Lane Kiffin addresses Tennessee fans trashing Ole Miss sideline, final stop

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin endured the fury of Tennessee fans from start to finish Saturday. A hostile Volunteers crowd showered boos on the coach, who spent one year in Knoxville in 2009, as he entered the stadium.

Although that seems like a normal part of sports, things would eventually take a turn for the worse late in the fourth quarter. Fans began to throw trash at the Rebels bench and nearly hit the coach with a golf ball in protest of a game-defining call.

Kiffin addressed the behavior in a postgame interview after Ole Miss escaped with a 31-26 victory.

“Relief,” Kiffin told ESPN’s Cole Cubelic during the post-game interview. “I don’t know if I’m more excited we found a way to win or I didn’t get hit with the golf balls they were throwing at me. But no really, our defense rose to the occasion. We did horrible on offense by not finishing off. (Matt Carrol) battled with a ton of injuries around him. We had basically four starters didn’t play on offense. So an electric crowd —  credit to them — this is a great place and great fans.”

Facing fourth-and-24 late, Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker hit Jacob Warren for a long pass that fell less than a yard short of the first down marker. Fans in Knoxville didn’t take kindly to the spot and retaliated by hurling trash onto the field.

The chaos resulted in a 20-minute delay as Tennessee cheerleaders headed to the locker room and the Ole Miss bench walked out to midfield to avoid being struck. Even after play resumed, there was still trash and other objects being thrown.

Once play finally started back, the Volunteers defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with 27 seconds left to play and a chance to win. They got the ball down to the Rebels 21-yard line with time for one last play. Joe Milton, who entered late for an injured Hooker, looked around for an open receiver but after not finding anyone took off on a 13-yard scramble to end the game.

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Kiffin talked about the message he sent to his team after being hit with the golf ball.

“Well, they were just throwing stuff and I said ‘put your helmets on let’s play,'” he said. “It was actually their people who came over and moved us off. …It is what it is. They’re passionate fans and they’re 100,00 people who came to see a show. It didn’t end up the way they wanted; so it is what it is”

When Lane Kiffin entered the stadium, he was greeted with a parade of boos from Tennessee fans. That prompted him to offer a joking response when asked pregame how he stays calm in such an environment.

“Matt Corral,” he quipped with a smile. “I got you on that one. You thought I was gonna say popcorn.”

At that point, he hardly could have imagined just how crazy things would get at the end of the game. Corral finished 21-of-38 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 195 yards on a team-high 30 carries.

One of the many injuries Kiffin alluded to, receiver Braylon Sanders left the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury. With fellow receiver Jonathan Mingo already missing the game, it created a difficult day for the passing game.

Happy to head home and away from the out-of-line Volunteers fans, Kiffin and the Rebels will look to continue to climb the SEC standings next week. A game against LSU, fresh off of a victory against Florida, awaits.