Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss 'never safe' when facing Bryce Young

Bryce Young finds himself in a familiar position while on the road this season — down heading into the second half and needing a come-from-behind victory. Ole Miss is currently up 17-14 on Alabama, with both teams wanting a better performance in the second half.

Head coach Lane Kiffin knows there have been opportunities to make the mountain tougher for Young to climb but the Rebels have not taken advantage. In fact, they basically gifted Alabama a touchdown at the end of the second quarter with a Zach Evans fumble.

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Kiffin said they are “never safe” when Young is on the other sideline. He was not happy with the turnover from his running back.

“You’re certainly never safe when it’s Bryce Young,” Kiffin told CBS’ Jenny Dell heading into the locker room. “So to hand them the ball like that, obviously, was a big mistake on our part.”

Young has been as clutch as anybody this season, carrying the Alabama team on his back at times. Whenever a huge touchdown has been needed, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback has been able to deliver. It dates back to the 2021 Iron Bowl, getting an overtime win over Auburn.

Kiffin knows if Ole Miss is going to keep their halftime lead and survive, not giving Young free opportunites will be a huge key.

Lane Kiffin focusing on Bryce Young, both run games

Kiffin then spoke on what he saw in the first half, focuisng on both team’s run game. Alabama has struggled at times, while Ole Miss is having its usually success with Quinshon Judkins. The Ole Miss headman wants to the trend to continue in the second half.

“We’ve done a good job running the ball at times and then getting the turnover,” said Kiffin. “And then, their inability to run the ball at all has helped us.”

Ole Miss rarely loses when leading at halftime under Kiffin, only having one. To keep the trend alive, running the ball and containing Bryce Young seems to be the goal of Lane Kiffin.