Lane Kiffin admits he is 'highly concerned' about Ole Miss' running game
An impressive second half for Ole Miss led the Rebels past a ranked Tulane team 37-20 despite having a near non-existent running game.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart carried the ball 14 times for 41 yards during the contest, which came in just behind the Rebels’ leading rushing in Quinshon Judkins‘ 48. Ole Miss was ultimately limited to 89 total rushing yards on the night.
“I’m highly concerned,” Kiffin said of his rushing attack on Monday. “That’s very unusual for us. Not just here. I mean anywhere, really. I don’t remember ever having the inability to run the ball. At all.
“[Tulane] did a great job but it obviously had a lot to do with us, and that’s everybody. That’s perimeter blocking, that’s lineman execution, running back footwork. It’s everything. … It takes everybody to have a good running game. So, we definitely look to improve there. That’s a major issue and one I don’t think anyone would have guessed.”
Even during the season-opener against Mercer, Ole Miss put up 73 points and scored nine total touchdowns and 667 yards on offense — but only 143 of that was on the ground. Judkins, who was a 1,500-yard back as a true freshman last season, led the team with 60 rushing yards.
Ole Miss’ saving grace has been Dart’s ability to throw the ball. He’s thrown for 601 yards and six touchdowns on the young season and has been known to use his legs when necessary, already rushing for 77 yards this season.
Still, Kiffin credited the Green Wave for overcoming every adjustment Kiffin threw at them in the trenches.
“[Tulane] did a lot of movement up front. We didn’t handle it very well,” Kiffin said. “They created negative plays and [we] didn’t finish things. They came off blocks and made plays or we didn’t turn back when we should’ve. They were very aggressive in what they did, defensively, after that first series.”
That opening drive was capped by a 31-yard Dart touchdown pass to Tre Harris, who’s having a monster season with five touchdowns on eight receptions to go with 188 receiving yards.
Ole Miss hasn’t found a reliable running back in the same way Harris is out wide thus far, but Judkins has shown he can be one of the top running backs in the SEC. It could just be a slow start to the season, but the production through two games won’t cut it when they enter conference play.
Kiffin will look to clean up the Ole Miss rushing attack as the Rebels prepare for a non-conference home matchup against Georgia Tech. Kickoff for the Week 3 battle is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.