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Lane Kiffin admits Geoff Collins' hot seat situation altered how he handled Ole Miss quarterback rotation

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/19/22
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(Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)

It’s not every day you hear a coach say he changed what he was doing in a game because he felt bad for the other coach. Lane Kiffin is not like many other coaches, and he did just that on Monday when he admitted he was a little sensitive to Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins being on the hot seat.

No. 16 Ole Miss had been alternating between quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Luke Altmyer through the first two games, trying to get a handle on what each can provide.

The Rebels didn’t really do that Saturday in a 42-0 win over the Yellow Jackets, with Altmyer throwing only two passes.

“I would have liked the opportunity to throw more with Luke, but having empathy for what was going on in that game on the other sideline and the hot seat or whatever he’s on, just didn’t really feel like it was right, where if it was a couple score game Luke would have gotten to throw more there,” Kiffin said.

Collins is in his fourth year as the head coach at Georgia Tech, taking over there after a two-year stint at Temple.

In his four seasons the Yellow Jackets have gone just 10-27, with Saturday’s clubbing by the Rebels only the latest in a string of forgettable performances. Georgia Tech has lost eight of its last nine, with the lone win coming against Western Carolina.

Kiffin seemingly didn’t want to kick a man while he was down.

Ole Miss quarterback rotation to continue

That said, the Rebels head coach plans to continue with his quarterback rotation going forward. Ole Miss has not yet decided to let one run with the job fully.

Dart went 10-of-16 passing for 207 yards against Georgia Tech, but he didn’t throw a touchdown pass and he was picked off once.

Here are how the stat lines so far this season stack up between Altmyer and Dart:

Luke Altmyer: 8-of-17 passing for 125 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Jaxson Dart: 38-of-58 passing for 543 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs

Kiffin plans to continue to employ the rotation for the Rebels.

“Yeah we are. I know it’s probably not exciting for you guys,” he told reporters. “You won’t get a lot of coverage on it. But it works with what we’re doing.”