Doing Work in the Trenches: Lane Kiffin Praises Rebels’ Physical Edge in 30–14 Win Over South Carolina
OXFORD, Miss. — When Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin met with his team on Friday night before facing South Carolina, his message was simple and direct: dominate the line of scrimmage.
Less than 24 hours later, his Rebels did exactly that — overpowering the Gamecocks in a 30–14 win that kept No. 7 Ole Miss firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Winning the Battle Up Front
The numbers tell the story. Ole Miss rushed for 258 yards and allowed just 50 on defense — a +208 differential that reflected exactly what Kiffin had demanded.
“If you’re plus 200 in rushing — 258 to 50, running the ball and six sacks to none — you know, that’s a really good job by both lines of scrimmage. That was really a challenge in this room last night in the team meeting — let’s try to dominate on the line of scrimmages and not leave it up to the skill people in the game. And so I thought they did that.”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
Against a South Carolina front that pressured Alabama just a week earlier, the Rebels’ offensive and defensive lines asserted themselves early and never let go.
The Ole Miss offense piled up 417 total yards, controlled time of possession, and didn’t allow a single sack — the third straight week the Rebels have held elite pass rushers in check.
A New Identity in the Trenches
Kiffin’s teams have long been known for offensive firepower and quarterback development, but this group is earning its reputation through physicality.
Behind offensive line coach John Garrison, the front five has grown into one of the most cohesive units in the SEC. The group — anchored by Jayden Williams, Diego Pounds, and Patrick Kutas — has started to look like a throwback Ole Miss line: nasty, disciplined, and confident.
“They have come a long way. They’ve continued to keep improving. We’ve stayed healthy which always helps… I think that’s one sack (they’ve given up) in three weeks against three elite D-lines and two elite rushers the last two weeks… so it’s really good.”
Lane Kiffin after win over South Carolina
The results speak for themselves. In their last three games (Georgia, Oklahoma, and South Carolina), Ole Miss has averaged 237 rushing yards per game while giving up just one sack in 104 dropbacks.
That’s not just improvement — that’s identity.
Defensive Line Dominance
The Rebel defensive front matched the offense’s effort, sacking South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers six times and holding the Gamecocks to just 1.6 yards per carry.
Princewill Umanmielen, Will Echoles, Kam Franklin and Suntarine Perkins led a charge that disrupted nearly every South Carolina drive.
Perkins and Franklin each finished with 6 total tackles, two solo. Perkins notched 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, one interception and one quarterback hurry. Franklin added in one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one quarterback hurry. Echoles added in five tackles, half a sack, half a tackle for loss. Umanmielen recorded 4 tackles, three of which were solo, one sack, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry. Echoles tallied five total tackles, half a sack, and a half a tackle for loss. Simply put, the defensive line was smothering.
“Our defense kept answering the call in the second half, which was great to see. That’s what you want to see. You don’t always want it to be one side.”
Lane Kiffin on the Ole Miss defense
The effort marks a shift for Ole Miss this season — from a team once reliant on mostly offensive fireworks to one capable of winning ugly through grit and control up front.
What It Means Moving Forward
Kiffin’s Friday night challenge wasn’t just motivational talk — it was the blueprint for November football in the SEC.
To reach Atlanta and beyond, Ole Miss will need to keep leaning on the formula that’s carried them since the Georgia loss: pound the football, control the trenches, and let the defense dictate the tone.
“I think the radio guy said, I didn’t know this, that this is five Novembers in a row, we’ve been relative,” Kiffin said postgame. “So we’re gonna have to finish this off and get better and play really well in the weeks to come.”
If Saturday was any indication, this Ole Miss team is built for exactly that.
Because in 2025, the Rebels’ most dangerous weapon might not only be their quarterback, running back or their playbook — it’s their physicality.
Next Up
Ole Miss hosts The Citadel next Saturday in Vaught-Hemingway. Kickoff is set for Noon CT.
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. Email Evie at: Evie@TheRebelWalk.com
