss fans who travelled to Oklahoma

Kiffin: That’s really awesome for them to make the trip like that, was great to see. It’s really good when you’re able to win on the road and at the end of game to (go back out to the crowd). I was still finishing up with media there and it was just something to me about, ‘Hey, lets slow down a little bit, guys. Instead of rushing through everything, come back out and enjoy this with the band and the fans and enjoy these moments. They’re hard to come by.’

We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of games here (at Ole Miss). Been dominant at home. Had success on the road, but someone said today in the last almost three years, our six losses are the Kentucky debacle here, and the other five are on the road in some really hard places—the Swamp, Tiger Stadium, Athens twice and in Tuscaloosa… So, pretty cool to have one of those experiences like that.

On what he said to fans after the Oklahoma game

Kiffin: I don’t know if I should repeat what I said, but it was not what is getting played that I said. Sorry to tell you, that’s not what I said. I was kind of caught up and said something about the stadium and that we’ll be back here next year to the stadium. It was just one of those moment things. But, it wasn’t what some people think I said.

On the team handling distractions 

Kiffin: I just told them that, ‘Hey, this happens every year here. So this isn’t new, but a lot of you guys are new. So all it is is a credit to the program and the coaches and players for doing well and having the success we have and best SEC record in years here. It goes Georgia, Alabama then us. So, that’s pretty cool. Especially when you throw Texas and Oklahoma in there.So that’s all that’s a product of (winning) and it shouldn’t be a distraction. It should be a distraction that Winnie Watkins had a great game, and now he’s going to get more people wanting him in the portal and trying to pre-portal him.

On Winston Watkins’ performance as a true freshman

Kiffin: We don’t get a lot of, as you know, a lot of elite guys right out of high school. We have to go and kind of find them, mold them or portal them here. Just one of the things here that if you’re going to do it really well, you got to do this in evaluations and all that.

But Winnie wasn’t a secret. I just say we don’t get many guys like that that can come in and play like him. That’s because of his mindset, too. He has a very elite mindset, very much Elijah Moore-ish and that allows him, for the moment, to not be too big. We started playing him a lot more as the season’s gone on because of how many plays he makes in practice. I think that’s one of the really good things here that you know, ‘Hey man, if you practice well, competition’s always open.’

We don’t just play people here because they’re older or because they had played the year before, or whatever. It’s just not how our place works, and I think our players know that and really like coming here because of that.