Lane Kiffin breaks down Ole Miss' issues in passing game against Arkansas

A week after they eclipsed 50 points in a thrilling home win over LSU, the Ole Miss pass game simply wasn’t at its best during this Saturday’s victory vs. Arkansas.

The Rebels still put up fine total numbers with 349 yards of offense, including 196 yards on the ground, split between Ulysses Bentley (94), Quinshon Judkins (65) and Jaxson Dart (33). Meanwhile, Dart only threw for 153 yards on 25 pass attempts and the Ole Miss offense converted on just four of their 14 third downs.

Ultimately, the Rebel defense came through to hold the Razorback run game to just 36 total yards while recording two interceptions to help lead the victory. But after the game, head coach Lane Kiffin was frustrated at the lack of execution in the pass game.

Here was his answer when asked about what led to the disappointing performance by Dart:

“I think everything. I think that, you know, we hit a big one and get a holding on it, you know. I thought that Jaxson, right from the beginning, was off. You know, the first third down, we pick the guy and have him and Jaxson misses the throw.”

Early penalties and missed passes got the pass game off schedule to begin the game says Kiffin. Plus, he claims Dart suffered some sort of injury in the first quarter as well.

“He got hurt on the second play, which we blocked wrong. And then I just thought he was off after that, and then we didn’t help him. I mean, we get a third down and we drop an in route, you know, right in his hands.”

Jaxson Dart just wasn’t himself, the wide receivers dropped easy catches, and the offensive line allowed a lot of pressure and got flagged for a couple of holds. Those are ingredients for a tough day on offense.

“So that’s a bad combination if your quarterback is off and and your receivers don’t help. And then you get some pressure and some holding (penalties),” added Lane Kiffin.

Thanks to a strong defensive performance and a great day running the football, Ole Miss was still able to fend off another SEC West opponent to remain in the thick of the conference title race. For now, the Rebels obviously just need to continue winning SEC games themselves while hoping that LSU can beat Alabama, which would even up the three teams record-wise.