Lane Kiffin: Defense was fired up over comment from Kentucky offensive coordinator

No. 7 Kentucky fumbled a potential season-shifting victory against No. 14 Ole Miss Saturday in the ‘Sip. Twice.

Leading by a field goal, the Rebels forced Wildcats quarterback Will Levis to put the ball on the ground with under three minutes left inside the Ole Miss red zone. Targeting was questioned on the play, but not called on the field.

After a three-and-out by the Rebels, Kentucky marched right down the field. Once again set up with a first down in the red zone, the Ole Miss defense forced another Will Levis fumble in the game’s final minute for the win.

Head coach Lane Kiffin discussed the motivating factor this week the keep the pressure on Levis all game that ultimately won the Rebels the game.

“Well we rushed him, you know,” Kiffin said. “They were motivated all week by their offensive coordinator saying, ‘bring the blitz,’ we’ll light you up, so there you go.”

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Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart was the star of the game, completing 15-of-29 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. Dart sliced through a talented Wildcats secondary all afternoon, producing chunk plays with ease in the Rebels’ fast-pace offense.

Running back Quinshon Judkins also had a great day for the Rebels, rushing for over 100 yards for the third time in the true freshman’s five-game career. Overall, Ole Miss would out-gain the Wildcats on offense 399-328.

“We got to get a lot better,” Kiffin said. “We could’ve finish the game earlier. You know, screwed around and didn’t play well enough on offense in the second half. We’ve got work to do with a lot of really good teams coming to play. So, we kind of got out of here with this one, which was good. It was good to have some people in the stands.”

Kiffin is referring to last week’s nearly empty student section, which is keen on leaving the stadium on halftime each week. They showed out Saturday against the ‘Cats, though, and Kiffin made sure to appreciate the Rebels faithful for showing up in droves, though it was at his offense’s expense.

“They did, better than our four-minute offense, so glad they were here,” Kiffin said.

Ole Miss improves to 5-0 on the season heading into Week 6 on the road against Vanderbilt.