Sam Pittman discusses KJ Jefferson’s disappointment after Ole Miss loss

The Ole Miss defense did something it wasn’t able to do the past two seasons Saturday: hold Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson and the Razorback offense in check.

Jefferson was 25-for-39 throwing the football for 252 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added just 11 yards on 17 carries, including getting sacked five times, as the Rebels won 27-20.

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman explained to the media after the game Jefferson’s disappointment following the loss.

“He’s just like everybody else on the team. He’s got to continue to get better as well. I know he played extremely hard,” Pittman said.

Jefferson is from Mississippi, which Pittman said after an extra layer to the day’s proceedings for the fifth-year quarterback.

The Razorbacks haven’t won in Oxford, Miss., since 2017 when Jefferson was a high school junior. He graduated from Sardis (Miss.) North Panola.

“I know it was special for him coming back, wanted to win,” Pittman said. “But I think he played his heart out. I think if you ask him, he’d probably take a couple two, three, four throws back that’s part of the game. I felt like he led extremely well tonight and played very hard.

In 2021, Jefferson had a memorable night versus Ole Miss despite loss. He threw for 326 yards, rushed for 85 yards and finished with six touchdowns — three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.

Last year he had three touchdowns in a 42-27 win as he steered the offense to 503 yards and 42 points.

It was different this year as Arkansas finished with only 286 total yards of offense.

The Razorbacks finished with only 36 rushing yards after having memorable rushing performances in the previous two games. Raheim “Rocket” Sanders rushed for 139 yards in 2021 and 234 in 2022.

However, Sanders was held to 15 yards on eight carries as he has dealt with an injury-filled 2023 season.

On the other side, Lane Kiffin‘s Rebels team moved to 5-1 on the year. Kiffin made a joke after the game about keeping his job ser

“I see my boss over there,” Kiffin said, looking at Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter. “This is like his happiest week. The fact that we won, [compared to] last year, I kind of got the monkey off my back with him. I’m safe for another week.”